Steve Kenosian's Blog

Why Chinese Living Quarters Are Superior

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:02:04 -0800

Real estate broker Eric Agosto would hear the same complaints about narrow layouts whenever he showed certain apartments at an East Harlem condo building. "People had a hard time understanding where they could put a couch or a table," says Mr. Agosto, a Corcoran associate broker. Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703833204576114312890716984.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Eastern China Headed for Real-Estate Bubble, Partners Group Says

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:00:55 -0800

China is heading for a real-estate bubble beginning in the east of the country, according to Partners Group Holding AG, a Swiss money manager that has $600 million invested in the country. The Chinese government, which has taken steps to cool the market, may not be able to prevent a drop in commercial and residential property prices, the Baar, Switzerland-based company said in a report published today. Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-30/eastern-china-headed-for-real-estate-bubble-partners-group-says.html

Successful landlords use background checks effectively

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:50:09 -0800

Question: I’ve read your article on how to be a good landlord which I think also included your book picks on the subject and now I wish I had cut out and saved that article. How can I get a copy? Read More: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110130/BIZ/701309939/1005

Expert Investment Advice: Buy Land In Myanmar, Not U.S. Bonds

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:05:31 -0800

Pop quiz: Which is a better long-term investment, United States Treasury bonds or real estate in Myanmar? It's a safe bet that most of the 530 investment professionals who gathered Friday night for the annual forecast dinner of the Hartford Chartered Financial Analysts Society would pick U.S. debt. Read More: http://www.courant.com/business/hc-haar-0129-20110128,0,7582259.column

Rental Red Flags: 10 Signs You Don’t Want That Apartment

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:36:26 -0800

I’m all for renting rather than buying an apartment, if that’s where you’re at financially, socially or economically. But the last thing you want is to rent an illegal apartment. How do you know an apartment is illegal? Read More: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/home-equity/rental-red-flags-10-signs-you-dont-want-that-apartment/3693/

China Approves Property Tax Trials to Curb Prices

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:38:59 -0800

China approved property tax trials on some homes in Shanghai and Chongqing, adding to measures announced earlier this week in its campaign to curb real-estate speculation and asset bubbles. Both cities will begin trials for the levy today, following the government’s Jan. 26 announcement it will raise the minimum down-payment for second-home purchases and ask local authorities to set price targets for new properties. Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-28/china-approves-property-tax-trials-in-shanghai-chongqing-to-curb-prices.html

Distressed Debt Investors Prefer Real Estate In 2011

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:36:00 -0800

With risk-taking coming back to most markets, investors in the riskiest asset classes are being forced to channel their funds into different sectors and instruments in their attempts to get the most bang for their buck. Read More: http://blogs.forbes.com/afontevecchia/2011/01/27/distressed-debt-investors-prefer-real-estate-in-2011/

HK Shares End Down Led By Mainland Real Estate Firms On Property Measures

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:34:43 -0800

Hong Kong shares fell Thursday, led by mainland property firms after China introduced another round of property tightening measures. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 63.62 points, or 0.3%, to 23,779.62 after trading between 23,734.70 and 24,023.68 during the session. Market volume totaled HK$69.97 billion, slightly higher than HK$68.21 billion Wednesday. Analysts said they expect the market to stay range-bound in the short term. Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110127-703723.html

Billionaire Sam Zell’s Advice To Entrepreneurs

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:33:04 -0800

A couple of weeks ago I sat down with real estate mogul Sam Zell at his Chicago-based office to talk real estate (see the resulting story on Zell’s foray into the emerging markets here). Read More: http://blogs.forbes.com/kerenblankfeld/2011/01/27/billionaire-sam-zells-advice-to-entrepreneurs/

Questions to Ask About a Vacation Rental

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:25:06 -0800

A recent New York Times article, “Vacation Rentals Add Hotel-Like Luxuries,” detailed all the perks, from concierges to flat-screen televisions, that some vacation rentals are now providing to compete with luxury resorts. Such amenities add to the list of advantages vacation rentals often have over traditional hotels, including more space, more privacy and a kitchen. Read More: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/questions-to-ask-about-a-vacation-rental/?src=twrhp

New Reliability for Real Estate Pricing Numbers?

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:23:54 -0800

Chinese consumers tend to cast a wary eye on monthly real estate data produced by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, but a new method of data collection being pioneered in one of China’s hottest real estate markets may cause them to sit up and take a closer look at the figures. Read More: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/01/26/new-reliability-for-real-estate-pricing-numbers/

Analysis: Blackstone bets big on industrial property rebound

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:58:08 -0800

Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) is making a $2 billion bet on one of the hardest hit areas of commercial real estate, buying properties and assembling a management team in a sign that it might take its warehouse business public. The latest real estate wager by the owner of Hilton Hotels is on warehouse and distribution centers, an unglamorous corner of the property market known by an equally dull name: "industrial real estate." Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70O68920110125

Commercial Property Soars as Buyers Bank on Recovery

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:56:55 -0800

Debt investors are wagering that the worst is over for commercial real estate, driving prices on mortgage bonds to the highest in more than two years. “Investors have gotten more comfortable and have started putting money back into CMBS,” Chris Callahan, head of commercial-mortgage backed bond trading at Credit Suisse Group AG, said in an interview at the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council’s conference in Washington. “It has gone from being the red-headed stepchild to being a viable asset class again.” Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-25/commercial-real-estate-debt-hits-two-year-high-as-investors-bet-worst-over.html

Real Estate News: Churches Face Foreclosure

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:55:38 -0800

Churches Find the End Is Nigh: Real-estate owners aren’t the only ones losing their properties to foreclosure. The past few years have seen a rapid acceleration in the number of churches losing their sanctuaries because they can’t pay the mortgage. Read More: http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/01/25/real-estate-news-churches-face-foreclosure/

Property Trax: Winter in Wisconsin is prime time to see, buy rural property, agent says

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:31:23 -0800

Believe it or not, now's a great time to be tromping around outside checking out rural properties you might be more likely to actually use once it warms up a bit. So says Jay Frazier, Property Trax's go-to guy on questions of outdoor real estate -- hunting parcels, getaway properties, country homes, cottages and farms. Read More: http://host.madison.com/wsj/business/real-estate/article_eda3f112-259a-11e0-bd56-001cc4c002e0.html

6 tips for starting a new real estate business

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:28:37 -0800

After selling residential real estate for more than 13 years, I took the step to go out on my own and open a brokerage. While the process of getting partners was relatively easy, the process of getting them to listen ... not so much. From my experience, here are a six tips for those of you also considering whether to build something from scratch: Read More: http://www.inman.com/opinion/guest-perspective/2011/01/24/6-tips-starting-a-new-real-estate-business

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Reports $24.3 Billion in Global Hotel Sales in 2010

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:27:20 -0800

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels announced today that $24.3 billion in hotel real estate traded hands globally in 2010 as investors made their way back into the game following the gridlocked market and economic fall-out of 2009, which marked the floor of the hotel investment market. This is according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ Hotel Investment Outlook report, which premiers today at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego, Calif. Read More: http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=19449

German Real Estate More Attractive Than UK To Some Investors

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:25:44 -0800

Germany has overtaken the U.K. as the preferred location for investment in nonlisted real estate funds, according to a survey released Tuesday by the European real-estate investment body Inrev. "This is a dramatic change in sentiment," said Inrev's director of research and market information Lonneke Loewik. "While the U.K. remains well represented in the top 10, investors seem wary of ... Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110124-715183.htmln

Zions Posts Ninth Quarterly Loss Because of Delinquent Real Estate Loans

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:44:57 -0800

Zions Bancorporation, the best- performing bank in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last year, reported a ninth straight quarterly loss as it struggles with delinquent loans tied to real estate. The fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $72.2 million, or 62 cents a share, from $184.1 million, or $1.26, a year earlier, the Salt Lake City-based company said today in a statement. The average estimate of 31 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for an adjusted loss of 36 cents a share. Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-24/zions-reports-ninth-straight-quarterly-loss-on-delinquent-property-loans.html

U.S. Commercial Property Prices Rise for Third Month

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:41:41 -0800

U.S. commercial property prices rose 0.6 percent in November from the previous month, the third consecutive gain, as the economy showed signs of improvement, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index climbed 2.8 percent from a year earlier, Moody’s said in a report today. It is up 6.4 percent from an eight-year low in August. Read More: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-24/u-s-commercial-property-prices-rise-for-third-month.html

Shopping for Real Estate at J.C. Penney

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:39:36 -0800

To impress investors, retailers need a talent for unloading merchandise. But these days, they might make a bigger splash selling real estate. Shares of J.C. Penney leapt 7.2% Monday after the department-store chain announced a slew of store closures and appointed real-estate heavyweights William Ackman and Steven Roth to its board. Likewise, stock of rival ... Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704279704576102411293998854.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The brave buyer’s checklist

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:00:14 -0800

Still willing to take a chance on a unit in a small building? Use these tips to minimize your risk of falling into the condo trap. Remember who’s on your side While a real estate agent “could opine on the property and what’s being disclosed about it,” says Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, “it wouldn’t be the place of the realtor to opine on the association.” Therefore: Hire a lawyer to represent your interests throughout the buying process. Read More: http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2011/01/23/the_brave_condo_buyers_checklist/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Real+estate+news

Real estate trusts ripe for $24b takeover spree

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:57:15 -0800

A NEW round of mergers and acquisitions worth as much as $24 billion is tipped to occur in the real estate investment trust sector with Dexus, FKP, GPT and Mirvac among the potential targets. Others are the Charter Hall Office and Retail trusts and the Commonwealth Property Office Fund. Read More: http://www.smh.com.au/business/real-estate-trusts-ripe-for-24b-takeover-spree-20110123-1a1bu.html

New home-hunting app rolls in social media

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:04:18 -0800

Potential San Diego homebuyers with iPhones and iTouches now have an app that combines social media and house-hunting. Sawbuck -- an online real-estate brokerage in Washington D.C. that serves San Diego -- is the creator of the free tool, the first one of its kind that lets users "check in" to residential properties on the market, and leave notes, photos and videos on their visits. Read More: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/21/new-real-estate-app-rolls-social-media/

50 Cent Lowers Price of His Real Estate in Connecticut

Steve Kenosian (Stateside Properties ) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:03:15 -0800

Rapper and actor 50 Cent (born Curtis Jackson) has been trying to sell his Connecticut home since 2007 when he put it on the market for $18.5 million. He dropped the price of the home in 2009 and has since dropped it again. Jackson bought the real estate property from the ex-wife of boxing legend Mike Tyson for only $4.1 million. The rap mogul reportedly spent about another $6 million renovating it, and has employed at least two real estate agencies to sell the property. Read More: http://www.execdigital.com/tags/real-estate/50-cent-lowers-price-his-real-estate-connecticut