Commercial space provides eye on economy

I think you're in the latter half of 2010 and more so in 2011. I don't think we've seen the last of the layoffs. Projections are 130,000 more jobs [lost] in Massachusetts. And our business is all about rear ends in seats. If those layoffs continue, that will put more stress on the market. Still, walking around offices you're only seeing dribs and drabs of space available, not huge chunks of it. We're not a headquarters city anymore, so it hasn't affected us the way it has in some of the other markets.

How do you think real estate firms will weather the downturn?

In the last downturn, tenants overleased and landlords overbuilt. This time around, people were much more conservative in the space they took. So the saving grace of this market is the start-ups and midsized companies, it's not the giant firms. The reason Boston's commercial real estate market is not devastated right now is because little companies are still growing.

Real estate brokerage says South Shore is an attractive office market option to Boston’s high rents

A major Boston real estate brokerage expects that the migration of office operations out of Boston to less expensive suburban options will continue for much of the next decade.

“We believe the South Shore and the suburban market will do much better over the next 10 years than we’re going to see in downtown Boston,” said James Elcock, an executive vice president at Colliers Meredith & Grew.

Elcock, who was speaking at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Lantana in Randolph on Wednesday, said the South Shore office market is particularly well-positioned to attract office tenants out of Boston.

Residences at the InterContinental - Boston Real Estate

Hancock tower acquired by Normandy R.E. and Five Mile Capital partnership: $660.6m

Boston, MA The John Hancock Tower was sold recently for $660.6 million at a foreclosure auction in New York City. The signature Back Bay building was acquired by a partnership between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners, which have been buying some of the debt on the building since June. The partnership was the only entity to bid for the Hancock during the auction, which lasted less than 10 minutes. The firms initiated foreclosure after the Hancock's previous owner, Broadway Partners of New York, defaulted on some of the loans it used to buy the property for $1.3 billion in late 2006.

Allen & Overy LLP's New York office represented an investment partnership between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners in acquiring participation interests in a mezzanine loan secured by the equity interests in a portfolio of properties owned by Broadway Real Estate Partners with a view towards gaining ownership of the real estate securing the loan.

Quincy and Boston firms team up on real estate auctions

A Boston real estate brokerage is joining forces with Quincy’s Daniel J. Flynn & Co. on a new joint venture that will specialize in selling distressed real estate at auctions.

Flynn/Boston Realty Advisors LLC is designed to accelerate sales of distressed properties in a real estate market that’s making it difficult for buyers and sellers to strike a deal.

“No one knows what the values are,” said Jeremy Freid, a principal with Boston Realty Advisors. “That’s the problem out there right now.”

The firm will market residential and commercial properties for a quick sale, through the use of sealed bid submissions as well as traditional “open cry” auctions on the premises.

Boston's Hancock Tower sells at nearly half price

(Reuters) - The John Hancock Tower, New England's tallest office building, sold in a foreclosure auction on Tuesday for $660 million, about half what the sellers paid three years ago, underscoring the crumbling state of the U.S. commercial real estate market.

The building, a distinctive presence on the Boston skyline, was bought by Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners, investors that had previously snapped up distressed loans on the property.

The building, designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei and officially named Hancock Place, went into foreclosure in January after its owner, Broadway Partners, defaulted on the mezzanine loans it used to finance the $1.3 billion sale in late 2006.

"This is exactly what is happening with many other buildings across the country," Chris Stanley, an analyst at real estate research firm Reis Inc in New York. "Now that things have started to deteriorate, they will deteriorate at a much faster rate because of all the leverage in the system."