Commercial Property News - October 2008 - (Page 28)

INDUSTRY PULSE s TITLE INSURANCE writing counsel & manager of national title services for Stewart Title Guaranty Co.’s New York Citymetropolitan-area office. Buyers, believing that property prices will continue to fall, are waiting until the market hits what they perceive to be the bottom before they begin to open their wallets, he said. One spur to increased deal making could be the presidential election, should owners decide they should sell due to a resultant change in capital gains tax rates, he noted. Garner has observed a sense of realism in the commercial real estate sector, as most firms are downsizing as necessary to ride out the storm. And Cutler said that although transaction volume is down in the Philadelphia area,he still sees a high level of engagement on the part of the major players in the area. “I’m not hearing people say,‘We’re going to take the rest of the year off,’” he said. “I’m seeing people staying active and ready to engage. People are talking about deals and what they are seeing in the market.” Tom Konkel, senior vice president & national sales director of title services for Stewart, agreed:“People are calling us for preliminary reports on properties.” He cited a significant recent uptick in those requests. Need for Reality Check Potential sellers,though,may be clinging to an unrealistic picture of today’s market, as many are continuing to demand high asking prices for their properties. “There definitely are some unrealistic expectations,” Hawley report- During Trying Times, Take Offensive Tack Facing a drastic falloff in transaction volume, some title insurers have had to adopt a more proactive stance in order to win business. Many have assumed what Tom Garner, vice president & regional manager for Fidelity National Title Group, calls a “broker mentality.” Title insurers are working across the spectrum of commercial real estate professionals, whether it be with real estate lawyers or brokers, to help facilitate deals. Those in the support industries have had to sharpen their focus on capturing what business is out there, he said. “Many are tuning up their business-development and marketing skills,” Garner said. A more cooperative approach also forms a more apparent way to jump-start transaction volume. “People are working together and working smarter,” he noted. “There is a sense of camaraderie.” Adam Cutler, vice president & special counsel for First American Title Insurance Co.’s Philadelphia office, has also made facilitating transactions a key focus. Buyers and sellers are frequently as much as 10 to 20 percent off in price expectations on a property, so help is sometimes necessary. “I may have an existing customer or a prospective customer who needs a $20 million mezzanine loan,” he said, noting that he may be able to use his industry contacts to try to make that happen. “That could be the last piece of financing needed, and I will try to help put that together,” he said. 28 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY NEWS • October 2008 • www.cpnonline.com http://www.ctic.com http://www.ctic.com http://www.cpnonline.com

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CPN - October 2008 Contents Starting Line Industrial Data/Analysis Conferences Chicago Market Profile Finance International Title Insurance Brokerage Corporate Report

Commercial Property News - October 2008

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