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Daily News for Commercial Real Estate & Business – July 19, 2011

Here are the news articles you might find interesting today for commercial real estate and business:

To view the RealFacts 2Q11 Executive Summary Report on Apartments, click here.

Market Trend: Phoenix’s Office Vacancy Decreases to 21.2% The Phoenix Office market ended the second quarter 2011 with a vacancy rate of 21.2%. The vacancy rate was down over the previous quarter, with net absorption totaling positive 320,438 square feet in the second quarter. Vacant sublease space decreased in the quarter, ending the quarter at 1,069,529 square feet. View article…

Pathfinder Partners buys Dorsey Place for $11.3M Pathfinder Partners has purchased Dorsey Place, a failed condo project in Tempe, for $11.3 million with plans to turn it into a rental community. Located at 1275 University Ave. near Arizona State University, the project originally was built for $23 million in 2007, according to the San Diego-based Pathfinder Partners. Six condos were purchased before the real estate collapse at prices in excess of $400,000. View article…

Core Campus Communities buys prime real estate near ASU A prime piece of real estate located immediately southwest of Sun Devil Stadium has been sold to Core Campus Communities, a Chicago-based firm, for $4.75 million. The company will build a mixed-use retail and student housing project. The land once had been slated for a glitzy high-rise condo project dubbed Lumina Tempe. View article…

Wrigleyville West expected to take shape in fall The city of Mesa is acknowledging the Wrigleyville West entertainment district planned at the new Chicago Cubs facility could begin simply as a pathway with a lawn in its first year. The city is pushing for a lively mix of shops and restaurants but knows the sluggish economy could limit what debuts along with a new spring training complex. View article…

Nursing lab approved for Paradise Valley Community College Construction of a 4,000-square-foot nursing lab is scheduled to begin in early 2012 at Paradise Valley Community College, 18401 N. 32nd St. The Maricopa County Community Colleges Governing Board approved the plan for the $1.24 million lab in June. The lab will include space for a skills practice lab and exam room, two simulation suites, a control center, a debriefing room, restrooms and building support. View article…

Cardinal Health opens $11M imaging research center in Phoenix Cardinal Health Inc. opened an $11 million molecular imaging center on Monday, bringing 20 new jobs to Phoenix. The 25,000-square-foot facility at 4505 E. Broadway Road will help pharmaceutical companies and academic research institutions accelerate the development, testing and commercialization of new radiopharmaceuticals and positron emission tomography imaging agents used in PET scans. View article…

Deer Valley Golf Course course closure planned The Recreation Centers of Sun City West will close Deer Valley Golf Course, 13975 W. Deer Valley Drive in Sun City West, Thursday through Aug. 15 to facilitate the course’s transition from rye to Bermuda grass. View article…

CMBS Data Provider Trepp Broadens Its Scope With Acquisition of REITCafe Trepp LLC, the New York-based real estate analytics firm that closely tracks the performance of the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market, has acquired REITCafe. The online information service focuses on real estate investment trusts and distributes its content through its website www.reitcafe.com – a weekly online newsletter – as well as Twitter and LinkedIn. View article…

HOUSING:
Homeownership Rate May Decline Further
In recent years, the nation’s homeownership rate has dropped closer to historical averages, after hitting an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004. The rate may fall even further, according to a paper by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). View article…

Housing Market Expected to Follow Overall Economy Home sales are expected to outpace 2010 sales by 3 to 5 percent for the remainder of 2011 as the housing market follows the overall economy, according to Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac’s U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July, released Monday, suggests the housing market is not likely to see a full “double dip.” View article…

Arizona ranks 19th for mortgage costs Arizona ranks 19th on a list of mortgage costs among U.S. states, according to an annual study by Bankrate Inc. Mortgage costs in Arizona, such as origination and title fees, were slightly higher than average at $4,150. The average in the U.S. was $4,070. View article…

Feel free to contact me regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities or your property.