The sale of the Helmsley Carlton House to a venture of private-equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Extell Development Co. also marks the beginning of the final act of the Helmsley saga in which the properties accumulated over four decades by the late Harry Helmsley are going to be sold.

When Mrs. Helmsley, who inherited the empire, died in August 2007, her estate began moving to sell properties. But those plans were shelved when the credit crunch and recession unhinged the commercial real-estate market.

While that sector is still suffering from the downturn, a growing volume of distressed property and trophy assets are attracting attention from investors who have accumulated large war chests in hopes of taking advantage of market woes. The buyer of the Carlton House, Angelo Gordon, raised a total of $2 billion in 2006 and 2007 and had spent only 25% of that capital until mid-2009, when the firm began buying again, according to an investor in its funds. Located in the heart of the tony Madison Avenue shopping district, the retail space in Carlton House is among the most valuable in the world. [ read more ]

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

NEW YORK CITY-The US lodging industry continues to be buffeted by headwinds from a listless domestic economy. While the economy has exhibited signs of stabilizing, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recently turning positive and dramatic job losses abating, American corporations and consumers continue to spend less and save more. In addition, high oil costs and renewed terrorism threats continue to impede a full recovery. As borrowers with maturing mortgage instruments face a very challenging refinancing environment during the next 12 to 36 months, defaults on hotel real estate debt are anticipated to rise dramatically. Recent extensions of delinquent hotel debt obligations are leading to widespread loan modifications, foreclosures, and liquidations of all types of lodging facilities across the nation. Furthermore, lenders are becoming more inclined to dispose of their mortgagee positions rather than bear the risks associated with the capital and management intensiveness of hotel assets. [ more ]

Interesting hoopla surrounding the speculation of what Dubai World will sell if they are unable to service their massive debt load.....[ more ]