April 29 (Reuters) – A New York judge said on Monday he was
leaning toward allowing a group that wants to roll the Empire
State Building into a real estate investment trust to force any
holdouts to surrender their holdings for a fraction of their
value.

New York Supreme Court Justice O. Peter Sherwood said he
would issue his written decision regarding Malkin Holdings’ plan
for the landmark building by the end of Tuesday at the latest.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Simon Property Group Inc (SPG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the largest owner of U.S. malls, has little interest in buying department store space from retailers and leasing it back, a senior executive said on Friday, a stance that may limit options for cash-strapped J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Penney, which has 111 stores in Simon malls across the country, has been talking with its financial advisers about ways to raise capital after a botched turnaround that led to a steep sales slump. Sale-leasebacks may be one of those options, analysts have said.

NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) – Simon Property Group Inc
said a key earnings measure rose 14.4 percent in the
first quarter, helped by higher rents and sales at its malls and
outlet centers, prompting the company to raise its forecast for
the year.

Simon also ended its six-quarter streak of raising
dividends.

Funds from operations (FFO) increased to $741.9 million, or
$2.05 per share, from $648.7 million, or $1.82 per share, a year
earlier, Simon, the largest U.S. owner of malls and shopping
centers, said on Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. investors are rediscovering their appetite for foreign real estate. Attracted by potentially higher returns, they are putting more money into overseas funds that invest in offices, malls and apartment complexes than they have in six years.

Investors moved $2.6 billion into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that primarily invest in office buildings, hotels, and other commercial properties abroad during the first quarter of 2013. That is the largest inflow since 2007′s record first quarter of $5.3 billion in new investments, according to Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. investors are rediscovering their appetite for foreign real estate. Attracted by potentially higher returns, they are putting more money into overseas funds that invest in offices, malls and apartment complexes than they have in six years.

Investors moved $2.6 billion into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that primarily invest in office buildings, hotels, and other commercial properties abroad during the first quarter of 2013. That is the largest inflow since 2007′s record first quarter of $5.3 billion in new investments, according to Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Since the start of the year, U.S. investors have poured money into foreign real estate funds at the fastest rate since 2007.

About $2.6 billion has flowed into mutual funds and exchange traded funds that primarily invest in real estate abroad during the first quarter of the year, according to Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Time Warner Inc said on Thursday that it has hired Eastdil Secured LLC’s Doug Harmon to market its headquarters to determine how much the building would fetch should the company decide to sell it.

The media conglomerate’s 1.1 million square-foot headquarters is part of the larger Time Warner Center. Within the larger center, which was completed in 2004 and includes a Mandarin Oriental hotel, a shopping mall, underground parking and condominiums, Time Warner owns only its headquarters.

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) – Time Warner Inc said
on Thursday that it has hired Eastdil Secured LLC’s Doug Harmon
to market its headquarters to determine how much the building
would fetch should the company decide to sell it.

The media conglomerate’s 1.1 million square-foot
headquarters is part of the larger Time Warner Center. Within
the larger center, which was completed in 2004 and includes a
Mandarin Oriental hotel, a shopping mall, underground parking
and condominiums, Time Warner owns only its headquarters.

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) – Limited supply of new U.S.
strip malls helped offset weak demand for space in the first
quarter, easing the national vacancy rate to 10.6 percent from
10.7 percent the prior quarter, according to a report released
on Thursday.

With retail sales struggling to recover and muted demand for
space, new construction for neighborhood strip centers remained
near record low levels during the quarter, according to the
report by real estate research firm Reis Inc.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. apartment vacancy rate fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, but persistent stagnant income growth for U.S. workers has tempered the ability of landlords to raise rents, according to an industry report released on Wednesday.

The national apartment vacancy rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent in the first quarter, the lowest since the fourth quarter 2001, according to a preliminary report by real estate research firm Reis Inc. Rents, on the other hand, grew by 0.5 percent, the smallest increase since the fourth quarter of 2011.