Chicago Hotel Market Remains Healthy
Eight downtown Chicago hotels changed hands for a combined $880.4 million, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle. Chicago’s hotel investment market is gaining momentum as room rates and occupancies hit levels not seen since before 9/11. Last year was a record breaking year for the Chicago hotel market with 13 properties trading hands for $1.4 billion.

Property Taxes on the Rise in Florida
Commercial property taxes in Miami are on the rise. Area owners are complaining about diminishing profit margins and lackluster short-term opportunity. The steep incline in taxes is due to refocused assessments. Rising insurance fees are also adding to the real estate dilemma. Windstorm coverage alone has risen nearly 30% to about 90 cents/sf. The increases have caused many single-building owners to go without insurance altogether or sell their property to institutional investors, which have the ability to negotiate bulk rates.

Boston Science Buildings Attract Investors
Life-science buildings, which include highly specialized laboratories, have emerged as a hot property sector in Boston. In separate recent deals, Alexandria Real Estate Equities $514/sf for Technology Center@MIT, and $553/sf, for 300 Third St. Cushman & Wakefield says it expects an under-construction Center for Life Science Boston project it is marketing to sell for about $1,000/sf. While the Boston-area biotechnology businesses that occupy life science buildings were largely not credit worthy a few years ago, many have become more financially viable by forming alliances with pharmaceutical companies.

Central Ohio Industrial Market Remains Stable
The vacancy rate for industrial space in Central Ohio was unchanged in the second quarter from the same period last year, according to a survey by Grubb & Ellis Adena Realty Advisors. In the second quarter of 2006, Central Ohio posted a vacancy rate of 11%, up slightly from 10.7% in the first quarter. The region has roughly 22 million square feet of industrial space, which leases for $2.72/sf to $5.61/sf.

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