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Canadian pension funds have been among the world’s most prolific buyers of real estate, starting a revolution that inspired retirement plans around the globe to emulate them. Now the largest of them is taking steps to limit its exposure to the most-beleaguered property type — office buildings. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has done three deals at discounted prices, selling its interests in a pair of Vancouver towers, a business park in Southern California and a redevelopment project in Manhattan, with the New York stake offloaded for the eyebrow-raising price of just $1. The worry is those deals may set...

At the heart of the decline in family wealth is China's real estate meltdown, which is having a pervasive effect on a society where 70% of family assets are tied up in property. Towards the end of last year, 34 of the top 50 Chinese property developers were in default.. China has rolled out new rules meant to expand access to commercial bank loans for property developers as Beijing doubles down on its effort to end a prolonged crisis in the real estate industry. In an attempt to stabilize financial markets and boost the economy, the Chinese government has cut...

On February 16, 2024, a judge in New York State imposed fines totaling just over $360 million on former president Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, and several related Trump companies and trusts in the civil case brought by the New York attorney general. President Trump’s sons Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump were fined just over $4 million each. The court imposed additional sanctions, including injunctions against former president Trump; Donald Trump, Jr.; and Eric Trump from serving as officers or directors in New York corporations for specified numbers of years, among other sanctions.The media reporting on the court’s...

The last time that commercial foreclosures were this high was in May 2015, per agency data.. Commercial real estate foreclosures in the U.S. increased 97% in January 2024 compared to last year, reaching a high that has not been seen in nearly a decade, according to new data. With 635 commercial foreclosures in January 2024, foreclosures increased 17% from December 2023 and 97% from January 2023, according to a report last week from property data analyst ATTOM. The last time that commercial foreclosures were this high was in May 2015, per agency data. "This uptick signifies not just a return...

Simply unaffordable should be the campaign song for the upcoming election. Housing under Bidenomics is simply unaffordable for many Americans since home price growth has outstripped average income for most Americans. ATTOM Data Services examined the median home prices last year for roughly 575 U.S. counties and found that home prices in 99% of those areas are beyond the reach of the average income earner. And to add insult to injury, 30-year fixed mortgage rates just rose back above 7%. Although the Attom data is from Q3 2023, not much has changed. Under Biden (and his HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge,...

Prominent investors have signaled their intent to halt their business in New York following the $355 million verdict in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud case. Real estate mogul Grant Cardone announced on Tuesday that his firm Cardone Capital would no longer underwrite New York real estate, one day after Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary vowed to no longer invest in the state as a result of the verdict. “Immediately discontinue ALL underwriting on New York City real estate,” Cardone ordered his firm in a post on X. “The risk outweigh the opportunities at this time. Recent political decisions will...

Let me pour you some piping hot tea to start your day. The most fascinating little news report has just resurfaced after going unnoticed lo these 22 years. It seems that a certain New Yorker named Arthur Engoron, then a little remarked upon 50-something law secretary, may have tanked an $11million lawsuit with his unethical dating habits — ultimately forcing the judge who had been presiding in the case to recuse himself. An ugly divorce boiled over into a defamation suit in Manhattan Supreme Court, with Justice Martin Schoenfeld presiding. But in shades of a Fani Willis-Nathan Wade-style entanglement, Schoenfeld's...

Last week, a New York court issued judgments against Donald J. Trump and his sons, asserting violation of state anti-fraud law in connection with several real estate mortgage loans. The judgments, which aggregate $355 million and may escalate to $454 Million or more, shocked Republicans and Democrats alike and stunned the national real estate community. It was immediately apparent that something was wildly wrong, since the Trump transactions were nothing unusual or remarkable for the real estate industry. Essential Requirements for Claims of FraudThe case primarily involves applications for mortgage loans submitted by Trump entities to major federal banks. The...

While many on the left are cheering the recent civil fraud ruling ordering Trump to pay $355 million, famed entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary has been teaching a MasterClass on why it is unjust and could destroy New York. One person who defended the verdict is CNN’s Laura Coates, who clearly doesn't understand the implications or perhaps even the details of the case. "Wouldn't there be many companies who would not want to do business or loan money to people like yourself for investors if they know that they can get away with fraud and there's no recourse...

The following has nothing to do with whether I support or oppose Donald Trump. It is simply one approach to problem-solving. In a recent civil fraud case in New York, Trump was found liable for deceiving banks about his net worth. Justice Arthur F. Engoron’s ruling imposes a penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest, potentially depleting Trump’s available cash. The judge’s decision also bars Trump from serving in top roles at any New York company for three years, including portions of his own Trump Organization. The judgment also imposed a two-year ban on the former president’s adult sons, along...

Former President Donald Trump is rich, but given his reluctance to disclose his tax returns and other pertinent financial information through the years, finding the total of Trump’s assets has been a tall task. But it’s one that this year, Forbes undertook, and through its research, the publication found that the 45th president has property, cash and other assets worth $2.5 billion, cementing his place on the Forbes list of billionaires. His properties represent a big chunk of that total worth. Trump got his start working for his father, Fred, a developer in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn...

The $350 million decision against former President Donald Trump in a high-profile civil fraud case has sparked a lot of reaction. One of the people who found the decision outrageous was Shark Tank's "Mr Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary. Previously O'Leary had laid out how ridiculous the case was.Kevin O'Leary, "Mr. Wonderful" went on CNN and absolutely DESTROYS Letitia James' case against Trump:“Every single real estate developer everywhere on Earth does this…Who lost money? Nobody! If you’re gonna sue this case and win, you gotta sue every real estate developer… pic.twitter.com/OM8Gq7s4iG— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 12, 2024"Every single developer everywhere on earth...

Real estate investor Grant Cardone posted on X that his company, CardoneCapital, had initiated research into potential investments in New York. However, former President Trump was ordered to pay $355 million following a civil fraud ruling. CardoneCapital just started to research real estate investments in New York believing it was time to get into the market.After the over reach by the judge in the Trump case & penalties imposed of $355M I told them team do NOT waste time in New York.We will 2X our efforts in: Florida Arizona Texas Tennessee pic.twitter.com/zhpA0Su09K— Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) February 19, 2024Cardone said his...

Following the monstrous $355 million fine leveled against President Trump and his associates for a victimless claim of inflating assets in New York City, New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, assured concerned investors that they have "nothing to worry about."According to The Hill: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) addressed New York business owners in a new interview and told them there was “nothing to worry about” after former President Trump was hit with a $355 million fine and a ban on conducting business in New York for three years.Hochul joined John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM,...

One of ABC’s legendary Shark Tank investors dismantled the logic behind a radical judge’s asinine ruling against former President Donald Trump. Kevin O’Leary — a.k.a “Mr. Wonderful” — called the ruling by leftist New York State Supreme Court judge Arthur Engoron an egregious “assault on the 11th sector of the S&P 500, which is real estate” during the Feb. 18 edition of Fox & Friends Weekend. Engoron fined Trump $355 million for allegedly inflating his assets and banned him from being an officer in any New York-based corporation for three years, despite “nobody” losing money, as The Wall Street Journal...

@LeadingReport BREAKING: Nebraska senator has introduced a bill that could make Nebraska the first in the country to forbid out-of-state hedge funds and other corporate entities from buying up single-family properties.

Twenty percent ($929 billion) of the $4.7 trillion of outstanding commercial mortgages held by lenders and investors will mature in 2024, a 28 percent increase from the $729 billion that matured in 2023 ... “The lack of transactions and other activity last year, coupled with built-in extension options and lender and servicer flexibility, has meant that many loans that were set to mature in 2023 have been extended or otherwise modified and will now mature in 2024, 2026, 2028 or in other coming years,” said Jamie Woodwell, Head of Commercial Real Estate Research at MBA. “These extensions and modifications have...

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James may have scored a major hit on former President Donald J. Trump with the unprecedented $354 million penalty but they may have inadvertently inflicted grave damage on the entire real estate industry. On Friday, leftists were jubilant when Engoron announced the crushing financial blow on Trump, a ruling that in the opinion of one notable business expert, Kevin O’Leary of the popular television show “Shark Tank” is “un-American” and if not reversed on appeal, could potentially lead to other real estate developers facing similar charges from political...

The news is breaking today that the person who walked into Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday afternoon and opened fire was transgender. I have been waiting for more information about this shooting, as a Houstonian, and as a media observer. When the shooting was breaking news, one aspect of the story didn't sit well with me. It seemed as though local law enforcement and the media were not transparent with all they knew. It seemed like they were holding back. Frankly, I was waiting for the shooter to be identified as an illegal alien. It turns out it is...

Last week, a court in Hong Kong ordered that Evergrande, China’s massive property developer, must be liquidated. Real estate accounts for about one-quarter of China’s GDP, and Evergrande isn’t the only troubled part of the Chinese real estate sector. While I’d always like to see China constrained, not only is a collapsing China dangerous, but real estate collapse also reminds us of what’s happening domestically. Business Insider reported on Evergrande’s liquidation, which has long been expected and which will be carried out in an orderly fashion. The assets are valued at $245 billion (which I suspect is inflated), while the...