Saudis Encouraged to Buy US Commercial Real Estate

I stumbled across this story online in the most random of places -

It seems encouraging to me that US residents seem to think that real estate values are in trouble, but internationally people are being encouraged to to invest in our Commercial Real Estate?

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – May 26, 2009 – The benefits of investing in the U.S. real estate sector were in focus at a seminar held in Jeddah on Tuesday night. “The U.S. real estate sector has become an attractive buy for investors in Saudi Arabia and Gulf, in the context of the recent developments brought about by global economic downturn and weak U.S. currency,” Robert Koch, founder and chairman of the Florida-based Fugleberg Koch Inc., told a meeting attended by a large number of investors at Laylaty hall. Click HERE for More...

Some Positive News Concerning Commercial Real Esate

WASHINGTON – May 19, 2009 – Commercial real estate is still in the early stages of a downturn, but the picture could brighten by the middle of 2010, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told attendees of the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings Thursday.

Credit markets seized up almost entirely in the days after Lehmann Brothers collapsed in September 2008 as lenders shifted to survival mode, Yun said. The economy has since shown signs of stabilizing, but credit availability for commercial real estate remains frozen.

The volume of commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) issuances so far in 2009 is essentially zero, Yun said, compared to just two years ago when $230 billion in loans were securitized. Continue Reading Here