News Archive 2009
Building Productive Relationships Takes Time
Posted November 12, 2009
Only a few months had passed, when MIT/CRE Chairman Tony Ciochetti returned to the Middle East last spring. But a lot had changed. When the global economy is convulsing, the world of real estate can change practically overnight, even in nations with vast petroleum reserves. Read Article.
Professor Geltner on Fox News: "A Dam Is about to Break"
Posted August 10, 2009
Interviewed on Fox Business News, MIT/CRE professor David Geltner said that the market is "very near a point where a dam is about to break" in terms of a turnaround for commercial real estate. "The major factor is prices," he said. "They've fallen to such a level that they're beginning to look very attractive." Has the market reached bottom? "The worst is definitely behind us in terms of price drop," he said. "What's not behind us is in terms of volume, which is still very low. But volume is triggered by prices, so volume will start turning up." Watch interview.
Students "Autopsy" the Commercial Market
Posted July 30, 2009
Boston's John Hancock tower is the tallest building in New England — one of the region's crown jewels — but this past January, the Hancock defaulted on its debt obligations. MIT/CRE grad students Mike Lam, Bryan Lee, and Mike Tilford explore the Hancock crisis in the May 2009 issue of Urban Land magazine, using the default as an object lesson to better understand the current commercial real estate woes. Read article.
Center Index Cited by CNBC
Posted July 3, 2009
The latest data from the Moody's/REAL Commercial Property Price Index (CPPI) is turning heads at major media outlets. CNBC is just the first to cite the index's April data, which shows the largest single drop in commercial property prices since the market peak in October '07. The previous record drop of 5.5% was in January of this year, suggesting that the decline is accelerating, and causing some to wonder if the market is finally bottoming out. Methodology for the Moody's/REAL CPPI was developed by MIT/CRE.
Chinese New Year: Ciochetti Kicks It Off by Exploring Real Estate in the World's Most Populous Nation
Posted July 3, 2009
"You can't be global without being global," says MIT Center for Real Estate Chairman Tony Ciochetti. It's the mantra of a tireless advocate. Ciochetti, who arrived at MIT in 2004, has devoted much of the past five years to a crusade aimed at building bridges between the Center and the constantly evolving world of the global real estate profession. Read article.
WSJ Cites MIT/CRE Research on Renting vs. Owning
May 29, 2009
In a column entitled "Why Your Mortgage Won't Make You Rich," Wall Street Journal writer Brett Arends refers to Center research to say that "home owners may end up earning less over the course of their lives than renters do." The work he cites is by MIT/CRE Professor Lynn Fisher, whose eye-opening research suggests that renting a home can sometimes be superior to owning it. Read WSJ column and learn more about Professor Fisher's research.
MIT/CRE's "Mainer" Study Shows Need, Prompts Legislative Action
March 25, 2009
News outlets from USA Today to the AARP Bulletin, Exception Magazine, and Maine Public Broadcasting Network are citing a new study by the MIT/CRE's Housing Affordability Initiative (HAI). Developed in partnership with the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, the study reveals that more than 86,000 low-income families in Maine are spending more than 50% of their income on housing costs. Home prices and rents have risen faster than personal income since 2000, according to the study, creating a housing problem made worse by Maine's relatively high fuel costs and a loss of available rental units. HAI results are playing a key role in shaping legislation that seeks to promote affordable housing in Maine. Learn more about the Center's Housing Affordability Initiative.
Professor Geltner Appears on Bloomberg Television
March 9, 2009
David Geltner, MIT/CRE Director of Research, appeared on Bloomberg Television to offer a quantitative look at the downward pressure that residential markets are exerting on commercial properties. Citing two indexes developed by MIT/CRE as leading market indicators — the Moodys/REAL Commercial Property Price Index and the Transactions-Based Index — Geltner said that commerical property prices probably haven't bottomed out yet. See interivew (3:21).
National Media Quotes Geltner and Wheaton
March 12, 2009
Quoted in two different media outlets, Professors David Geltner and William Wheaton considered two different aspects of the currrent economic downturn. In the Dallas Morning News, Geltner cited the Center's Transactions-Based Index (TBI) to conclude that the downturn for commercial property is "at least as severe as that of the early 1990s." Nonetheless, its decline of 22 percent from its 2007 peak "compares favorably to the stock market, which has lost more than 40 percent over the same period." (Read article.) Wheaton, quoted in American Public Media's Marketplace, notes that while the apparatus for delivering relief to mortgage-distressed homeowners is already in place, a tricky part remains. "The thing that causes me to cringe is you do have to decide who deserves it," he said. (Read transcript.)
As Commercial Prices Plummet, National Media Gets the Numbers from MIT/CRE Index
February 7, 2009
The release of the latest figures from the Center's quarterly Transactions-Based Index (TBI) shows that commericial property prices in the final quarter of 2008 fell at the fastest rate on record. National media outlets have cited the TBI to show how quickly the housing crisis has spread from real estate's housing sector to its commercial sector. See articles from Reuters, the Dallas Morning News, the Motley Fool investment network, and CNBC. See also the latest TBI press release, as well as background on the Center's TBI initiative.
