Events...

• Capsulated, the message I got was #1 confirmation that the DC Metro market is quantifiably better off than the rest of the country and therefore likely to recover more quickly. But #2 there have been very few large transactions of commercial property in the DC Metro area so far 2009. Loan to value requirements in underwriting have gone from 80% loans available to 50% requirements.
  
• I've always known that in a bad market class A office buildngs suck the life out of class B buildings since tenants can move up for little or no increase in rent as the class A managers lower rents or make concessions. A similar situation seems to pertain with class A and class B apartment buildings. However, with hotel properties the opposite seems to happen. Travelers seek out the lower room rates of budget or off-brand hotels in a bad economy. I guess this happens because so much of the operating expense of hotels is not occupancy sensitive and managers of premier properties can't lower room rates enough to be competitive with properties that have lower expenses because they have fewer amenities.