NBS Companies and Stratton Launch NBS Multifamily Management

Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies, NBS Financial's parent company, and Susan Bowlsby Stratton, a successful apartment management executive, have joined forces to found NBS Multifamily Management, a company dedicated to managing apartment communities of 100 units or more around the West Coast.

Why start a new venture in this economic climate? NBS Companies President J. Clayton Hering said he expects that as the job market grows, the demand for housing will increase, with a short supply of single-family and multifamily housing due to the significant reduction in construction over the last several years. With single-family lenders requiring greater equity and better credit, fewer people will be able to buy houses and will thus reenter the apartment market.

“With increased market activity the necessity for professional, value-added multifamily management will rise, and NBS Multifamily Management will provide a quality of service to enable multifamily owners to be competitive,” Hering said.

NBS Multifamily Management expects to hire more than 100 people in the area to run and maintain the apartment communities it will manage.

Stratton, who has more than 20 years of multifamily management experience up and down the West Coast, will serve as President of the new company. Stratton spent 13 years at Harsch Investment Properties, most recently as Senior Vice President of Operations, where she was responsible for the company’s multifamily division and managed up to 5,500 units. A native Oregonian, she will receive her Executive MBA from Pepperdine University in March.

“I am so pleased to be joining NBS,” Stratton said. “My years of experience combined with NBS’ very successful property management track record will allow us to shine in the multifamily management industry.”

Cassandra Haavisto will serve as NBS Multifamily Management’s Regional Manager for the Puget Sound area. Haavisto’s industry experience spans 20 years; she has managed more than 13,000 units during her career and worked for major companies like Harsch Investment Properties and Trammell Crow.

NBS Financial's Mike Wood Featured in Dupre + Scott Apartment Article

Mike Wood of our Seattle office was featured in this article from Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors, a company that provides research and information about the Puget Sound-area rental and investment markets. The article gives experts' opinions on an apartment investor's question about whether their lender will have a problem with the fact that their property's DSCRs and LTVs are no longer what they were when they took out the loans pre-recession. In order to access the full article, you have to sign up for a free account.

Hering, Jr. Arranges $14M for Portland Office Building

NBS Financial's Blake Hering, Jr. recently arranged $14 million for the CH2M Hill Center, a 221,037 sf office building in downtown Portland.

CH2M Hill Center's main tenant is CH2M Hill, an environmental and engineering consulting services company, which occupies more than 60 percent of the building. While it can be challenging to gain financing for a largely single-tenant building, the strength of the tenant and the building's occupancy were compelling. Other tenants include Stewart Title, Lifewise Healthplan of Oregon, and Ucentris.

Griggs Named NBS Financial's 2009 Finance Officer of the Year

2009 marks the tenth year Ken Griggs has been named Finance Officer of the Year, the top producer for NBS Financial. Griggs, a partner in the company, participated in 14 loans totaling $60 million in 2009; the projects spanned five states. His largest transaction was securing $15.1 million in refinancing for Portland’s Wieden+Kennedy Building. He is active in a number of industry groups, including the State Farm and Woodmen of the World Advisory Councils, and received the 2009 Oregon Mortgage Lenders Association Distinguished Service Award.

Portland Industrial, Retail Vacancy Decreased During Fourth Quarter, Reports Show

Norris, Beggs & Simpson has released its Fourth Quarter 2009 quarterly reports for office, industrial, retail and multifamily commercial real estate, as well as its economic report.

Office vacancy increased slightly to 11.81% in Central City and 20.95% in the suburban areas. The Northwest submarket saw some activity – the 87,976 sf redevelopment Soho 321 delivered, and a few leases were signed at Machine Works. Vancouver vacancy was flat at 18.56%, with positive absorption of 22,488 sf.

Industrial vacancy decreased to 14.85%, with 55,308 sf absorbed. This was the first positive absorption since Third Quarter of 2008. A number of sizeable leases were signed in North/Northeast, including MOR Furniture for Less leasing 156,000 sf at Kelley Point Distribution, and Rose City Printing & Packaging leasing 62,000 sf at Sandy Boulevard Business Park. Flex vacancy rose slightly to 16.16%.

The retail market saw some improvement this quarter as vacancy decreased more than half a percentage point to 7.4%, with 349,919 sf absorbed. The 140,000 sf Cascade Station Target delivered, and better than expected holiday retail sales results were encouraging.

Multifamily vacancy rose nearly a percentage point to 5.43%; a seasonal uptick in vacancy is to be expected, but this rise was more significant. Rents were largely flat. While multifamily permitting and construction is down, opportunities exist for developers to acquire buildable land at substantially lower prices. Yet barriers to development include lack of capital and uncertainty of future rental rates.

Click here for full reports.

NBS Financial's Wood Arranges $18.9M for Amberglen Office Properties

NBS Financial Services Executive Vice President Mike Wood, of the company’s Seattle office, has arranged $18.9 million in financing for the acquisition of a seven-building portfolio at Amberglen Business Center in Beaverton, Oregon.

Wood represented the lender, Symetra Life Insurance Company. Rob Meister, a Vice President at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, represented the buyer.

Arranging loans for multi-asset portfolios is especially challenging, Wood said. Overall, the Amberglen portfolio comprised seven buildings that measure more than 350,000 sf. The loan had a very short closing period, from signed application on Nov. 4 to funding Dec. 11. It had other unique aspects, including a 70% loan to purchase price, and some flexibility with regard to prepayment penalty and release provisions.

“While the short closing timeline presented a challenge, Symetra and NBS were able to meet the borrower’s funding date, due in part to having a very motivated borrower as well as a motivated lender,” Wood said. “The lender was also able to see the inherent value in the portfolio, which got them comfortable with lending at that 70% loan to purchase price, whereas most loans these days are at a 65% LTV or below.”