Griggs Named NBS Financial's 2012 Finance Officer of the Year

Congratulations to Ken Griggs, who was honored as NBS Financial's Finance Officer of the Year for 2012 at the company's annual Awards Banquet Jan. 26.

Griggs closed an amazing 18 deals valued at $127 million last year. His largest transaction was arranging $26.5 million for the Remington Apartments in Austin, Texas.

Griggs has been in the real estate investment industry since 1984. Since joining NBS in 1993, he  has originated over $1 billion in finance transactions throughout the Northwest. The completed transactions encompass a variety of property types including industrial, office, retail, multifamily, senior housing, and mobile home parks. He became President of NBS Financial in 2011, and serves on the Management Team for Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies. He is also active in many industry and civic organizations.

NBS Financial's Hering, Jr. Arranges $25.5M for Sacramento-Area Apartments

NBS Financial Services Principal, Director of Portland Production Blake Hering, Jr. has arranged $25.5 million in acquisition financing for the Pinnacle at Galleria Apartments, a 236-unit apartment community in Roseville, California. Financing was provided by Freddie Mac through one of NBS Financial's joint venture relationships.

Buyer Oregon Pacific Investment & Development Company (OPID) paid about $166,000 per unit for the high-quality complex, and received several years of interest-only payments and a very attractive rate, Hering, Jr. said. Built in 2001, the Pinnacle is located in an appealing area outside of Sacramento, across from The Galleria, the region's premier mall, and next to The Fountains, an upscale lifestyle center.

The purchase of the Pinnacle at Galleria Apartments was the second part of a 1031 exchange, which exempts a transaction from capital gains taxes. OPID, a longtime client of Hering, Jr.'s, sold Parkside Center, a downtown Portland office building, in September. NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson President Chris Johnson and Vice President MaryKay West represented OPID in the Parkside sale.

"This transaction is a great example of the array of commercial real estate services, including financing, brokerage and property management, provided by the Norris, Beggs & Simpson family of companies," Hering, Jr. said.

NBS Financial Secures $7.5M for West Seattle's Soundview Apartments

NBS Financial Services Principal Mike Wood and Associate Finance Officer Andrew Patterson have secured $7.5 million for the Soundview Apartments, an 85-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail in West Seattle.

The Soundview Apartments were built in 2001 and have a strong operating history; now fully leased, they have been more than 97 percent occupied for the past five years, Wood said. They are on California Avenue SW just a few blocks from the West Seattle Junction, the area's main shopping and dining hub.

The property's operating strength and excellent location made it attractive to life insurance company lenders, who make up the majority of NBS Financial's correspondent relationships.

"Life insurance companies will do forward rate locks, which many other types of lenders don't do, and our lender was able to lock in a very attractive rate for the borrower five months in advance of funding," Wood said.

The loan has a 7-year term with 30-year amortization.

NBS Financial's Harding Arranges $7.5M for Portland Owner-Occupied Industrial Building

NBS Financial Services Senior Vice President Todd Harding has arranged $7.5 million for the Morgan Distributing, Inc. Building, a 104,800 sf owner-occupied industrial building in Northeast Portland.

The building was constructed in 2010 at 18300 NE Portal Way to replace Morgan's previous facility in Oregon City, Harding said, and is very modern with a 32-foot clear height. The fixed-rate, fully-amortizing, 17-year non-recourse loan was provided by State Farm.

NBS Financial has an exclusive relationship with State Farm, and has closed over $130 million in loans with the life insurance company in the past five years.

Morgan Distributing is a 53-year old local, family-owned company. It has long been the Portland area's distributor of Anheuser Busch products, as well as many Oregon craft breweries and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage brands.

NBS Financial Arranges $26.5M in Acquisition Financing for 344-Unit Austin Apartments

NBS Financial Services President Ken Griggs and Finance Officer Paddy Ryan have arranged $26.5 million in acquisition financing for the Remington Apartments, a 344-unit apartment community in Austin, Texas.

NBS Financial represented the buyer, Walter C. Bowen and BPM Real Estate Group LLC, a Portland-based owner and manager of apartments and assisted living. Funding was provided by Fannie Mae through a correspondent relationship of NBS Financial's.

The loan was fully leveraged with a 10-year term and 30-year amortization. The buyer had a tight acquisition timeline, and the loan closed in 48 days.

Remington Apartments is a Class A, garden-style apartment complex, built in 2007.

Seattle Commercial Real Estate Market Third Quarter Update

Seattle has the seventh-best commercial real estate market in the country, according to a recent report from the Urban Land Institute, and recently released Third Quarter reports were positive.

Amazon’s growth continues to garner national headlines for Seattle’s office market. After already leasing a considerable amount of space in 2012 and announcing the development of a million new sf of office space in three buildings downtown, Amazon also said it will buy its 1.8 million sf South Lake Union campus from Vulcan Real Estate for $1.16 billion. While Amazon has been responsible for much growth in the office market, CoStar, a source of commercial real estate information, reports that the area’s overall office vacancy was flat during Third Quarter at 10.8%.

The apartment market remains another bright spot, but vacancy was fairly flat at just under 5% in Third Quarter, according to Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors. Rents have been rising moderately in recent months, and Dupre + Scott reports that managers plan to raise rents during the winter. Construction has been ramping up in recent years, so we’ll start to see more apartment deliveries in 2013.

The industrial market was fairly flat during Third Quarter, CoStar reported, with vacancy at 6.2% and a little more than 100,000 sf absorbed. First and Second Quarters were both very strong quarters for the industrial market, so year-to-date absorption stands at more than 3 million sf.

The retail market showed improvement during Third Quarter, with vacancy falling three percentage points to 5.5%, according to CoStar, and nearly half a million sf of absorption. Rental rates were down slightly, but are still up from a year ago.

Seattle’s commercial real estate market is expected to continue to improve in 2013. Contact your NBS Financial Services Finance Officer to discuss your next financing transaction.