Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Real Estate Law Blog

Partial interest real estate deals are apparently on the rise in Manhattan, accounting for 63 percent of the $15.7 billion spent in Manhattan office transactions in 2011. That number is up from 19 percent back 2007, when the market was at its height.

According to recent data released by RealtyTrac last week, foreclosure filings in April were higher than they were last year in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, the number of foreclosures reportedly fell around 11 percent from March, but was 24 percent higher than they were last April. The increase in foreclosures in Philadelphia has reportedly been going on for the last six months. Statewide, filings were about 4 percent higher than March and nearly 17 percent higher than last year.

In the third quarter of 2011, the number of U.S. commercial property loans was the highest it has been since 2007, according to a recent report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. At the end of 2007, the Mortgage Bankers Association rating system ranked the number of commercial property loans at 275, and that number reached 138 by the end of September.

A recent article in the New York Times pointed out that, in the midst of a volatile commercial mortgage market, life insurance companies are increasingly becoming lenders in the area. Data from the second quarter of 2011 shows that the life insurance industry underwrote a total of $15.7 billion new commercial mortgages.

In an era when many shopping malls are struggling, obtaining a stake in a successful shopping mall can be a difficult task. After all, there are not many successful shopping malls for sale, and the lucrative malls that are for sale are often very expensive acquisitions.

There are many discouraging stories about the economy these days, especially involving real estate development and construction markets. Development for both housing and shopping centers has been declining for the past several years. However, some developers believe that they have found ways to capitalize on the commercial real estate trends in Philadelphia. Many developers are moving their focus from new development to existing properties.

Zoning, or how a property is zoned, can have a tremendous impact on the market value of a piece of Pennsylvania real estate. Broadly, zoning is the way governments regulate the way land can be used. Common zoning classifications of land include commercial, residential and industrial.

When investing or developing commercial real estate in Philadelphia for the first time, many people are surprised at the complexity of the legal issues that are involved. From laws governing how transfers need to be recorded to adverse possession to title disputes, real estate law can be quite intricate.