A Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) is a recognized expert in the disciplines of commercial and investment real estate. A CCIM is an invaluable resource to the commercial real estate owner, investor, and user, and is among an elite corps of more than 9,000 professionals who hold the CCIM designation across North America and more than 30 countries. Nearly 7,000 additional professionals are pursuing the CCIM designation. Since the CCIM program was created in 1969, more than 15,000 commercial real estate professionals have earned the designation. CCIM Institute has taught more than 225,000 students since 1969.
Recognized for its preeminence within the industry, the CCIM curriculum represents the core knowledge expected of commercial investment practitioners, regardless of the diversity of specializations within the industry. The CCIM curriculum consists of four core courses that incorporate the essential CCIM skill sets: financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, and investment analysis for commercial investment real estate. Additional curriculum requirements may be completed through CCIM elective courses, transfer credit for graduate education or professional recognition, and qualifying non-CCIM education. Following the course work, candidates must submit a portfolio of closed transactions and/or consultations showing a depth of experience in the commercial investment field. After fulfilling these requirements, candidates must successfully complete a comprehensive examination to earn the CCIM designation. This designation process ensures that CCIMs are proficient not only in theory, but also in practice.
With such a wide range of subjects to be mastered and in a dynamic business such as real estate, the educational process doesn't end once the designation is earned; there is a strong commitment among CCIMs to continuing education.
Only 6 percent of the estimated 150,000 commercial real estate practitioners nationwide hold the CCIM designation, which reflects not only the caliber of the program, but also why it is one of the most coveted and respected designations in the industry. The CCIM membership network mirrors the increasingly changing nature of the industry and includes brokers, leasing professionals, investment counselors, asset managers, appraisers, corporate real estate executives, property managers, developers, institutional investors, commercial lenders, attorneys, bankers and other allied professionals. Through this business network, CCIM members successfully complete thousands of transactions annually, representing more than $200 billion in value.
Certified Commercial Investment Members are in more marketplaces in North America -- 1,000 cities -- than all major real estate companies combined. Regions and chapters provide designees and candidates the opportunities to promote business and educational goals through local and regional forums and meetings.
Conferred by the CCIM Institute, the CCIM designation was established in 1969. Courses leading to the designation are now offered throughout the world. For more information, call (800) 621-7027.
Source:
CCIM Institute
http://www.ccim.com/content/what-ccim
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
How Texas Is Dominating the Recession
By: Derek Thompson
Staff Editor at TheAtlantic.com
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- No state is thriving in the wake of the Great Recession. But compared to the rest of the country, Texas is experiencing something like an economic boom.
Pick your category, and Texas dominates. Three of the top five most resilient major metro areas for employment are in Texas: McAllen at one, Austin at three, and San Antonio at five. El Paso and Houston make the top 15. How about state debt? Texas ranks fourth in the country. Texas cities claimed four of the top five spots in the Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities Index, four of the top ten of Forbes' "Cities Where the Recession is Easing," and another four spots in last year's Top Ten in Homebuilding (admittedly, a bit like winning a Warmest Ice Cube contest).
Talk to folks in Texas about their state's good fortune, and they'll also point out that the Lone Star State would be the 15th largest economy in the world if it were really alone, and that 64 Fortune 500 companies call Texas home, more than any other state. For relish: more Americans are moving into Texas than any other state, and CNBC recently named it Top State for Business for the second time in three years.
What's going on? From conversations with San Antonio business people and economists in and outside of Texas, I've settled on four reasons.
1. A Late Start
Texas has fared better in this recession partly because it got a late start. Early 2008 was a period of high energy prices and Texas was seeing a quiet energy boom, said Keith Phillips, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The high-tech industry also provided a bit of a buffer. When energy prices finally did fall as the recession picked up steam, Texas declined, albeit slower than the national average, and it's bounced back faster. Phillips credit three factors for the faster rebound. First, energy is growing again, "with the rig count making up about half the losses that it suffered after the collapse of energy prices in mid-2008." Second, manufacturing is leading the recovery and Texas exports are strong. Third, the Lone Star consumer is in better shape to spend because home prices haven't plunged.
2. Stable Real Estate
Real estate executives and economists struggled to find one reason why the Texas economy largely avoided the real estate boom and bust, but a few theories emerged. First, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro suggested that a reliance on property taxes in Texas (compared to California) might have dulled real estate appreciation. Second, the banks that survived the Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980s have mostly held onto conservative and un-exotic lending practices. Third, land and utilities are generally cheaper throughout Texas, which holds down the cost of the living. Fourth, besides Dallas, Texas' major cities have diversified away from the kind of real estate and financial services addiction that plagued CaliFlAriVada (that's CA, FL, AZ, NV), where the recession has been the most severe.
3. The Right Mix
Texas' major cities have picked some of the more stable industries: especially Houston as the nation's energy hub, Austin as an education and high-tech leader, and San Antonio as a rock of stability on the pillars of health care, education, and military spending. The Alamo City in particular has been perhaps the most resilient major city in the country. It is the only large metro area to place in the top ten of these key post-recession categories: lowest unemployment, lowest percent job loss since December 2007, and lowest decline in home prices.
4. Something About Texas
Maybe it's the lack of a state income or capital gains tax. Or the dearth of union workers. Or the plentiful labor supply on the border of Mexico, or the lower wages, or the stable and lean regulations. There's something about Texas that makes it the most popular place for business to do its business, as CEO Magazine and CNBC both found the last year. As Brooke Rollins, president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told me: "Our research shows that the more tax incentives and less regulation you have, and the less likely businesses are to get sued, the more likely it is they'll want to come and prosper in your state."
Staff Editor at TheAtlantic.com
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- No state is thriving in the wake of the Great Recession. But compared to the rest of the country, Texas is experiencing something like an economic boom.
Pick your category, and Texas dominates. Three of the top five most resilient major metro areas for employment are in Texas: McAllen at one, Austin at three, and San Antonio at five. El Paso and Houston make the top 15. How about state debt? Texas ranks fourth in the country. Texas cities claimed four of the top five spots in the Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities Index, four of the top ten of Forbes' "Cities Where the Recession is Easing," and another four spots in last year's Top Ten in Homebuilding (admittedly, a bit like winning a Warmest Ice Cube contest).
Talk to folks in Texas about their state's good fortune, and they'll also point out that the Lone Star State would be the 15th largest economy in the world if it were really alone, and that 64 Fortune 500 companies call Texas home, more than any other state. For relish: more Americans are moving into Texas than any other state, and CNBC recently named it Top State for Business for the second time in three years.
What's going on? From conversations with San Antonio business people and economists in and outside of Texas, I've settled on four reasons.
1. A Late Start
Texas has fared better in this recession partly because it got a late start. Early 2008 was a period of high energy prices and Texas was seeing a quiet energy boom, said Keith Phillips, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The high-tech industry also provided a bit of a buffer. When energy prices finally did fall as the recession picked up steam, Texas declined, albeit slower than the national average, and it's bounced back faster. Phillips credit three factors for the faster rebound. First, energy is growing again, "with the rig count making up about half the losses that it suffered after the collapse of energy prices in mid-2008." Second, manufacturing is leading the recovery and Texas exports are strong. Third, the Lone Star consumer is in better shape to spend because home prices haven't plunged.
2. Stable Real Estate
Real estate executives and economists struggled to find one reason why the Texas economy largely avoided the real estate boom and bust, but a few theories emerged. First, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro suggested that a reliance on property taxes in Texas (compared to California) might have dulled real estate appreciation. Second, the banks that survived the Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980s have mostly held onto conservative and un-exotic lending practices. Third, land and utilities are generally cheaper throughout Texas, which holds down the cost of the living. Fourth, besides Dallas, Texas' major cities have diversified away from the kind of real estate and financial services addiction that plagued CaliFlAriVada (that's CA, FL, AZ, NV), where the recession has been the most severe.
3. The Right Mix
Texas' major cities have picked some of the more stable industries: especially Houston as the nation's energy hub, Austin as an education and high-tech leader, and San Antonio as a rock of stability on the pillars of health care, education, and military spending. The Alamo City in particular has been perhaps the most resilient major city in the country. It is the only large metro area to place in the top ten of these key post-recession categories: lowest unemployment, lowest percent job loss since December 2007, and lowest decline in home prices.
4. Something About Texas
Maybe it's the lack of a state income or capital gains tax. Or the dearth of union workers. Or the plentiful labor supply on the border of Mexico, or the lower wages, or the stable and lean regulations. There's something about Texas that makes it the most popular place for business to do its business, as CEO Magazine and CNBC both found the last year. As Brooke Rollins, president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told me: "Our research shows that the more tax incentives and less regulation you have, and the less likely businesses are to get sued, the more likely it is they'll want to come and prosper in your state."
Putting Your Business in the Right Place - 495 Commerce Center
Land For Sale | Office & Flex Space For Lease
FM 495 (Pecan Blvd.) between McColl & Jackson Rd.
McAllen, TX
Click here for more information
956.994.8900
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Center of Attention - 495 Commerce Center
Land For Sale | Office & Flex Space For Lease
FM 495 (Pecan Blvd.) between McColl & Jackson Rd.
McAllen, TX
Click here for more information
956.994.8900
Friday, July 30, 2010
Region's Expanding Manufacturing, Industrial and Retail Operations Create Hundreds of Jobs
Rio South Texas Attracting New Factories, Start-up Companies and Industrial Expansions
EDINBURG, Texas, July 28, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Business is booming in Rio South Texas. New manufacturing plants are being built, existing industrial operations are expanding and new retail is coming online. This new activity will create more than 1,500 new jobs in one of the fastest growing and most affordable regions in the country.
New Manufacturing Operations
Santana Textiles of Ceara, Brazil, one of the world's largest denim manufacturers, will build a $180 million, 300,000 SF plant in Edinburg. The company will create 800 new jobs.
South Korea-based CS Wind Corporation broke ground on a $60 million plant in Matamoros, Mexico to manufacture metal towers and generator components for the wind turbine industry. Initially 400 jobs will be created and increase to 700 jobs over three years
Tyco Flow Control broke ground on its $5 million dollar facility expansion that will add 33,000 square feet to its existing 80,000 SF Harlingen facility. This expansion will add 65 new jobs to the current workforce of 120 people.
New Biotech Company
Biotech start-up, Photon8, recently relocated from New Jersey to Brownsville to develop economically viable ways for turning algae into clean biofuel. Photon8 moved to Rio South Texas because of the region's abundance of sunshine and affordable land.
New High-End Retail
A new 30,000 SF Mercedes-Benz dealership is being built in San Juan. Annual sales of $15 million are projected, and the dealership will create 20 new jobs.
Bass Pro Shops has announced a 150,000 square foot destination retail store in Harlingen.
"Rio South Texas continues to attract global attention," says Edinburg City Manager, Ramiro Garza. "The region has the geographic and economic assets that offer companies in all industry sectors the types of competitive advantages they can't find anywhere else in the world."
Rio South Texas encompasses the southernmost tip of Texas and the Northeastern part of Mexico. The region is currently the largest U.S./Mexico border region in America, the third largest market in Texas, and the 23rd largest market in the U.S. The Rio South Texas Economic Council was formed in 2008 to attract private sector investment, economic diversification and business expansions to the region.
Media Contact:
Gwendolyn McCormack
1-888-RSTEC01 (888-778-3201)
Direct Line: 956-607-1197
news@riosouthtexas.com
SOURCE Rio South Texas Economic Council
EDINBURG, Texas, July 28, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Business is booming in Rio South Texas. New manufacturing plants are being built, existing industrial operations are expanding and new retail is coming online. This new activity will create more than 1,500 new jobs in one of the fastest growing and most affordable regions in the country.
New Manufacturing Operations
Santana Textiles of Ceara, Brazil, one of the world's largest denim manufacturers, will build a $180 million, 300,000 SF plant in Edinburg. The company will create 800 new jobs.
South Korea-based CS Wind Corporation broke ground on a $60 million plant in Matamoros, Mexico to manufacture metal towers and generator components for the wind turbine industry. Initially 400 jobs will be created and increase to 700 jobs over three years
Tyco Flow Control broke ground on its $5 million dollar facility expansion that will add 33,000 square feet to its existing 80,000 SF Harlingen facility. This expansion will add 65 new jobs to the current workforce of 120 people.
New Biotech Company
Biotech start-up, Photon8, recently relocated from New Jersey to Brownsville to develop economically viable ways for turning algae into clean biofuel. Photon8 moved to Rio South Texas because of the region's abundance of sunshine and affordable land.
New High-End Retail
A new 30,000 SF Mercedes-Benz dealership is being built in San Juan. Annual sales of $15 million are projected, and the dealership will create 20 new jobs.
Bass Pro Shops has announced a 150,000 square foot destination retail store in Harlingen.
"Rio South Texas continues to attract global attention," says Edinburg City Manager, Ramiro Garza. "The region has the geographic and economic assets that offer companies in all industry sectors the types of competitive advantages they can't find anywhere else in the world."
Rio South Texas encompasses the southernmost tip of Texas and the Northeastern part of Mexico. The region is currently the largest U.S./Mexico border region in America, the third largest market in Texas, and the 23rd largest market in the U.S. The Rio South Texas Economic Council was formed in 2008 to attract private sector investment, economic diversification and business expansions to the region.
Media Contact:
Gwendolyn McCormack
1-888-RSTEC01 (888-778-3201)
Direct Line: 956-607-1197
news@riosouthtexas.com
SOURCE Rio South Texas Economic Council
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
How Will the New Financial Reform Bill Impact Commercial Lending?
Last week the Senate passed the conference version of the financial reform bill, formally call the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Act’s sponsors say it is intended to “create a sound financial foundation to create jobs, protect consumers, rein in Wall Street, end too big to fail and prevent another financial crisis.” Quite an ambitious goal, but like anything coming from Congress, it represents compromises and bargains. President Obama is expected to sign the Bill this week. While this is a major accomplishment for the Obama administration, whether it will accomplish many of its ambitious goals will only be determined over time.
The causes of the financial and banking crisis that ushered in the current recession are still being (and may forever be) argued, but there is no argument that among the key contributors were a housing bubble fed by irresponsible borrowing and lending; a lack of transparency in financial derivative products and transactions; and a deep belief that some financial institutions were too big to fail – a belief that their failure would cause a systemic collapse of the interconnected financial system far more serious than the massive subsidies that were infused to forestall the collapse. In the crisis atmosphere of early fall 2008, lawmakers, generally on both sides of the aisle, approved emergency actions they believed necessary to forestall an immediate disaster. Having had nearly two years to consider the causes of that crisis and vulnerabilities in the financial system, Congress passed the 2,300 page Dodd-Frank Act, which is a collection of disparate measures intended to address various of the favorite financial bogies, reflecting more of the give and take of the political process more than any coherent economic theory or well-grounded view of financial and regulatory reform.
While the details of this 2,300 page Act are complex and varied, the thrust, at least initially was simple:
First, to reduce the risk to the entire financial system created by huge institutions trading in obscure and opaque instruments with counter-parties who may not be able to perform – It was this financial daisy chain that both generated huge profits for financial firms and created the risk of an AIG failure, for example, bringing down the entire system.
Second, to enhance protection of consumers, either from lending practices such as extending loans to unqualified borrowers (so-called NINJA loans of the 2007 era), from unfair lending practices such as yield spread premiums or from the need to bail out the financial entities who faced overwhelming losses through those obscure trades above.
Highlights of the Act include the establishment of a mechanism that is intended to end the view of any financial institution as too big to fail, along with a requirement that certain large institutions create “funeral plans” explaining how they could be unwound in an orderly manner were they to fail; the requirement that many derivatives, including many asset-backed securities be traded and cleared on markets where counter-party risk is mitigated through the requirements of certain margin or collateral requirements; requiring banks, bank holding companies and subsidiaries to separate their proprietary derivatives trading (other than traditional hedging activities) and hedge fund/private equity fund sponsorships or investments from their banking activities. This last is the “Volcker Rule” which will bar both banks and other financial institutions regulated by the Fed from such high risk positions, unless they are undertaken by a separately capitalized entity, which itself meets the capitalization and margin requirements to be established for such trades. The Act further creates a consumer protection agency and forbids mortgage lenders from unfair lending practices and making loans unless they have gone through a process to ensure that the borrower can make the payments. The Act brings in new requirements and oversight of credit rating agencies, appointing the SEC to annually examine rating agencies and make key findings public; requiring education and qualifying exams for ratings analysts; and empowering the SEC to deregister a rating agency for providing bad ratings over a three year period.
What does this all mean for commercial real estate? Probably not much, directly at least, but the attempt to bring some more transparency and regulation to derivatives and exotic financial instruments may limit the availability of some real estate related loan securitizations, and until the markets more fully understand the implications of the Act the uncertainty will likely be something of a damper. It will take years for the regulatory agencies and the affected industries to establish and work under the market mechanisms and regulatory structure called for by the Dodd-Frank Act. Only over that time will we begin to learn whether it has reduced systemic risk, increased consumer protection, or had any unintended side impact.
-Ed Finn
Ed Finn is General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer at NAI Global.
The causes of the financial and banking crisis that ushered in the current recession are still being (and may forever be) argued, but there is no argument that among the key contributors were a housing bubble fed by irresponsible borrowing and lending; a lack of transparency in financial derivative products and transactions; and a deep belief that some financial institutions were too big to fail – a belief that their failure would cause a systemic collapse of the interconnected financial system far more serious than the massive subsidies that were infused to forestall the collapse. In the crisis atmosphere of early fall 2008, lawmakers, generally on both sides of the aisle, approved emergency actions they believed necessary to forestall an immediate disaster. Having had nearly two years to consider the causes of that crisis and vulnerabilities in the financial system, Congress passed the 2,300 page Dodd-Frank Act, which is a collection of disparate measures intended to address various of the favorite financial bogies, reflecting more of the give and take of the political process more than any coherent economic theory or well-grounded view of financial and regulatory reform.
While the details of this 2,300 page Act are complex and varied, the thrust, at least initially was simple:
First, to reduce the risk to the entire financial system created by huge institutions trading in obscure and opaque instruments with counter-parties who may not be able to perform – It was this financial daisy chain that both generated huge profits for financial firms and created the risk of an AIG failure, for example, bringing down the entire system.
Second, to enhance protection of consumers, either from lending practices such as extending loans to unqualified borrowers (so-called NINJA loans of the 2007 era), from unfair lending practices such as yield spread premiums or from the need to bail out the financial entities who faced overwhelming losses through those obscure trades above.
Highlights of the Act include the establishment of a mechanism that is intended to end the view of any financial institution as too big to fail, along with a requirement that certain large institutions create “funeral plans” explaining how they could be unwound in an orderly manner were they to fail; the requirement that many derivatives, including many asset-backed securities be traded and cleared on markets where counter-party risk is mitigated through the requirements of certain margin or collateral requirements; requiring banks, bank holding companies and subsidiaries to separate their proprietary derivatives trading (other than traditional hedging activities) and hedge fund/private equity fund sponsorships or investments from their banking activities. This last is the “Volcker Rule” which will bar both banks and other financial institutions regulated by the Fed from such high risk positions, unless they are undertaken by a separately capitalized entity, which itself meets the capitalization and margin requirements to be established for such trades. The Act further creates a consumer protection agency and forbids mortgage lenders from unfair lending practices and making loans unless they have gone through a process to ensure that the borrower can make the payments. The Act brings in new requirements and oversight of credit rating agencies, appointing the SEC to annually examine rating agencies and make key findings public; requiring education and qualifying exams for ratings analysts; and empowering the SEC to deregister a rating agency for providing bad ratings over a three year period.
What does this all mean for commercial real estate? Probably not much, directly at least, but the attempt to bring some more transparency and regulation to derivatives and exotic financial instruments may limit the availability of some real estate related loan securitizations, and until the markets more fully understand the implications of the Act the uncertainty will likely be something of a damper. It will take years for the regulatory agencies and the affected industries to establish and work under the market mechanisms and regulatory structure called for by the Dodd-Frank Act. Only over that time will we begin to learn whether it has reduced systemic risk, increased consumer protection, or had any unintended side impact.
-Ed Finn
Ed Finn is General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer at NAI Global.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Pharr, TX to get a new H.E.B. supermarket
Mayor: Pharr to get a new H.E.B. supermarket
PHARR — The city may soon see a new H.E.B. grocery store, Mayor Leo “Polo” Palacios said.
Company officials would not confirm they are planning a new location in south Pharr, but Palacios said he has been working with the company and that construction may begin in 2011.
“We’ve been working with them to get things going,” Palacios said. “We met last week to discuss the plans.”
A H.E.B. spokeswoman ... Click here to read more
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