The walkathon in the commercial real estate market continues.
A Wall Street Journal article last week reported on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s sale of its headquarters building in Washington, DC to CoStar Group for $41.3 million – about $38 million less than what it paid for the building three years ago, and also way below the $75 million the MBA received from a group of banks to finance the purchase.
So is the MBA taking a walk on their underwater HQ? They aren’t saying.
In the WSJ piece, MBA CEO John Courson said, “We’re not going to discuss the financing.”
Which is a different tune than he was singing a few months ago, saying those who owed more than their property is worth should continue paying, even if it didn’t make economic sense. “What about the message they will send to their family and their kids and their friends?” Courson asked.
Yeah, about that message….we got it loud and clear: it’s the smart thing to do!
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