Ivan Kaufman, CEO of Arbor Realty

Arbor Realty Trust said it narrowed its third-quarter losses, as the lender continued efforts to retool its balance sheet following the collapse of the commercial real estate market.

The Manhattan-based real estate investment trust reported a net loss of $1.4 million, or 6 cents a share in the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $44.1 million, or $1.74 a share in the year-ago quarter.

For the first nine months of 2010, net income was $154.1 million, or $6.03 per share, compared with a net loss of $96.9 million, or $3.83 a share in the year ago period. [more]

From left: Henry Justin and Miki Naftali

The real estate industry is still suffering but there are
opportunities in niche areas, as the overall market starts to recover,
a number of developers said at a panel discussion Wednesday night at
the Young Jewish Professionals Real Estate Network event held at the
Chelsea Pearl.

Henry Justin, CEO of HJ Development, said that while prices are starting to stabilize, it is [more]

Despite the all-time high delinquency rates seen among commercial mortgages, more lenders are showing optimism toward the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, and are gingerly buying up shares in the real estate investment trusts that own those loans, according to the Wall Street Journal. And their positive outlook might be justified — overall, REITs are up about 16.7 percent so far this year and some commercial-mortgage REITs, like iStar Financial and Arbor Realty Trust have made strides as well, up 140 percent and 113 percent so far this year, respectively, according to the Wall Street Journal. But Jason Yablon, a vice president with investment firm Cohen & Steers, said that the positive momentum needs to be taken with a grain of salt. “Because the stock has been beaten down, any incremental good news [about] the financing environment is going to make the stock move a lot,” Yablon said.

Yair Levy and Park Columbus condominium at 101 West 87th Street on the corner of Columbus Avenue

Garrison Special Opportunities Fund, a Manhattan-based hedge fund, alleges that developer Yair Levy threw his stalled Park Columbus condominium project at 101 West 87th Street into Chapter 11 the night before a scheduled Sept. 10 auction to foreclose on a defaulted $20 million mezzanine loan, according to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing obtained by The Real Deal. On Sept. 8, Levy filed to get a temporary restraining order in New York State Supreme Court blocking the foreclosure auction. Garrison officials allege in the filing that Levy failed to come up with a $20 million deposit the following day as demanded by Judge James Yates, in order to block the sale. After failing to produce the deposit, the filing alleges that Levy threw his YL West 87th Street Holdings entity into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one night before the scheduled Sept. 10 auction. Garrison officials called the bankruptcy filing “a sham” and urged a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge to lift an automatic “stay,” allowing it to move forward with the foreclosure auction, which would effectively sell the stalled project to a new owner. [more]