All-cash home purchases up in July; Fortis gets $1B refinancing for Boston tower

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of real estate news stories published throughout the week.

The number of U.S. homes that were fully bought with cash went up in July amid high mortgage rates, according to a report from real estate brokerage Redfin.

All-cash home purchases stood at 31.4% in July, up from 27.5% the previous year and near the eight-year high recorded in February.

Redfin said all-cash home purchases are common among affluent buyers as they stay away from high mortgage rates that reached 6% in mid-September. Remote work also enables homebuyers to relocate to more affordable areas in the U.S.

Long Island, N.Y., recorded the highest share of all-cash purchases in July at 66.5%. Meanwhile, three of the top five metropolitan areas with the highest share of all-cash purchases were in Florida.

CHART OF THE WEEK: REIT share repurchase activity grows in H1

⮞ The aggregate value of share repurchases by public U.S. real estate investment trusts rose to $3.05 billion in the first half of 2022.

⮞ Office REITs repurchased the most common shares during the first half, at roughly $619.3 million in total.

⮞ JBG Smith Properties was the largest repurchaser for the half, buying back $306.8 million of common stock, about 9.3% of its shares outstanding.

Loans

* Real estate developer Fortis Property Group LLC secured more than $1 billion to refinance the approximately 1.1-million-square-foot One Lincoln office tower in Boston. Proceeds from the refinancing will be used to repay existing debt and provide more than $200 million in capital upgrades.

* Diversified REIT CTO Realty Growth Inc. increased its senior unsecured revolving credit facility to $565 million. The amended credit facility comprises a $300 million revolver, a new $100 million term loan and the company's existing unsecured term loans totaling $165 million.

* Carpenter & Co. Inc. and Woodward Interests LLC obtained a $315.6 million loan from Madison Realty Capital to fund the renovation of the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences New Orleans. The 33-story, mixed-use property comprises 341 hotel rooms and 92 residential condominiums.

Property transactions

* Boston Properties Inc. bought a laboratory and life sciences building in Cambridge, Mass., from Biogen Inc. for about $592 million. The six-story 125 Broadway building in the city's Kendall Square neighborhood spans 271,000 square feet. The seller signed a lease and will continue to occupy the building until April 2028.

* Hudson Valley Property Group LLC raised about $292.4 million in capital commitments at the final close of its second real estate private equity fund, surpassing the vehicle's $250 million target. The affordable housing preservation fund has already bought nine properties across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Rhode Island.

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