Joe Berko, Berko & Associates

Contact Name : Joe Berko Company Name : Berko & Associates Email : [email protected] Phone : (212) 687-0777 Fax : (212) 687-0771 Address, City, State : 18 East 41st St Suite 1600 , NYC, NY 10017 What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2010? : We have relocated Berko & Associates to a new office after completing extensive renovations. This is the third expansion the firm had gone through in three years and each time we were able to double in size. What was your most notable project, deal or transaction in 2010? We arranged for a $12.5 million construction financing of 116,000 s/f state-of-the-art charter school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This deal was the only construction loan done in the area in 2010. What predictions do you have for commercial real estate in 2011? I think that we will see significant improvements in sales activity in 2011. The signs are clearly there. Banks have started lending at notable levels and are offering interest rates the industry has not seen primarily for the multifamily sector. The CMBS market came back to life after a long and dormant period and that will ease the high equity requirements needed for mid to larger size commercial transactions. Cap rates are still attractive and we will see bigger trading activity due to high yield opportunities created by this environment. What are some of your New Year's Resolutions? Spend more time with my two boys in warm places by the ocean.