Originations

Equity Residential, Chicago, has reported funds from operations of $169.0 million ($0.57 per share) for the second quarter, compared with $189.7 million ($0.63 per share) a year earlier.Net income for the second quarter totaled $136.4 million ($0.41 per share), compared with $113.3 million ($0.32 per share) for the same period last year, the multifamily real estate investment trust said. "We are pleased that sequential 'same-store' revenues have stabilized, which would indicate that we are at the low point, but we are still awaiting the job growth that will drive the recovery of our industry," said Bruce W. Duncan, Equity Residential's president and chief executive officer. Mr. Duncan said the REIT believes its FFO per share for the year will be at the bottom of the $2.25-$2.40 range it previously estimated. The company can be found online at http://www.equityapartments.com.

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., will fund "well over" $400 billion in home mortgages this year, its chairman and chief executive predicted Wednesday morning.During an interview on CNBC-TV, Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo, who co-founded the company in the 1960s, said he expects industry production to total $3.5 trillion this year. "There is still a large pipeline of loans in the system, both at Countrywide and the industry," Mozilo said. "It will be a fabulous year." Next year he expects originations could drop to around $2 trillion. According to the Quarterly Data Report, a MortgageWire affiliate, Countrywide funded $102 billion and $130 billion in the first and second quarters, respectively. It had a 12.08% market share in the first half, based on preliminary QDR figures. But Mr. Mozilo said he believes that by the end of 2004, the company's market share could be at least 15%. As for next year, he said: "We will have the second-biggest year in our history." Countrywide can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.

The Refinance Index fell to a one-year low during the week ended Aug. 8 as the Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 824.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 983.2 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 16.3% on the week and 17.6% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased from 456.4 to 409.6, and the Refinance Index declined from 4047.5 to 3238.4, its lowest level since late July 2002. Refinancings represented 55.8% of total applications, down from 58.3% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 22.5%. "The contraction in mortgage activity continued last week, with the level of refinance applications falling to about a third of what they were when they peaked in late May and early June," said Jay Brinkmann, the MBA's vice president of research and economics. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 6.37% to 6.00%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.36 to 1.37 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Equity Inns Inc., Germantown, Tenn., has completed an offering of 3.0 million shares of 8.75% series B cumulative preferred stock.The preferred stock may be redeemed by the company at the liquidation preference price of $25 per share on or after Aug. 11, 2008. The net proceeds from the issuance totaled $72.3 million, of which $68.8 million will be used to redeem the company's 9 1/2% series A cumulative preferred stock, the real estate investment trust said. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., the underwriter, has been granted a 30-day option to buy up to 450,000 additional shares to cover any overallotments. The hotel REIT can be found on the Internet at http://www.equityinns.com.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc., a Memphis-based real estate investment trust, has completed an offering of 6.2 million shares of 8.30% series H cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $25 per share.Mid-America said the total number of shares included the full exercise of a 600,000-share overallotment option by the underwriters. The net proceeds of approximately $150.1 million will be used to redeem all the outstanding shares of the company's 9.5% series A cumulative preferred stock, the 8 7/8% series B cumulative preferred stock, and the 9 3/8% series C cumulative redeemable preferred stock, Mid-America said. Mid-America can be found online at http://www.maac.net.

Charter Municipal Mortgage Acceptance Co., New York, has reported net income of $16.7 million ($0.37 per share) for the second quarter, a rise of about 31% from $12.8 million ($0.30 per share) for the second quarter of 2002.At the end of the second quarter, the affordable multifamily finance company had a revenue bond portfolio of 224 bonds valued at approximately $1.7 billion, the company said. "CharterMac had a very solid quarter for revenue bond acquisitions," said Stuart Boesky, CharterMac's president and chief executive officer. "Year to date, our acquisition volume is over $236 million, which is ahead of our origination volume at this point last year." CharterMac can be found online at http://www.chartermac.com.

Class M of Morgan Stanley's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1998-HF2, has been downgraded from CCC to CC by Fitch Ratings.Five other classes in the deal were upgraded and the ratings on eight other classes were affirmed. Fitch attributed the downgrade to estimates of future losses. Five loans in the deal, representing 3.7% of the pool, are currently in special servicing.

The senior unsecured notes and preferred stock of First Industrial LP, the operating partnership of First Industrial Realty Trust, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The $1.2 billion of senior unsecured notes were downgraded from BBB-plus to BBB, and the $250 million of preferred stock was downgraded from BBB to BBB-minus, Fitch said. The rating outlook was revised from Negative to Stable. The rating agency attributed the downgrades to "erosion in coverage statistics and moderately high leverage levels, along with the uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of an economic recovery." Fitch also pointed to the evolution of First Industrial's business model into one that can expand short-term income, such as fees and gains on sale. This shorter-term income "heightens [the company's] cash flow volatility and dilutes its quality of earnings," the rating agency said. Fitch can be found on the Web at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Capital Trust Inc., New York, has announced that $425 million of committed equity capital has been raised for CT Mezzanine Partners III, which will make mezzanine investments in commercial real estate.The fund is the third in a series of private equity funds managed by Capital Trust and co-sponsored with affiliates of Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC. Capital Trust is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investment management and finance.

ProLogis, a Denver-based real estate investment trust, has closed on an approximately $510 million (450 million euro) multicurrency revolving line of credit through a syndicate of 23 banks.The industrial REIT said the three-year line of credit is priced at 80 basis points over the euro interbank offered rate, resulting in an interest rate of approximately 2.91% as of Aug. 7. ABN Amro and Banc of America Securities were the "mandated lead arrangers" of the line. ProLogis said it expects to use the line to finance land acquisition and property development in Europe and for general corporate purposes. The developed properties are expected to be ultimately transferred to the ProLogis European Properties Fund. K. Dane Brooksher, chairman and chief executive officer of ProLogis, said the company has expanded its European platform from one million square feet in 1997 to over 46 million square feet.

Jim Reichek, a 15-year veteran of the real estate finance industry, has been named to the newly created position of chief operating officer at Meridian Capital Group LLC, New York.Mr. Reichek, who will assume the new post on Sept. 2, is a managing director of Kushner Cos., a real estate firm based in Florham Park, N.J. He was previously a senior managing director at Bear, Stearns & Co., where he created and managed the firm's commercial mortgage department. Meridian, a mortgage broker for multifamily properties in the Northeast, said the appointment is aimed at helping to manage the company's "rapid growth and national expansion." The company said it is expanding into new markets such as Connecticut, South Florida, and the Philadelphia and Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas, and plans to enter the Chicago market in the next several months.

Class N of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities Inc.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2000-C2, has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The ratings on nine other Fitch-rated classes in the deal were affirmed. The downgrade reflects losses stemming from the liquidation of two stand-alone Kmart properties, the rating agency said. The certificates are collateralized by 127 mortgage loans and an $88.1 million Freddie Mac-guaranteed Gold Participation Certificate secured by two loans on five multifamily properties, according to Fitch. Five loans are in special servicing.

General Growth Properties, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, has added three new members to its board of directors.Two of the new directors -- Bernard Freibaum, GGP's executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Frank S. Ptak -- were appointed by the board itself, the retail REIT said. Mr. Freibaum joined GGP in 1993 and has 20 years of experience in the real estate and professional services industries. Mr. Ptak is vice chairman of Illinois Tool Works and has also served as a senior auditor for Arthur Young & Co. In addition, John T. Riordan was elected to the board by shareholders at GGP's annual meeting in May, the REIT said. Mr. Riordan was most recently vice chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centers and chairman of the Center for Real Estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. GGP can be found online at http://www.generalgrowth.com.

AMLI Residential Properties Trust, Chicago, has announced the sale of 2.1 million shares of common stock to Morgan Stanley & Co.The net proceeds of approximately $50.5 million will be used to purchase the limited partnership interests held by AMLI's venture partners in AMLI at Castle Creek LP, AMLI at Creekside LP, and AMLI at Regents Crest LP, the company said. AMLI said Morgan Stanley has been granted a 30-day option to buy an additional 315,000 shares of the common stock to cover any overallotments. AMLI specializes in developing, acquiring, and managing apartment communities. It can be found online at http://www.amli.com.

Glimcher Realty Trust, Columbus, Ohio, has priced a $60 million public offering of 8.75% series F cumulative redeemable shares of beneficial interest at $25 per share.The real estate investment trust said the net proceeds from the sale of the 2.4 million shares, estimated at $57.8 million, will be used to partially fund the company's pending acquisition of a regional mall in Tampa, Fla., and to repay part of the balance of its $170 million secured credit facility. Deutsche Bank Securities was the sole book-running manager of the offering and McDonald Investments was the co-manager. The mall and shopping center REIT can be found on the Web at http://www.glimcher.com.

Corporate Office Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Columbia, Md., has priced an offering of 2.2 million shares of 8% series G cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $25 per share.The issue produced gross proceeds of $55 million, the office REIT said. The total number of shares included an overallotment option of 200,000 shares that was exercised by the underwriters. Credit Suisse First Boston is the lead manager of the issue. The REIT can be found online at http://www.copt.com.

MFA Mortgage Investments Inc., New York, has announced the pricing of 5.0 million shares of MFA stock at $9.80 per share.Net proceeds are expected to total approximately $46.6 million. The company said it has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to 750,000 additional shares to cover any overallotments. Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. was the lead underwriter, and the co-managers were RBC Capital Markets and Flagstone Securities LLC. MFA, a real estate investment trust that invests in adjustable-rate and hybrid mortgage-backed securities, can be found online at http://www.mfa-reit.com.

CBL & Associates Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Chattanooga, Tenn., has priced an offering of 7.75% cumulative, redeemable, perpetual preferred stock at $25 per share.The issue, which is expected to garner gross proceeds of $105 million, is in the form of 4.2 million depositary shares, each representing a one-tenth interest in a preferred stock, the retail REIT said. The underwriters of the issue have been given the option to buy an additional 630,000 shares to cover any overallotments. The stock is redeemable at the REIT's election in August 2008. CBL said it expects to use the net proceeds from the offering to partially finance its acquisition of four regional shopping malls, as well as for future acquisitions and corporate purposes. Bear, Stearns & Co. and Wachovia Securities are the joint book-running managers of the issue and A.G. Edwards & Sons is the co-lead manager.

The Ba3 senior unsecured debt rating and B3 preferred stock rating of Host Marriott Corp., Bethesda, Md., and its subsidiaries have been placed under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service.The rating action is based on the real estate investment trust's July 26 announcement that it does not expect to make preferred dividend distributions in the fourth quarter due to restrictions in its bond indenture, Moody's said. Since the second quarter of 2002, Host Marriott has had interest coverage below the covenant level in its bond indenture governing the REIT's ability to make restricted payments, including preferred dividend distributions. "Host Marriott has been able to address this restriction because, so far, it has been able to generate sufficient taxable income to be required under REIT rules to make distributions to its preferred stockholders," the rating agency said. However, Host Marriott is projecting that, due to weak performance in the first half and an expectation of continued weakness in lodging demand through the rest of 2003, its taxable income for 2003 will not be sufficient for the REIT to avoid being barred from paying fourth-quarter preferred dividends, Moody's said. The rating agency can be found online at http://www.moodys.com.

Doug Mayers has been named vice president and director of financial institution partnerships for the Correspondent Services Division of IndyMac Bank, Pasadena, Calif.An 18-year industry veteran, Mr. Mayers will be responsible for managing loan acquisitions and business development with financial institutions on a nationwide basis, said IndyMac Bancorp, the bank's parent company. Mr. Mayers was previously a regional sales executive for BayView Financial Trading Group, vice president in secondary marketing at Countrywide Home Loans, and a customer account manager at Fannie Mae. IndyMac Bank, a technology-based mortgage lender, can be found on the Web at http://www.indymacbank.com.