LOS ANGELES-Economist Christopher Thornberg tells IREM-LA Forecast attendees that there are potholes in the roads ahead, but there is more reason to be positive in 2012. The US and California economies are gaining momentum, he says.

PARAMUS, NJ-The Guitar Center property is just one sign that retail remains a strong investment in affluent Bergen County, says CBRE’s NJ Private Capital Group, which represented the buyer and seller.

WASHINGTON, DC-This is not necessarily good news for area landlords, especially as this drive to efficiency also includes the government, Studley’s David Lipson tells GlobeSt.com’s Erika Morphy.

SAN ANTONIO-The Indianapolis REIT acquires buildings on the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Alamo Heights campus and Cedar Park Regional Medical Center near Austin – and is aggressively seeking more.

NEW YORK CITY-At a New York Bar Association luncheon Thursday, CBRE’s vice chairman Darcy Stacom explained that despite headwinds from the financial services industry, New York itself will remain a stable location to deploy capital -- even with competition from London, Dubai and Tokyo.

MIAMI-Bilzin Sumber partner Al Dotson tells GlobeSt.com's Jennifer LeClaire the Herald was under pressure to get a deal done quickly.

ORLANDO-It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find blocks of space spanning 15,000 square feet or more in Orlando's CBD.

SAN DIEGO-The property, once a 40-year-old apartment complex, has been redeveloped into a luxury dorm for San Diego State University students.

CHICAGO-The company bought the 399-unit River North apartment tower for $60 million in May 2006, now wants to gain cash back to help buy the Seneca hotel at 200 E. Chestnut St.

BETHLEHEM, PA-The 430 garden-style apartment units, located in four properties, reflect a continuing expansion by the company into rental investments.

COMMERCE, CA-GlobeSt.com learns from an unidentified source that the 285,368-square-foot Commerce Office Park changed hands for approximately $40 million.

NEW YORK CITY-Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union unanimously approved a four-year contract with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, guaranteeing a 5.6% wage increase for workers and employer-paid health benefits.

WASHINGTON, DC-This is just the beginning of a long and convoluted process but JLL’s Joe Brennan tells GlobeSt.com’s Erika Morphy that his gut reaction is that it is another realignment with a focus on the Pentagon’s desire for a “smaller and more surgical force.”

LONDON-The law firm is taking about 24,000 square feet of a large block vacated by Deutsche Bank, and has extended its 124,000-square-foot lease until 2021.

NEW YORK CITY-The company has arranged the recapitalization of the 160,000-square-foot Midtown building.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ –Speakers including an economist and developers cited the state’s ongoing recovery at the NAIOP NJ Annual Meeting, though challenges in retail and office remain.

NEW YORK CITY-A Manhattan developer has been ordered to return $16 million in down payments he received, after he claimed his attorney botched the date on the offering plan.

OAKLAND, CA-The new commercial real estate office will be led by managing principals Matt Elmquist and Scott Stone, who formerly were principals at AEGIS Realty Partners in Oakland.

PLAYA VISTA, CA-An unidentified source tells GlobeSt.com that the lease at Maguire Investments’ Water’s Edge office complex here has an aggregate lease value of approximately $36 million.

HOUSTON-The local developer and property manager arranges financing for five multifamily properties, totaling more than 17,000 units. Two of the assets are in Houston.