The San Diego Union-Tribune
02/16/18

Hotel Sales in San Diego Surpassed $611M in 2017, with Few Signs of a Slowdown
By Lori Weisberg

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sd-fi-hotel-sales-20180216-story.html

Hotels continue to be a much desired commodity in California, which last year saw more than $6 billion in properties trade hands, from the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad to the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta.

Although the $6.2 billion in sales fell short of the peak of $9.5 billion set in 2015, there are few signs of a slowdown in sales activity, according to a year-end report released by Orange County-based Atlas Hospitality Group.

In Los Angeles County, the sales volume hit a new record — $1.67 billion, which was a 26 percent increase over 2017, Atlas reported. While San Diego County’s $611.8 million in sales was not a record, it represented a healthy 29 percent increase compared to a year earlier.

“We were anticipating at the end of 2016 for sales to slow down and that didn’t happen, and there are a number of reasons for that,” said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group. “There are still attractive loans at low interest rates, there’s a tremendous amount of overseas capital coming into California, especially from China and Korea, and third, we are seeing a lot of acquisitions from owners who have sold other commercial products, primarily apartment buildings, and they are getting into hotels to get a higher return.”

Statewide, there were 369 hotels sales…