DENVER—Expected to close this Thursday, the combination of Farmland Partners and American Farmland Co. will create a REIT with holdings of more than 144,000 acres nationwide.

PARIS—The joint venture with HPC-Oceanis will be launched with ECLA Paris, serving students at the University of Paris-Saclay Campus.

NEW YORK CITY—Trepp's Manus Clancy says it's not clear whether the decline in CMBS delinquencies represents “a blip or the beginning of a trend.”

NEW YORK CITY—Reports from both Canaccord Genuity and Marcus & Millichap see rent growth slowing down in class A markets this year.

CHATTANOOGA, TN—Stephen Lebowitz, the REIT's CEO, says the deal with Sears affords the opportunity "to redevelop prime real estate and attract exciting new uses at some of our best shopping centers."

NEW YORK CITY—The latest metrics in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices derive from this past November; S&P Dow Jones' David Blitzer says the new administration's policies could affect home prices.

CHICAGO—With 10-year maturities of 2007-vintage loans in the offing, Morningstar predicts that as little as 50% of the CMBS coming due this year will be able to refinance.

NEW YORK CITY—Blake Okland will identify and execute strategic initiatives nationwide and also lead business development for the investment advisory firm.