Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator Instructions). We will go to the line of Michael Bilerman with Citi. Please go ahead.
Irwin Guzman - Citi
Good afternoon. It's Irwin Guzman. Just a question on the guidance page that you offered. When I look at the high end there, the higher end of the building disposition guidance is commiserate with a higher volume at development starts. Can you comment on whether the starts themselves are dependent upon your ability to dispose of those assets? And secondly, whether -- why you wouldn't choose to sort of hold back that cash as opposed to putting it into further developments in order to improve your liquidity position?
Denny Oklak
Sure, Irwin. First of all, on the disposition side, again, we're just again estimating. We have several projects in the build-for-sale portfolio that we will be able to market this year. They will be 100% leased and they will be in service during the year. So we'll market a few of those. On the high end, again, it's a little bit of speculation on our part, but we were -- we did have good success in 2008.
On the development side, as we said, we're really virtually halting all new development. We've just put some in our guidance so that you know that there may be some commitments that we want to and need to live up to with existing customers, particularly I would say in the healthcare arena that we have some development relationships with certain of the major hospital chains that will want to continue during 2008. And again, Irwin, if you look at things we said, we're very focused on continuing to improve the liquidity position and that will occur from a number of ways, including limiting the development starts.
Michael Bilerman - Citi
One follow-up is -- it's Michael Bilerman. Denny, you bought back some preferred during the quarter, perpetual preferred obviously at half a par, so an effective 16% yield. How did you think about allocating -- I know it's a small number -- allocating that $12.5 million to the preferred, which has got a maturity date of never relative to buying back debt?
Denny Oklak
Yes. And Michael, you're right. It's a very small number. First of all, I would point out. But we did that very early in the fourth quarter, sort of in the first half of October when the preferred market at least for a lot of people, but particularly for us, was out of whack. And we acquired that stock. And then as we saw things mid-October through mid-November start to get much worse in the capital markets, we really ceased the acquisition of the preferred stock and then turned our focus to acquiring the -- at a discount the future maturities of our debt in 2009 and 2010.
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »
