By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The U.S. economy shrank at its fastest pace in a quarter-century from October through December, the government reported today. Consumer spending and business investment also collapsed during this period, signaling more economic contraction in the months ahead.U.S. GDP, the broadest measure of a country’s national income, fell by 3.8 [...]

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBethesda, Md.–Walker & Dunlop, Inc. and Green Park Financial LP have merged with Column Guaranteed LLC, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse Group. The new enterprise, which will be named Walker & Dunlop, will provide Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) origination and servicing [...]

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIndianapolis–John F. Sweeney CPM, has been named president of Barrett & Stokely Management, LLC. Sweeney will be responsible for continuing the management and expansion of Barrett & Stokely’s multifamily contract management portfolio. He joined Barrett & Stokely in 1976 and currently serves as a director of the Indiana Apartment [...]

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Diego–The CB Richard Ellis Senior Housing Services Group has arranged the sale of a senior housing portfolio consisting of 3,554 units situated in 45 senior housing communities for approximately $364 million.  Located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming, the communities [...]

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorLos Angeles—Hikari, a 128-unit public-private partnership between The Related Companies, MacFarlane Partners and the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, is now 100 percent leased. Built with RDA funds, the mixed-use, mixed-income apartment community is located in LA’s Little Tokyo district and was developed on an urban infill site of [...]

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York, N.Y.–Residents have begun to close on their homes and move into 75 Wall Street, a luxury condominium project developed by The Hakimian Organization and its partners Peykar Brothers Realty & Gorjian Properties. The 349-unit condo project sits atop Global Hyatt’s new Andaz brand hotel in the Financial District [...]

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorAtlanta—RentWiki.com launched a Website that integrates social media with property listings, allowing, it says, apartment seekers to vet their potential new neighborhoods and providing property managers with more qualified leads.RentWiki offers property managers free unlimited listings, charging only for phone calls and emails generated by the site. Managers can control their [...]

Sanjit Biswas (pictured) is the CEO and co-founder of Meraki, a company that has been installing broadband networks providing wireless Internet access to residents of apartment communities for over three years. Meraki has also set up networks in other property types. Wi-Fi is a top amenity request according to executives and operating staff of [...]

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund I has acquired 198 units of affordable housing and approximately 4,500 sq. ft. of ground floor retail space at 107-145 West 135th St. (pictured) in Harlem for $26.5 million. While the project’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 contract [...]

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorHouston—Despite the economic crisis, the forecast for Houston’s apartment market offers a relatively positive outlook, according to the 2009 National Apartment Report by Marcus & Millichap.According to the firm’s National Apartment Index (NAI), an annual analysis of 43 apartment markets based on 12-month forward-looking supply and demand indicators, Houston has moved [...]