There is never a second chance to make a first impression. In the case of a multifamily community, it is the exterior of a community that makes the first impression.

Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
McLean, Va.–Freddie Mac is formulating a new program to work with mezzanine lenders to expand the GSE’s multifamily mortgage origination program. According to Freddie Mac spokeswoman Patti Boerger, the details of the program aren’t finalized yet, but probably will be next month.
The overall thrust of the program, however, is well defined. “The [...]

As banks become accidental multifamily property landlords more than ever before through foreclosure and other unfortunate economic events, third-party property management is stepping in to be of service. Even in a recession, someone’s going to make money, and multifamily property managers want it to be them.

HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP) completed the sale of two small-balance commercial real estate loan pools totaling $105.4 million on behalf of a special servicer and a money-center bank.

Carlton Advisory Services Inc. has been retained to bid more than $300 million of hospitality, multifamily, office, retail and land assets, according to Carlton Chairman Howard L. Michaels. The majority of the assets are located in Florida, with the remainder located in California, Virginia, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, S. Carolina and Tennessee.

Pending home sales, including both single-family and condo properties, showed an unexpected decline in January, according to the National Association of Realtors (the organization doesn’t separate the kinds of residential property in this case), partly due to bad weather across the Northeast.

Occupancy rates fell for seniors housing in the last quarter of 2009, but the property type still enjoyed moderate rent growth, according to NIC MAP, a data and analysis service of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC).

Multifamily properties in the U.S. could begin stabilizing in certain markets later this year, according to Fitch Ratings.

Over the last six months, the average rent for an apartment has decreased by 4 percent or about $40 to an average of $961 per month

Private housing developers like Lettire Construction are pressing forward with affordable housing projects in the city.