Archive for January 2008
DEAL OF THE DAY: 280-Unit Illinois Apartment Complex Sells for $39 Million
Naperville, Ill.–Phoenix-based multifamily sales and research firm Hendricks & Partners recently sold a 280-unit apartment community in Naperville, Ill. for $39,200,000.The Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. of Fort Wayne, Ind. sold Thornberry Woods to a fund managed by UBS of Hartford, Conn. Art Wadlund of the Tucson, Ariz. Hendricks & Partners office and Ralph DePasquale…
Read MoreHotel Guests Rent–and Help Finance–New St. Maarten Resort Residences
By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerSt. Maarten–At the new Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Residences in St. Maarten, the adjacent Westin resort will offer condo owners a hotel guest experience–and guests will provide funding to offset owners’ mortgage costs.Ninety-nine condominiums are planned for the Dutch side of the Caribbean island. The units will be part of…
Read MoreGovernment Restrictions Cool Real Estate Market in China
Hong Kong–Based on the relaxed real estate markets in two of China’s biggest cities, the Chinese government’s plan to ease real estate investments appears to be successful, The Wall Street Journal reports.New home prices in Shenzhen, a southern town of nine million next to Hong Kong, fell 8 percent from September to the end of…
Read MoreU.K. Home Prices Drop; Market Activity Picks Up, According to Property Site
Milton Keynes–U.K. home prices fell for the third consecutive month as homeowners rushed to put their residences on the market before the new regulation requiring pricing packets to be included with all for-sale homes kicked in, according to property Web site Rightmove.In addition, Rightmove said that home prices are increasing at their slowest rate in…
Read MoreAtlanta Public Housing Plans Under Fire From City Council, Residents
Atlanta–Once a public housing pioneer, Atlanta is now reconsidering the future of its plans to renovate housing projects into mixed-income lodging, The Los Angeles Times reported Monday.On Tuesday, the Atlanta Housing Authority–which pioneered the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI program more than a decade ago–will face a potential stumbling block when…
Read MoreHousing Decline Hurts Wolseley Trading Profits
Reading–The weakening housing market helped lower the largest global distributor of plumbing and heating supplies’ trading profits by 40 percent in the five months ending in December, The Financial Times reported Monday.In November, the U.K.-based company–headquartered in Reading–said North American trading profits were down 30 percent. Wolseley’s shares have lost half their value in the…
Read MoreAlsons Corporation
The trend to “go green” is omnipresent and a sound choice for both the environment and the property owner. There are several easy and inexpensive changes that can impact water usage and save money. One such way is to install a low-flow shower head. Alsons Corporation, a manufacturer of shower products, offers patented fluidics spray…
Read MoreInsurers are Beginning to Recognize Green Building… But what Makes a Building Green?
By Robert Mittleman, Riemer Insurance GroupAs we begin this New Year, the housing and real estate industry is turning its attention to the potential environmental risks and challenges associated with “green” compliance. The insurance industry has always been a leader and advocate for both the education about, and eventual reduction of, foreseeable risks. Recently, insurers…
Read MoreIn Some Global Markets, Housing Soars
In the past week, surveyors and a large property sales Web site announced separate findings that showed U.K. home prices had dropped, indicating the country’s real estate boom finally may be over–and that British housing could soon echo the painfully prolonged U.S. housing decline. That news–along with announcements of stumbling in the financial services sector…
Read MoreCase Study: Learn Fire Safety Lessons Before Disaster Strikes
By Jeff Hendrickson, Silent KnightAtlantic City, N.J.—In September 2006, a service call was made to Fire Alarm Maintenance Company (FAMCO) of Aston, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. The call came from the Plaza Condominium, a 14-story high-rise on the Atlantic City boardwalk. The Plaza’s fire alarm system had failed and required urgent attention.Upon arriving on…
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