Archive for June 2008
How Green Can You Go?
By Leslee Temple, FASLA, vice president and CFO, NUVIS Landscape Architecture and PlanningWhat should multifamily developers do when faced with the extreme challenge of building and marketing a new community, while significantly reducing the use of water that would normally be required for landscaping? From a sustainability point of view, efficient use of water can…
Read MoreUSG’s Early Exposure Floor Underlayment
USG’s Leverlock CSD early exposure floor underlayment can be poured up to 60 days before the building’s permanent windows and doors are installed in geographic areas not subject to freezing conditions.Designed for use in buildings with light-gauge steel frame construction, this innovative underlayment product can be applied over corrugated steel decks, giving architects and developers…
Read MoreU.S. Architecture Firm Expands in Middle East, India
For the past two and a half years, Humphreys & Partners Architects L.P. has been working in the United Arab Emirates and last month opened its first office there, in Dubai. It’s also operated an office in India, in the city of Chennai, since last year. This Dallas-based firm, which runs eight offices across the…
Read MoreThe Biggest Sign That Property Is Rebounding (And It’s Not Sales)…
Forget real estate sales. There’s a bigger indication that the market may be turning around: Real estate investment. Home prices may be down, but the average real estate fund is 2 percent higher this year compared to 2007, according to the Chicago Tribune. That’s a decent amount, given New York-based financial analyst Lipper Inc. also…
Read MoreU.S. Homebuilders Struggle with Higher Material Costs
Atlanta–Rising oil prices are increasing the cost of necessary construction materials, adding to U.S. homebuilders’ problems, the International Herald Tribune reports.Prices for steel, aluminum, concrete, copper, asphalt, plumbing fixtures and brick, along with other materials, have gone up. The wholesale new home construction materials cost increased 3.4 percent in April compared to April 2007, the…
Read MoreTop Banking Regulator Questions Quality of Information from Banks, Mortgage Firms
New York–Speaking in New York Wednesday, John C. Dugan, comptroller of the currency–which monitors national banks–said banks and mortgage firms are offering questionable information about the subprime borrowers they are assisting and their borrowers’ foreclosure rate. Dugan said his agency uncovered “significant limitations with the mortgage performance data reported by other organizations and trade associations,”…
Read MoreRebate Checks Boost U.S. Spending
Washington, D.C.–Retail sales increased at twice the predicted rate last month, due in part to the tax rebate checks distributed to U.S. citizens, the Financial Timessaid.Total retail sales grew 1 percent in May–the largest monthly increase since November. Sales figures for April were revised to a 0.4 percent increase from a 0.2 percent decline.The first…
Read MoreForeclosure Filings Up in May
Irvine, Calif.–Foreclosure filings rose almost 50 percent in May compared to 2007, according to Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac.In May, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing–a 48 percent increase from May 2007 and a 7 percent rise from April, the New York Times said Friday.The highest number of U.S. households received a…
Read MoreDEAL OF THE DAY: ExchangePoint Completes TIC Transaction for 440-Unit Rental Community
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–Beverly Hills-based ExchangePoint Properties LLC recently completed a tenant in common (TIC) transaction for Cameron Brook Apartments, a 440-unit rental community located at 4659 Dawson Blvd. in Atlanta.Within five months of acquiring the property for $26.2 million, ExchangePoint completed the sale of the apartment complex to 35 TIC investors. “Atlanta…
Read MoreJ Turner Research Engages With Paradigm Properties
By Rachel Block, ReporterHouston–Paradigm Properties will use J Turner Research’s web surveys to measure resident perceptions at nine of its student housing properties.J Turner’s surveys will measure customer service levels amongst current and prospective residents. The results of the surveys will allow J Turner to develop a guide to assist Paradigm in amending which areas…
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