Jessica Fiur is the editor-in-chief at Multi-Housing News and Commercial Property Executive and writes the award-winning blog What Renters Want.

Jessica has been with the company since 2011 and previously was with Weekly Reader and IQPC. Contact Jessica at jessica.fiur@cpe-mhn.com, on Twitter @jfiur or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicafiur/.

Atterbury Property Group Launches $3 Billion Mixed-Use Urban Development in South Africa

Atterbury Property Group has launched its $3 billion Waterfall Business Estate, one of the most ambitious mixed-use urban development projects in South Africa.

Economy Watch: New Home Sales Drop in June

The mild exuberance that the housing market was feeling in previous months may have come to an end, as new worries about the economy infect the potential pool of homebuyers.

Putting Families First

John Picerne has found success serving the families that serve our country.

Editor’s Note: Leaving Las Vegas

After a number of years in Vegas, the National Apartment Association held the 2012 Education Conference & Exposition in Boston. The sleek Boston Convention Center is a bit more buttoned-up than Mandalay Bay, but I did spot an Elvis impersonator roaming the show floor; so you can take the NAA expo out of Vegas but you can’t take Vegas out of the NAA expo. The enormous exhibit hall was filled to capacity with suppliers—a good sign for the economy and a great resource for apartment operators. Watch MHN TV for interviews on a range of topics affecting the industry.

Jazz-Age LA Office Building Becomes Digital-Age LA Apartments

Construction has been completed on the redevelopment of the Roosevelt, a vintage 1920s office building in downtown Los Angeles. The property is now the Roosevelt Lofts, a 222-unit apartment complex.

MHN Interview: The Importance of Relationship Lending

Joseph Orefice, senior vice president of Investors Bank’s Commercial Lending Group, talks about the lending trends in multifamily and how, despite being relatively new to the market, his company was able to become a major player in the real estate lending industry.

Institutional Property Advisors Names Drew Kile Associate Director

Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a multifamily brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap serving the needs of institutional and major private investors, has named Drew Kile as an associate director, according to Hessam Nadji, managing director of IPA.

Low Rate Environment Persists, Refinance Applications Reach Highest Level Since 2009 in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications increased 0.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 20, 2012.

UDR Closes $297.7M Multi-State Apartment Portfolio Sale

The UDR Multi-State Portfolio sale, which was inked earlier this year, has been finalized.

Picerne Military Housing Expands into the Student Housing Market

Picerne Military Housing, announced today that it is expanding to the student housing market with the launch of a new parent company called Corvias Group, and a new student housing division called Corvias Campus Living.