GUEST COLUMN: The Long-Term Prospects of Multifamily Investments
By Mark Alfieri, chief operating officer of Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I, Inc. Most experts agree that 2009 will be challenging for all commercial property types, including the market’s perennial bright-spot, the multifamily market. Although apartments have suffered less than other commercial real estate sectors, apartment vacancy rates are expected to rise an average of 130 basis points this year due to rising unemployment, according to Property and Portfolio Research, Inc. (PPR).In spite of current challenges, the long-term outlook for multifamily housing remains encouraging. Many economic and demographic trends continue to support a positive long-term outlook for apartments beyond 2009……
TODAY’S DEALS: Walker & Dunlop Provides $12M Loan for 408-Unit Apartment Community, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOmaha, Neb.–Walker & Dunlop provided a $12,100,000 loan for Legacy Crossing Apartments (pictured) located in Omaha, Neb. The loan was structured with a 10-year term with two years interest-only, followed by a 30-year amortization. The loan was underwritten to an 80 percent loan-to-value and a 1.25x debt-service coverage ratio. Legacy Crossing Apartments is a B class, 408-unit garden-style apartment complex featuring an outdoor pool, tennis courts, fitness center, java café and computer stations, children’s playground and clubhouse. The borrower recently completed over $2 million in improvements to the property, which included reconstruction of balconies, new…
IREM Becomes Executive Member of OSCRE, Appoints Toothaker as Rep to Board of Directors
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) recently became an executive member of the Open Standards Consortium for Real Estate (OSCRE), North America’s foremost standards development organization for the real property supply chain. Following this development, IREM selected Robert (Bob) Toothaker, CPM, who served as the organization’s president in 2007, to be its representative on the OSCRE Board of Directors. OSCRE facilitates the standards development process among key real estate stakeholders, including owners, tenants/occupants, investors, operators, tenants, developers, service providers, regulatory agencies, consulting firms, vendors and suppliers — to benefit all stakeholders and enable the…
EDITOR’S NOTE: HUD Secretary Affirms Recommitment to Rental Housing
By Keat Foong, Executive Editor In announcing the proposed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget this week, HUD Secretary Donovan seemed to affirm a shift in direction from the Bush years—towards a renewed emphasis on rental housing. Speaking in a teleconference to reporters, he said that the focus has been missing for “too long” from rental housing. He commented that we have had “accelerated disinvestment in key housing and community efforts” in the country in the past few years. And that we have had “a housing policy focused almost exclusively on homeownership at the expense and/or neglect of…
Stress Test Results ‘Better than Feared,’ But Do Not Improve Apt. Financing Situation
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–The government’s recent “stress tests” of the nation’s 19 largest banks showed that 10 banks — including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. —need to raise a total of $75 billion in new capital to absorb potential losses if the recession were to take a turn for the worst.The remaining nine—JPMorgan Chase & Co. and brokerage house Goldman Sachs Group Inc. among them—have enough capital to withstand a deeper recession.According to the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, John Dugan, the tests help boost morale in the market. Tobey Price…
Last Unit at Lakeshore East’s Fourth Condo Tower Sold
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Magellan Development Group has completed sales at the 35-story The Chandler, the fourth luxury condominium tower developed at Lakeshore East. The last unit, priced at over a $1 million, was sold after being on the market for close to a year. Lakeshore East is the $4-billion mixed-use complex anchoring the New East Side near the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.The Chandler, located at 450 E. Waterside Dr. on the northeast corner of the 28-acre community was developed in collaboration with Hanwha Engineering & Construction Co. It added 304 residences to the community,…
MARKET SNAPSHOT: Baltimore Apts. Are Performing Surprisingly Well, While Condo Market Weakens
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Baltimore—Despite losing nearly 26,000 jobs from January 2008 to January 2009, the Baltimore metro area is outperforming its neighbors, according to the first quarter 2009 report prepared by Transwestern and its research affiliate, Delta Associates.Although the overall metro area’s unemployment rate is currently 7.1 percent, as of January 2009, the urban core’s rate is slightly higher—at 10.0 percent—while the suburbs are faring better with an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent.While the national decline in housing prices is approximately 8.2 percent, housing prices in the Baltimore metro area declined only 3.8 percent in 2008.Further, condo resale…
GUEST COLUMN: From Brown to Green. Understanding the Legal Implications of Brownfields
By Martin A. Shelton, Esq.Brownfield property purchasers and developers are wise to have a clear understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements associated with the process. It’s the difference between holding a brown parcel worth its weight in gold or waste. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Brownfields Prevention Initiative begun by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2000 was designed to “use opportunities for statutory and regulatory flexibility in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to accelerate site cleanup, facilitate dialogue, and integrate reuse and redevelopment issues, as appropriate, into cleanup decisions.”The goal is to accelerate…
TODAY’S DEALS: NorthMarq Capital Arranges $20M Mortgage for 424-Unit Property, and Other Transactions
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMiami–NorthMarq Capital (NorthMarq) recently arranged $20 million first mortgage financing for the Broadwater Apartments (pictured), a 424-unit multifamily property located in Miami. Financing was based on a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac. Love Funding Closes Over $4M in Refi Loan for 58-Unit Apartment CommunitySt. Louis–Love Funding has closed a $4,265,500 refinance loan for Lake Broadway Townhomes, a 58-unit market-rate, multifamily community located in Columbia, Mo.Love Funding secured the financing using the FHA 223(f) mortgage insurance loan program. By…
Rents Remain Unaffordable for Many, According to Center for Housing Policy Study
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C.—Many of the jobs created through the federal stimulus package do not pay enough for workers to afford rent, according to a new study by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference.The study, “Paycheck to Paycheck,” ranks homeownership and rental affordability for more than 60 occupations in over 200 U.S. metro areas.While home prices have declined and the income needed to purchase a median-priced home in most metro areas dropped from 2007 to 2008, rents increased in the majority of metro areas during the same period, the study found.Despite…