By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Washington, D.C.–Rising unemployment may not hurt the apartment market as badly as in the past, said an industry observer. The government reported the unemployment rate jumped in December to 7.2 percent—reportedly the highest rate since January 1993. Some housing economists have forecasted that the unemployment rate will not turn up until the later part of 2010. The National Association of Home Builders projects it may flatten to 8.1 percent by the beginning of next year. But many economists generally are projecting the unemployment rate to be over 9 percent by the end of 2009, and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAurora, Ill.–NorthMarq Capital LLC’s recently arranged first mortgage financing of $22.25 million for Butterfield Oaks Apartments (pictured), a 346-unit multifamily property, located in Aurora, Ill. Financing was based on a seven-year term with five years of Yield Maintenance and a 30-year amortization schedule.NorthMarq arranged the financing through its seller/server relationship with Freddie Mac. Arbor Closes Three DUS Loans Totaling Over $13M St. Charles, Ill., Kansas City, Mo. and East Lansing, Mich.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed funding of three loans totaling $13,200,000 under the Fannie Mae DUS product line.The loans include:Cumberland Green Co-op, St. Charles, Ill.:…

San Francisco–Atlanta-headquartered Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) has opened its northern California office—ARA Pacific—under the leadership of Curtis Gardner and Mark Leary, both former partners with San Francisco-based Arroyo & Coates. The new office, located in San Francisco, marks ARA’s 17th location. The brokerage team of Curtis Gardner, Mark Leary, Craig Chiappone and John McCulloch has collectively closed in excess of $6 billion in multi-housing transactions in the northern and southern California markets since 1986. The team collectively possesses over 50 years of real estate investment experience with a specialization in the apartment market. AvalonBay Communities, BRE Properties, Equity Residential, Fairfield…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–As we come out of one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in history, the retail sector continues to be hit with more bad news. Reports of bankruptcies, revenue losses and companies on the verge of shutting down keep on coming. While the multifamily sector is faring better than the doom-and-gloom results of retail, the major hits taken by this sector are having a big impact on mixed-use developments across the U.S., in its path negatively affecting apartment projects.“New mixed-use developments are dead for now,” David Jacobstein, chief advisor to Deloitte LLP’s Real Estate…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorKnoxville, Tenn.—Sthenia Solutions, a software development firm, recently launched LoanMarq, a Web-based finance management application for the mortgage, banking and real estate industries to bring borrowers, lenders, loan officers, appraisers, agents and escrow officers together. In the mortgage and real estate industries, a client going to get a mortgage is often left in the dark as to the status of the loan, says Paul Piers, CEO, Sthenia Solutions. LoanMarq provides a higher level of customer service, he says. “Anytime real estate is transferred, no matter what type of property, it works. Everyone involved in the transaction…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLivingston, N.J.–Gebroe-Hammer Associates has appointed four professionals to new executive-level management positions. Joseph Brecher (pictured) and David Jarvis were named executive vice presidents, and Greg Pine and Eli Rosen were promoted to the position of senior vice president.“In addition to consistently demonstrating comprehensive market knowledge and unrivaled expertise, each of these individuals has been integral to Gebroe-Hammer’s growth and expansion into new submarkets throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” says Ken Uranowitz, managing director. “Representing Gebroe-Hammer’s future, these brokers have distinguished themselves in terms of transactional volume in existing and emerging markets.”  Jones Lang LaSalle Expands…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Washington, D.C.–The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) confirmed the economic slowdown has begun to adversely affect the commercial real estate market. MBA’s just-released the Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book for the third quarter of 2008 shows that property fundamentals, property sales and commercial/multifamily mortgage performance were all negatively affected by the economic and financial downturns. “For more than a year, we have been faced with the question of whether commercial real estate would be the next shoe to drop,” said Jamie Woodwell, vice president of Commercial Real Estate Research for MBA.  “The weakening economy,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–President-elect Barack Obama has asked Congress to consider delaying the February 17 deadline for the nation’s television stations to switch to digital signals. This anticipated change could postpone the introduction of new advanced wireless services.The Obama administration believes that if the deadline is not pushed out, millions of Americans could lose access to television services because of a spike in requests for free coupons to acquire new equipment necessary to receive digital signals using older analogue TV sets. There are apparently over a million people on the waiting list. Robert Bishop, CPM Vice President…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMattawan, N.J.–The end of the housing market crunch in New Jersey is in sight, and the market is likely to bottom out in 2009 as credit restrictions loosen with a full swing recovery forecasted for 2010, according to real estate analyst Jeffrey Otteau of Otteau Valuation Group, an appraisal, consulting and market analysis group.  Otteau recently spoke to an audience of about 40 people at a home-buying workshop sponsored by American Properties Realty.“Mark my word, 10 years from now, people will look back at the first half of 2009 and say, ‘That was the time…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLubbock, Texas–The Dallas office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.) recently arranged a $16.3 million refinancing through Freddie Mac for Ashton Pointe (pictured), a 366-unit multifamily community in Lubbock, Texas.HFF worked on behalf of McDougal Cos. to secure the 10-year, 5.64 percent fixed-rate loan, which will be also be serviced by HFF. Ashton Pointe is located at 308 Frankford, close to West Loop 289 in Lubbock. It was completed in three phases from 1996 to 2003. The property is currently 92 percent occupied.Balfour Beatty Communities Acquires Interest in Military Housing Privatization Project at Lackland Air…