Residential Market Turmoil Forces Harry Macklowe to Sell GM Building
New York–Subprime loan market issues caused famed commercial real estate developer Harry Macklowe to sell the iconic General Motors Building for $3.95 billion to Boston Properties, Forbes said Tuesday.Real estate management company Boston Properties will pay $1.5 billion in cash, $10 million units in limited partnership interest and assume $2.5 billion in debt to own a 49 percent share of the General Motors Building. Additional unnamed investors will hold the rest of the ownership. A year ago, Macklowe received $5.8 billion in financing from Deutsche Bank and $1.2 billion from Fortress Investment Group to buy seven Manhattan properties; but as…
Home Price News Fears Weaken the U.S. Dollar
London–The dollar dropped to a one-month low against the euro as the market awaited reports expected to show home prices and consumer confidence were falling, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.The dollar declined from $1.5770 late Monday to $1.5818 against the euro in London–the lowest point since April 24.The dollar also weakened against the Swiss franc and British pound when traders reduced speculation that the Federal Reserve–which has offered seven rate cuts since September–would raise interest rates in 2008.
Housing Reports Offer Mixed Price Views, Imply Sales Are Down
New York–U.S. home prices dropped again in the first quarter due to continued subprime loan issues, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes–but the Commerce Department said that new home sales rose.The indexes–published monthly by New York-based Standard & Poor’s–showed that home prices declined 14 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago. The fall was the largest in the 20-year history of the indexes, The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday.Home prices plummeted 6.7 percent from the fourth quarter. In 10 major metropolitan areas, prices declined 15 percent in March from a year ago.Prices fell 14 percent compared to…
Government Is Filing Fewer Housing Discrimination Charges, According to Federal Data
Washington, D.C.–Complaints against landlords, real estate agents and mortgage brokers are rising, but the federal government is filing fewer housing discrimination charges, USA Today reports.The majority of renters and buyers filing complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development involving issues such as landlord discrimination are unlikely to get help because HUD is throwing out an increased number of complaints, federal data reveal.Under the Federal Fair Housing Act, HUD investigates and prosecutes cases; it filed 31 discrimination charges last year and filed 36 in 2006.But the charges for both years combined declined 65 percent compared to 1999 and…
BSB Receives Award for Expansion into Global Marketplace
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDes Moines, Iowa–BSB Design received the Export Achievement Certificate from the U.S. Department of Commerce at the 11th Annual Capital City Consular Corps luncheon in Sacramento, Calif., for its expansion into the global marketplace.The international architecture and community planning firm officially decided to go global 20 months ago. The company’s leaders met with George Tastard, director of U.S. Commercial Services, and committed the firm to expansion beyond the continental U.S. BSB Design President Steve Moore says, “We wanted to expand into global markets for years but never took the crucial first steps for fear of…
DEAL OF THE DAY: CBRE Completes Sale of Two Rental Communities for $4 M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorTrenton, Mercer County, N.J.–CB Richard Ellis recently brokered the sale of two separately owned apartment complexes located in Trenton and Mercer County, N.J. for $4 million. Greenwood Avenue Gardens and Beechwood Gardens together contain 80 rental units.CB Richard Ellis’ Miller/McFadden Multi-housing Group lead by associate Mark Duszak represented both the sellers. Beechwood Gardens, located in the Hillcrest section of Trenton City, was bought for $3.1 million. The 62-unit, four-story apartment complex was built in 1964 and is currently 48 percent occupied. The complex sits on 1.15 acres of land.Greenwood Avenue Gardens, an 18-unit, three-story property…
Delille Inn Senior Housing Community to Undergo $7.1M Renovations to Recover from Hurricane Katrina Damage
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew Orleans–Sisters of the Holy Family, along with Providence Community Housing, Christopher Homes and Enterprise, recently broke ground at the Delille Inn Apartments, a 51-unit senior housing community slated to undergo $7.1 million in renovations.’it took a long time for everything to fall into place and meanwhile people were either living in other senior housing homes or with family,” Andreanecia M. Morris, program manager for Providence Community Housing, tells MHN.Located at 6924 Chef Menteur Highway, Delille Inn was damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina and the floods that followed. New Orleans City Councilmember Cynthia Willard-Lewis,…
Hunter Intros Bath Fans That Look like Lights
Hunter’s new line of upscale bath fans features metal finishes, glass treatments and styles combining light fixtures with high-performance ventilation fans.The bath fans that look like decorative light fixtures provide a stylish alternative to plastic models, giving builders and remodelers a chance to upgrade properties.Hunter bath fans provide protection from mold, mildew and general indoor air quality, and are certified by the Home Ventilation Institute (HVI) for both air movement cubic feet per minute (CFM) and sound level (sones). The new range features models including the Victorian, Halcyon, La Strada and Saturn.The Victorian can be used with traditional chrome and…
Buyers Receive Most Current Real Estate Information Via Text Messages
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–Home Quest, a New York-based brokerage boutique, has created a new technology that allows home buyers to receive the latest real estate market information through text messages sent directly to their cell phones.”Most of our customers are very busy and sometimes it is unrealistic to expect a customer to commit to a certain time and place when they can sit down at their computers, open attachments and compare properties,” Max Ribitzky, Home Quest managing director and vice president of marketing, tells MHN. “The best properties on the market move very quickly and it becomes imperative…
Apartment Starts Will Trend Down After this Year, Held Low by Shadow Inventory, Condo-to-Rental Conversions, Says NAHB Economist
By Keat FoongExecutive EditorWashington, D.C.—Multifamily made news recently by being the housing sector that showed a steep increase in starts. Nevertheless, overall starts for the sector, for both the apartments and condominiums, are expected to decline by next year. Bernard Markstein, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), says that the shadow inventory of apartments will be responsible in big part for a decline in apartment starts. “We expect multifamily starts will be trending lower going into next year,” he says. Markstein points out that as of the first quarter, the vacancy rate…