Developer Features Museum-Quality Artwork
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWestchester, N.Y.–Following a growing trend, Valhalla, N.Y.-based Ginsburg Development Cos., a developer of residential and mixed-use communities, has included museum-quality artwork in many of its new projects, including Knickerbocker Lofts in New Rochelle, N.Y., Riverwatch in Yonkers, N.Y. and The Harbors at Haverstraw, Haverstraw, N.Y.“People are becoming more sophisticated. We live with so much visual influence and people have higher expectations,” says Susan Newman, a partner at Knickerbocker New Rochelle LLC, a partnership between New York’s Urban Green Builders and Ginsburg Development Cos., and curator of the collections at Knickerbocker Lofts and Riverwatch. “The trend will…
Fannie Mae Posts More Than $2 Billion First Quarter Loss
Washington, D.C.– Fannie Mae–the largest U.S. home purchaser–announced a $2.19 billion first-quarter loss Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports.A year ago, its profit was $961 million. The company plans to reduce its dividend and obtain $6 billion in capital.In 2008, Fannie Mae forecasts home prices will drop 7 to 9 percent nationally and the overall market will be in a state of “severe weakness.”
Fed Chairman Blames Foreclosures For Home Price Drops, Says Public and Private Sectors Can Fix the Market
New York–U.S. home price declines can be linked to the high foreclosure rate, and the country needs a joint government and private-sector approach to correct the housing slump, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.Speaking to the Columbia School of Business in New York, Bernanke used a set of maps that illustrated delinquency rates, job reductions and home price fluctuations, CNNMoney.com reports.”Realistic public- and private-sector policies must take into account the fact that traditional foreclosure avoidance strategies may not always work well in the current environment,” Bernanke said.Compared to a year ago, foreclosures rose 112 percent in the first three…
D.R. Horton Posts Record Loss
Fort Worth, Texas–D.R. Horton Inc.–the largest U.S. homebuilder–announced a record loss Tuesday that included an $834.1 million land and inventory writedown.The $1.31 billion fiscal second-quarter net loss was nearly seven times more than analysts’ estimates, according to Bloomberg.Revenue fell 38 percent to $1.62 billion. Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Louisiana provided the most quarterly revenue. Fort Worth, Texas-based D.R. Horton’s cancellation rate was 33 percent; last year, it was 32 percent.The company’s backlog of homes dropped 47 percent to 8,947; the backlog’s value fell 57 percent to $2.1 billion.
U.S. Banks Tightening Lending Requirements in 2008
Washington, D.C.–In the early months of 2008, U.S. banks greatly restricted their lending practices, according to a Federal Reserve report released Monday. The amount of banks with tighter lending requirements for corporate, commercial real estate, home mortgage, credit card and other consumer loans was “close to or above historical highs for nearly all loan categories,” the senior loan officer survey said.The survey showed that banks are continuing to restrict credit–especially in regard to consumer and commercial/industrial loans, the Financial Times reports. The number of banks restricting credit card and other consumer loan terms hit a new high. Student loan lending…
Pinnacle Selects Conservice to Provide Utility Billing Services
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSeattle–Pinnacle has selected Conservice, a provider of utility management and billing for the multifamily market, as its preferred national provider of utility services across all business segments. Pinnacle, a third-party fee management company, completed an extensive evaluation of companies in the utility billing market and analyzed over a dozen criteria for these companies including ease of use, technological innovations, customer service, regulatory expertise and data integration capabilities. Pinnacle’s five-year agreement with Conservice includes data integration services, utility billing to residents, resident access to Pinnacle’s web-portal, installation and maintenance of utility submeters and additional programs and services…
Smith & Fong Co. Introduces World’s First Range of FSC-Certified Bamboo Plywood and Flooring
Smith & Fong Co.’s Plyboo architectural plywood and flooring will be the world’s first range of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified bamboo plywood and flooring. Made from 100 percent FSC materials, the products will be designated as FSC Pure. Durable and easy to install, Plyboo flooring, which is made from laminated bamboo, is available in either flat or edge-grain, pre-finished or unfinished. The low-resin, open-grained flooring comes in two colors: amber and natural.Smith & Fong Co. will offer a range of trim moldings whose average hardness is 1,500 lbf. The moldings include stair-nosing, thresholds, reducers, base-shoes and baseboards. Panel sizes are…
Abu Dhabi Prepares for Solar/Zero Carbon City
By Maria Siakavellas, Contributing EditorAbu Dhabi, UAE–In the 40 years since the inception of London-based architectural firm Foster + Partners, little has changed in terms of the organization’s guiding philosophy. From day one, the firm has operated on the belief that the quality of people’s surroundings has a direct impact on the quality of their lives, be it at work, at home or at play.What’s more, its designs have always accounted for the needs—both physical and spiritual—of people, and painstakingly considered a structure’s physical context within a location’s culture, climate and environment. Though it has worked under the same philosophy since…
Kettler Execs Share Management Insights
By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorMcLean, Va.–Kettler, a developer, builder and property manager, recently took home several Pillars of the Industry awards including one for Property Management Company of the Year, sponsored by Time Warner Cable, and one for Property Manager of the Year–Site for Michelle Priesner (who earned top in-house honors for property management in 2006). How does this company achieve its winning results? MHN spoke with both Cindy Clare, president of Kettler Management, based in McLean, Va., and Michelle Priesner, ARM, property manager at two Pentagon City, Va. high-rise communities, to get their insights into the multi-faceted and…
Multifamily Originations Hit Record in 2007 Despite Mid-year Slowdown
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The commercial/multifamily originations market grew 19 percent in 2007, with mortgage bankers closing $507.7 billion in commercial/multifamily loans, according the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 2007 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance: Annual Origination Volume Summation.“Despite the slowdown, 2007 saw a record high in originations because during the first half of 2007, originations were going strong,” Jamie Woodwell (pictured), senior director of commercial/multifamily research at MBA, tells MHN. “The numbers were 38 percent ahead of 2006.”The credit crunch had a significant impact on conduit financing, but GSEs and multifamily lending was strong, said Woodwell. He said the 2007…