Washington, D.C.–New home sales fell 1.8 percent in February to a 13-year low, according to the Commerce Department.New home sales declined to a 590,000 annual pace. Home purchases fell 30 percent from the same period a year ago. Economists had expected new home sales to drop to a 578,000 annual pace, Bloomberg said. January purchases were revised from an estimated 588,000 pace to 601,000.Two of the four regions saw a decline. The Northeast showed a 40 percent drop–its biggest since 1996. In the South and West, sales were higher.The Commerce Department report also said that the housing inventory showed a…

Washington, D.C.–Big-ticket item factory orders dropped in February and machinery orders fell to a record low–which could indicate the U.S. is in a recession, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.Orders for durable goods also declined 1.7 percent last month. After increasing in the previous two months, factory orders for machinery dropped 13 percent–the largest decline on record, according to CNNMoney.com.Non-defense capital goods orders–which economists consider to be a barometer for business activity–dropped 1 percent.Two months of decline in a row, combined with a weakness in non-defense capital goods orders, imply that “the economy has slipped into recession,” Scott Anderson, senior economist…

Allen, Texas–GE Real Estate has made an equity investment of $17.8 million with partner BH Equities to acquire two adjacent Class A multifamily assets located in Allen, Texas, a newly developed area 12 miles north of North Dallas. The properties are Benton Pointe, a three-story project with 456 garden-style units built in 2000, and Lansbrook, a two-story project with 288 garden-style units built in 2002. Dallas-based BH Equities will invest more than $3 million for capital improvements at Benton Pointe and Lansbrook.Since 2006, GE has partnered with BH Equities to acquire five multifamily assets valued at more than $200 million.“Based on GE’s…

Washington, D.C–As part of the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) ongoing effort to recruit new talent into the apartment industry, the Council has added an internship feature to its online career center and job board.The new feature, which is available at nmhc.org, is designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to explore careers in the multifamily industry by getting hands-on experience with the industry’s top employers. Firms can post internships at no charge, and students can search for positions, upload resumes and apply to postings directly through the site.“The number of renters nationwide is projected to increase by almost four…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDenver–Apartment Investment and Management Co. (AIMCO), owner and operator of apartment communities, received the 2007 Communities of Quality Program Award from the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA), the affordable housing advocacy organization representing multifamily owners and management companies.The annual award recognizes AIMCO for having the nation’s highest number of multifamily communities that have earned NAHMA’s “Communities of Quality” (COQ) certification for excellence in affordable property management, customer service, personnel performance and other areas. The award was formally presented to AIMCO at NAHMA’s annual meeting from March 9 to 11 in Washington, D.C.In addition, AIMCO’s…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson shot down many of the recent ideas about using taxpayer money to refinance mortgages and reduce loan amounts Wednesday in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Paulson also said Congress should finish two measures awaiting final action that would update the Federal Housing Authority and revamp Fannie Mae’s federal oversight, MarketWatch reported Wednesday.The Bush administration doesn’t want to support a measure that would halt the housing market price correction, Paulson said, stressing that he felt homeowners with negative equity didn’t need a “system-wide” solution.Paulson also said that the Fed needed more regulation for…

Bethesda, Md.–The potential for high returns and low prices–byproducts of the U.S. housing slump and credit crisis–have prompted investors to consider U.S. real estate, the Financial Times reports.At least $30 billion has been raised or is in the process of being raised to invest in U.S. real estate since last August, according to Bethesda, Md.-based commercial real estate researcher Costar Group.As the real estate market has weakened, property investors have been looking for opportunities in housing and commercial developments.Homebuilders have been liquidating land and homes at low prices as the housing slump continued; home prices in the top U.S. cities…

Washington, D.C.–EverGreen Solutions recently launched AptBudget.com, a Web-based budget tool for the multifamily industry that is designed to reduce errors experienced with spreadsheets by utilizing a streamlined budgeting process.An overwhelming majority of property managers are currently building budgets within spreadsheet workbooks on a property-by-property basis, according to the company. The spreadsheet process is labor-intensive and requires property managers to manually input data. Additionally, the spreadsheet process exposes budgets to errors when complex calculations are deleted.“The industry has a great need for a budgeting tool,” says Georgianna W. Oliver, CEO of EverGreen Solutions. “It’s easy for management to use, and it…

Hong Kong–Two of China’s biggest banks were negatively affected by their U.S. subprime-related securities holdings, the New York Times reports.However, despite their subprime exposure, both the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and the Bank of China both announced higher fourth-quarter profits on Tuesday.The Bank of China–which was most affected by the subprime collapse–said it held $5 billion in asset-backed securities at the end of last year, comprising 2.13 percent of its investment securities.However, the bank said it did not expect to post any future losses if it is able to dispose of its subprime holdings.Industrial & Commercial Bank held…