Fourth Quarter Net Income at Lowe’s Drops 33 Percent
Mooresville, N.C.–Weaker sales caused fourth quarter net income at Mooresville, N.C.-based home improvement retailer Lowe’s to fall 33 percent, Bloomberg reported Monday.Net income was $408 million, or 28 cents a share, for the quarter ended Feb. 1. Last year, net income in the quarter was $613 million, or 40 cents a share.Lowe’s said that revenue at stores that have been open 13 months or more could drop 5 to 6 percent from now through January 2009.
Upkeep Costs for New York Condos and Co-ops Continue to Rise
New York–Higher operating costs and property taxes are raising condominium common charges and co-op maintenance fees in New York City, The New York Times reports.Apartment owners are receiving their fifth or sixth consecutive annual round of fee increases, a sharp contrast from previous years in which common charges and maintenance costs stayed fairly constant. Last year, average Manhattan co-op maintenance fees were 30 percent higher than in 2002, according to a residential sales analysis by Manhattan appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. Condos saw a 38 percent increase in combined common charges and real estate taxes in the past five years.Maintenance costs…
uWink, InSite Software to Make Senior Housing Living More Convenient
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLos Angeles–uWink Inc., a digital entertainment software company headquartered in Los Angeles, has signed a software licensing and development agreement with InSite Development, a Calif.-based real-estate developer, to provide unique touch-based technology for the senior housing market.Under this agreement, uWink’s interactive digital content operating system and real-time, multi-player game platform will initially be deployed at Arbor Court, a housing community in Lancaster, Calif.In addition, InSite and uWink will partner in developing customized senior housing specific applications and will license to third parties in the senior housing market.The uWink technology allows users to touch to access…
Bourn Partners Acquires 185 acres of Land for Mixed-Use Development
Georgetown, Texas–Bourn Partners, a real estate development firm headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., has acquired 185 acres in Georgetown on Westinghouse Road. The property is marked for a multi-use development that could include multifamily housing, assisted living facilities, medical office and research space, a corporate campus, and retail components among others.“This area, bordered by IH-35, Westinghouse Boulevard, FM 1460 and University Boulevard, is fast becoming the hub of Williamson County for medical, educational and retail needs,” says Joe Simmons, principal at Bourn Partners. “We are delighted to play a part in creating this dynamic project for future growth in the region.”The…
Western National’s Initial Closing of Multifamily Fund Is Worth Over $200M
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Calif.,–Western National Property Management, the multifamily management arm of Western National Group based in Irvine, has held the initial close of Western National Realty Fund II, L.P. (“Fund II”), the firm’s second private equity fund, with over $200 million of equity commitments.“We anticipate Fund II’s final close to take place in 2008 with at least $300 million of equity commitments,” says CEO Michael K. Hayde.Fund II focuses solely on multifamily acquisitions and development projects. Its current investors primarily include major state employee pension funds, life insurance companies and investment banks, as well as many…
Chatham Financial Opens Singapore Office
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorKennett Square, Pa.–Chatham Financial, an interest rate and foreign exchange advisory company, has opened its newest location in Singapore to better serve its international client base as well as support the interest rate and currency risk management needs of its growing number of Asia Pacific clients.The Singapore office is in addition to two U.S. locations in Kennett Square, Pa., and Denver as well as offices in London, U.K., and Krakow, Poland.“We are thrilled as this will allow us to continue to create market efficiency with closer proximity to the Asia market. We value having a…
DEAL OF THE DAY: Saint Vincent’s Signs 15-Year Lease for 64 Luxury Residences
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorJersey City, N.J.–Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (Saint Vincent’s), the umbrella organization for several hospitals and healthcare facilities, has signed a 15-year lease with SK Properties, a Bridgewater, N.J.-based real estate company, for 65 apartments at Grove Pointe in downtown Jersey City, N.J. The lease is worth $34 million.The residences in the 30-story luxury rental building, developed by SK Properties, is to be occupied by resident and intern physicians, doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel.“Saint Vincent’s was unable to find a building in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, close to the hospital facility, which is why they…
Leading Economist Says Home Prices Will Be Down 20 Percent At Lowest Point of Slump
New York–The declining U.S. economy ultimately will force home prices down by 20 percent, the chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com said this week.Mark Zandi, who co-founded Economy.com, also said the U.S. will experience a recession in the first half of 2008, the Guardian reports.”To be more precise, the economy is contracting. It’s been contracting for December, January and probably February,” Zandi said. “Another three, four, five months of contraction and that would be a recession.”Speaking at the Reuters Housing Summit in New York, he said the Moody’s Economy.com outlook had changed significantly from December, when it estimated a 13 percent…
Russian Sovereign Wealth Funds Invest in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Moscow–Two Russian sovereign wealth funds holding a collective $157 billion have invested in government agency bonds, including U.S. home finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Financial Times reports.Russia’s two sovereign wealth funds also were allowed to invest in the U.K.’s Network Rail MTN Finance, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Banks and Federal Farm Credit Banks, Germany’s agriculture finance agency and France’s Dexia Group. It is unclear how much was invested in Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.The Moscow-based finance ministry has said it does not want to use its oil profits politically and that it only is concerned with…
MBA: Mortgage Applications Down Last Week
Washington, D.C.–Mortgage applications dropped in the week ending Feb. 15, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association.The market composite index–which gages mortgage loan application volume–in the group’s weekly survey was 822.8, a decline of 22.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, the Boston Herald reports.The index was up 33.9 percent on an unadjusted basis from the same week in 2007, the MBA said.