New York–Residents have begun closing out and moving into the 32-story luxury condominium tower, Avery, located on Riverside South between 64th and 65th Streets. Designed by New York-based SLCE Architects, Avery’s 274 one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums are priced from approximately $900,000 to more than $3 million.New York-based Extell Development Co. is the developer of Avery, situated steps away from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan.Avery will provide amenities including a 30-person screening theater and a game room featuring a tournament-style billiards table, a private landscaped courtyard, a library equipped with 24-hour WiFi access and an adaptable entertainment…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAustin, Texas–Since the launch of its “Live4” section in October 2007, Apartment Home Living, a company that uses tools such as mobile messaging and online compatibility to find apartments for its clients, has received over 49,000 answers to the question, “what do you live for?” Future and current apartment residents, which Apartment Home Living refers to as “Apartmentites,” from across the U.S. and around the world, answered this question and the company made the results public. The answers range from shopping, which ranked as the third most popular reason to live for, to the most…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLexington, Md.–The Baltimore office of CWCapital, a real estate finance and investment management company focused on commercial and multifamily real estate debt, has provided more than $30 million in construction and permanent financing to Blacksburg, Va.-based HHHunt Corp. for the expansion of a Class A apartment complex in Lexington, Md.Abberly Crest is a two-phase project and the first phase consisting of 250 units was ready in 2006. Under the second phase of construction, which is expected to be complete in February 2009, the property will expand by 240 units. Building amenities include an Olympic size…

Orlando, Fla.–Conference center owners and show organizers were pleased with the International Builders’ Show attendance this year, the Orlando Sentinel reports.Attendance at Orlando’s largest scheduled 2008 conference–organized by the National Association of Home Builders and held from Feb. 13 to 16 in Orlando, Fla.–declined just 11 percent due to the housing market slump. Approximately 92,089 builders, vendors and other construction-related visitors attended the show, NAHB said. The In 2007, more than 104,000 attended. “Actually, we’re quite happy that it was only down 11 percent,” Wayne Stetson, senior vice president for NAHB’s convention-and-meeting group, told the Sentinel. According to Stetson, attendance…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. retailers are hoping the economic stimulus plan’s tax rebates will give sluggish consumer spending a $42.9 billion boost, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.Americans plan to spend 40 percent of their rebate money, which will arrive in May, according to a survey by the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation. About $30 billion will go toward paying debt and $19.8 billion will go into savings.However, the impact the rebates will have on consumer spending has been questioned. Retailers are waiting to see if consumers will spend their 40 percent portion on basic needs such as food–which Wal-Mart found last month…

New York–As the subprime mortgage fallout continues to work its way through the credit markets, Wall Street banks are preparing for more large losses, The New York Times reports.Starting with subprime mortgages, sections of the debt market have collapsed in recent weeks–a ripple effect that included value drops in high-risk corporate buyout loans, commercial real estate-backed securities and student loans. Large banks–which have already posted writedowns of more than $120 billion due to mortgage-related investments–have faced additional multibillion-dollar losses as a result, which may cause further economic declines if the banks become hesitant to issue loans as a result.During the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAustin, Texas–GE Real Estate, a global resource for commercial real estate capital, has made a $9.56 million equity investment in partnership with Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) to develop 350 Class A apartments in northwest Austin, Texas.The multifamily project, called Alexan Ribelin, will be comprised of 15 three-story buildings on 17.55 acres and features upscale unit and community amenities. It is part of a master planned development that includes offices, retail shops and a middle school and a high school. The average rent in this project will be $1,115. TCR will be the general contractor for the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington D.C–Under the leadership of Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Democrats have announced a package of legislation intended to address the national housing crisis and help Americans avoid foreclosure.  The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 will keep families facing foreclosure in their homes, help other families avoid foreclosures in the future and help communities already harmed by foreclosure to recover.   The bill provides $4 billion in emergency funding to enable states and cities to work with local nonprofits to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed homes until owners and renters are ready to move in. “Nonprofits across the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Calif.–NWP Services Corp. (NWP), provider of financial transaction processing solutions to the multifamily housing industry, has launched its enhanced billing, payment processing, collections and resident services platform called the NWP v8.0.Powered by Open-cIS, the new platform utilizes advanced software architecture to ease the complexity, increase the accuracy and quality, and reduce the cost of building and maintaining billing and resident information systems. The system is based on an engine built specifically to serve multifamily property owners and fee management companies who face complex resident billing requirements, especially those found in rent, water, electric, gas,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSouth Gate, Calif.–Boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya today joined city and community leaders to celebrate the start of construction of Tierra del Rey, a 107-townhome project targeted toward working families. Located on a former industrial site in South Gate, Calif., this is the first urban infill community development for De La Hoya’s real estate company, Golden Boy Partners,  and Metro Housing Partners.Metro Housing Partners, a new housing company formed by Golden Boy Partners, Trimark Partners and CarVal Investors (an affiliate of Cargill Inc.) to develop and construct urban housing in Southern California, is the…