By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorFt. Carson, Colo.–The first batch of 832 modular units has arrived on site at Ft. Carson, where the Warrior Group, a DeSoto, Texas-based provider of modular buildings, is developing a four-building, four-story permanent modular complex.Hensel-Phelps Construction Co., the general contractor to the US Army, is responsible for the design, manufacture and installation of approximately 500,000 sq. ft. of barracks and related facilities to accommodate and relocate soldiers to Ft. Carson as the US Army executes on the Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) 2005, re-positioning and Army transformation initiatives. The complex at Ft. Carlson is expected…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPortland, Ore.–Sperry Van Ness has completed the sale of Forest and Garden Apartments, a 51-unit apartment community, to Portland-based Real Estate Recovery Associates-13th St. Investors LLC for $4.75 million.  The property is located near the 5, 84 and 405 freeways at NW 20th and Hoyt/Irving St. in Portland.Bill Younce, CCIM, RECS of Sperry Van Ness represented the buyer and Riverview Bank Trust Department represented the seller, a Portland-based family trust. According to Younce, the community sold at 3.6 percent cap rate. Built in 1925 on .64 acres of land, the two-building property was 100 percent occupied…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorOrlando, Fla.—Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) economists discussed the economy, the capital and commercial real estate financing markets, as well as the multifamily sector at MBA’s recent annual conference held here this week. Real GDP growth in the U.S. will be less than 1 percent in the first half and 2 to 2.5 percent in the second half, forecasted Douglas Duncan [pictured, left], MBA senior vice president and chief economist, research and business development.  Duncan said that the downturn in the single family housing market is the biggest driver of the slowdown in the overall economy. He…

New York–Stocks saw their worst daily decline in almost a year Tuesday, the Financial Times reports.The S&P 500 fell 3.2 percent on Tuesday–its worst day since February 27. The results brought the S&P’s losses thus far in 2008 to almost 9 percent: Its worst annual start on record. The FTSE 100 index dropped by 2.63 percent Tuesday.Stocks were affected by disappointing service sector news and the failure of several international economies to embrace the United States’ suggestion for a global stimulus package, according to the Times.Data from the Institute for Supply Management that indicated non-manufacturing business activity dropped from a…

Horsham, Penn.–Toll Brothers Inc., headquartered in Horsham, Penn., said Wednesday that–compared to a year ago–its fiscal first quarter revenue dropped 22 percent to $842.7 million, The Wall Street Journal reports.The homebuilder said it expects to see more problems from the ongoing housing decline and, although it is still finalizing exact figures, expects pretax writedowns of between $150 million and $300 million.”The housing market remains very weak in most areas,” said chairman and CEO Robert Toll. “Based on current traffic and deposits, we are not yet seeing much light at the end of the tunnel.”Toll Brothers’ backlog declined to $2.4 billion–down…

New York–The nonprofit company that invests on behalf of 8,400 local credit unions lost its AAA Standard & Poor’s rating after announcing a $760 million drop in the value of its subprime-related securities, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The U.S. Central Federal Credit Union’s rating was reduced by one level to AA+. New York-based S&P may downgrade U.S. Central again if its investments decline further, said analyst Robert Hoban.”With the housing market weakening to levels not seen since the early 1990s down-cycle, we expect U.S. Central’s large portfolio of mortgage-related securities to further decline in value,” Hoban said. “Earnings and capital measures…

Titchfield, U.K.–Investment property fever increased average home cost in the U.K. by £14,000, according to a report published Wednesday.The practice of purchasing a home to rent it out for revenue–called buy-to-let–has added roughly £90 a month to the average owner-occupier’s mortgage payments, making buying difficult for first-time homeowners, the Guardian reports. In recent years, the buy-to-let industry–which prospered in the 1990s when buy-to-let mortgages based on the expected rental income instead of the landlord’s earnings were introduced–has boomed. Currently, 2.5 million homes in England are rental properties owned by more than half a million landlords, who also receive tax breaks…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Gary Silver Architects is building Observatory Place, an 11-story luxury condominium on First Avenue and 104th St., which is also the first project in East Harlem to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The project, which will be completed in the summer of 2008, will have an open house later this month.Architect and developer Gary Silver and his partner, Andrew Liebhaber, have designed Observatory Place in a unique building-within-a-building architectural style that provides the structure with maximum light exposure and spaciousness. Amenities include refrigerator…

Irvine, Calif.–Irvine-based Western National Property Management, the multifamily real estate management arm of Western National Group, was retained to manage five new third-party apartment communities containing 1,212 units during the fourth quarter of 2007. The properties are located in San Bernardino, Solano and Riverside Counties.“We have been using our owner’s mentality approach to the business and sharing it with our third-party clients,” says Craig Rooney, regional vice president of business development for Western National Property Management. “By sharing our playbook, which has been created from over four decades of experience, we are able to create significant results for our third-party…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLas Vegas–Horizon Crest Family Apartments, the 78-unit gated rental community for families with low-income and special needs, recently opened at 13 West Owens Ave. in Las Vegas. The community was developed by Nevada H.A.N.D., Inc. in partnership with The Salvation Army and the city of Las Vegas.  “KKE has had a long relationship with Nevada H.A.N.D. in designing projects for the affordable needs of family, senior and special needs,” says Doug Ahlstrom, director of housing at KKE, the architectural firm that designed Horizon Crest. The $12.9 million community project includes two- and three-bedroom apartments with…