Housing Slump May Be Chipping Away at Previously Strong Regional Markets
New York–In regions that had almost avoided the housing slump–including Manhattan–hard-to-get credit, a slowing economy and low consumer confidence are reducing home sales and prices, the Wall Street Journal reports.Months ago, places such as the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina seemed immune to the housing decline that plagued the rest of the nation; now those formerly resilient markets are experiencing a reduction in housing demand.Even Manhattan–where prices rose sharply last year–may be on the brink of a slump because the national residential downturn has caused more than $100 billion of mortgage-related security losses on Wall Street and eliminated jobs, according…
Mission Residential Acquires 356-Unit Apartment Community
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDurham, N.C.–Mission Residential LLC, a private multifamily real estate investment firm has acquired a 356-unit property at 4720 Dansey Drive in Durham, N.C. When contacted by MHN, Mission Residential declined to reveal the price of the property due to a confidentiality agreement.Mission acquired the 44-building property known as The Tapers from UBS Realty Investors, LLC, and it will now be called Mission Capital Crossing. Built in 1983, Mission Capital Crossing includes a variety of one, two, and three-bedroom units and 24 town-homes. Rents for the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments range from $640 to $770…
Apartment Rents, Occupancy Steady in 2007, Says New Data Reporting Site
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Scottsdale, Ariz.–Despite all the unrest in the housing industry due to the sub prime mortgage crises, the rental multifamily industry remained stable. The average apartment rental rates nationwide increased by only 1.9 percent in 2007, according to Realty DataTrust, a source that aggregates leasing data for the apartment industry. During the same period, vacancy decreased from 5.4 percent to 5.3 percent.Founded by Mike Mueller in early 2007, Realty DataTrust is designed to become a research tool for people looking to analyze trends in the apartment market as well as a resource for investors. This is…
Economic Stimulus Package Generates Mixed Response from Industry
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington D.C.– Kieran P. Quinn, CMB, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) praised the Bush administration’s new stimulus package, announced this week, that includes housing provisions designed to help borrowers and stabilize the housing and mortgage markets.Quinn said in a statement, “This stimulus package will bring much-needed help to consumers and restore some stability to the housing and mortgage markets. Reform of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has long been a top MBA priority. A more modern and vigorous FHA will provide another option for first-time and low- and moderate-income borrowers and borrowers who…
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NAR: Home Sales Down 2.2 Percent, Prices Drop 6 Percent in December
Washington, D.C.–Existing home sales dropped beyond expectations in December, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Thursday.The Washington-based group said sales declined 2.2. percent to an annual rate of 4.89 million, Bloomberg reports.Single-family home sales fell 13 percent in 2007–the biggest amount since 1982–and prices plummeted for the first time in four decades. Median sale price dropped 6 percent to $208,400 from December 2006; from 2006 to 2007, median price was down 1.4 percent.Analysts expect a difficult housing market with more foreclosures next year. “I do expect sales to remain soft through the first quarter and possibly the second quarter,”…
Bush Stimulus Package Finalized
New York–The Bush administration and congressional leaders announced Thursday that they had determined the details of the economic stimulus package, the New York Times reported Thursday morning.If passed, the $150 billion deal would give taxpayers from $300 to $1,200. Additional children could earn families $300 each.In addition, the plan provides tax incentives for businesses. Roughly one-third of plan’s funding will go to business and the remaining two-thirds will be used for consumer rebates.
Ohio Retirement Fund Sues Freddie Mac
Youngstown, Ohio–The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System filed a lawsuit Friday alleging government-backed mortgage financer Freddie Mac downplayed its subprime investments, costing the Ohio pension system up to $27 million, the Columbus Dispatch reports.Attorney General Marc Dann said the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. “secretly and intentionally participated in one of the largest housing investment deceptions in modern U.S. economic times.”The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Youngstown, Ohio, claims Freddie Mac concealed its subprime lender investments before its stock plummeted in November after news broke that Freddie Mac had lost $2 billion in the third quarter due mostly to…
French Bank Weathers €7 Billion Subprime Loss From Rogue Trader
Paris–French bank Société Générale said Thursday a rogue trader had lost €7 billion ($10.26 billion) in European stock futures and large U.S. subprime mortgage writedowns, the Financial Times reports.The Paris-headquartered bank was forced into an emergency €5.5 billion share issue as a result. The losses incurred by the trader, 31-year-old Jérome Kerviel, included €2.05 billion in writedowns on U.S. mortgage exposure and bond insurers.SocGen had told investors before it had very limited exposure to the subprime problems; now the bank’s risk management procedures have come under fire and a takeover is possible, according to the Times.SocGen will take €1.1 billion…
Commercial Real Estate Stays Attractive but Residential Market Heads Toward Further Decline, Says Latest Deloitte Report
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–While the credit crunch and economic uncertainty have caused investor anxiety and tighter lending standards, commercial real estate remains comparatively attractive with solid fundamentals, plentiful capital and steady allocations, according to Deloitte LLP’s 2008 Real Estate Capital Markets Top Ten Issues Report, released this week. “In prior boom cycles, commercial real estate has responded by overbuilding,” says Dennis Yeskey, national director of Deloitte Consulting LLP’s real estate capital markets practice. “The industry has clearly learned its lesson because this time, commercial real estate is enduring a credit crunch—not a crisis—partially because it resisted this urge,…