By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerMerced, Calif.–Growing families in Merced, Calif. have a new housing option–the Sunny View Apartments, a 113-unit affordable apartment community that will celebrate its grand opening Wednesday, Jan. 16.The $20.8 million project was developed by Long Beach, Calif.-based Simpson Housing Solutions LLC and partner AMG & Associates of Santa Clarita, Calif. Western Community Housing, Inc., headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., served as general partner on the project. Maple Dell McClelland Architects, a Solana Beach, Calif.-based firm with a history of creating affordable housing communities that mirror market-rate rental housing, designed the Sunny View complex specifically to meet…

Vista, Calif.–San Diego-based RedHill Realty Investors and AEW Capital Management of Boston recently acquired a 456-unit apartment complex in the San Diego suburb of Vista, Calif. for $69 million.Fairfield Residential, with corporate offices in Grand Prairie, Texas, and San Diego, sold the Waterleaf Apartments. AEW acquired the property on behalf of AEW Value Investors, II, L.P., the firm’s second value-added real estate fund.RedHill plans to redevelop Waterleaf with extensive interior and exterior improvements to enhance the property’s value and provide a greater quality of life for its tenants.Built in 1984, Waterleaf features one- and two-bedroom units. The complex also includes…

London–The U.K.’s private housing stock value increased by 9 percent last year to £4 trillion, according to London-based mortgage lender Halifax.Private housing value has more than tripled in the past decade, swelling 208 percent from £1.3 trillion in 1997, according to BBC News. However, over the same period, the headline rate of inflation (RPI) has increased by 31 percent.The housing stock is worth more than three times the U.K.’s outstanding mortgage debt, despite concern property prices are declining, according to the bank, who says housing assets have increased more than mortgage debt in every year since 1995.The amount of homeowner…

Washington, D.C.– Federal mortgage fraud convictions more than doubled in 2007–and the FBI expects foreclosure scams to increase as the subprime crisis continues, USA Today reported Monday.Last year, the FBI initiated nearly triple the number of new mortgage fraud cases in 2003–1,210. Convictions more than doubled from the 2006 fiscal year to 2007.”We expect that number to increase again in 2008,” says FBI financial crimes section chief Sharon Ormsby, who cited low interest rates, rapidly increasing home values and risky lending practices as factors that “created the perfect storm of lending fraud.”The FBI created 34 mortgage fraud task forces and…

New York–Consumer spending may be slowing at every level of the U.S. economy, which may be enough to roll the economy into a recession, according to The New York Times.Although economists had noted an ongoing decline in growth, spurred by the weak housing market and rising energy prices, a rare personal consumption drop–the first since 1991–would almost certainly prompt a recession in the middle of the year, the Times said.A number of retail companies, ranging from Nordstrom and Tiffany to Target, saw a decline in growth in December. In addition, American Express, which services 52 million cardholders, said its spending…

London–As the industry renewed fears about how far the credit crisis fallout would reach, European government bonds rose Monday, fueled by safe haven flows, CNNMoney.com reports.Last week’s announcements that Citigroup and Merrill Lynch are looking to raise money and would post large mortgage-related writedowns–as well as American Express’ profit warning–sparked concern in the market.Increased speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut the Federal Funds rate before its next meeting at the end of the month also boosted bonds. After chairman Ben Bernanke indicated last week that the Fed was ready to cut rates in light of ongoing economic unrest,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorColumbus, Ohio — The Red Capital Group has arranged an investment equity worth $4.15 million for the acquisition and rehabilitation of a US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 202 elderly housing property in Tucson, Ariz. The property was acquired by affiliates of Urban Innovations Ltd. of Chicago. The property, Council House Apartments, is situated near the University of Arizona and the historic Sam Hughes neighborhood. Council House contains 137 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units restricted to occupancy by seniors’ households (age 62+) earning no more than 60 percent of Area Median…

By Matthew Marin, Associate EditorNew Orleans–The Domain Cos., a leading participant in redeveloping New Orleans’ Mid City/Tulane Avenue corridor, has commenced construction of its new 72-unit housing complex at 750 S. Jefferson Davis near the intersection with Tulane Avenue. Domain’s $17-million project will offer badly needed workforce housing. Domain’s total investment for the expansion of the Tulane Avenue Corridor is more than $120 million with over 500 housing units under or soon to be under construction.”Now is the time to invest in New Orleans and in Mid City,” says Matt Schwartz, principal of Domain, based jointly in New Orleans and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Carrollton, Texas–RealPage Inc., a provider of multifamily property management software, today announced the availability of broader settings within its LeasingDesk Screening system. The move is expected to improve the screening of applicants with past foreclosures.With the new software, owners/operators can better evaluate risks associated with applicants who have a recent home loan default, according to RealPage.The new controls deliver enhanced flexibility for multifamily resident screening if a prospect has a prior mortgage default. The software enables owners/operators to filter this specific credit information, acknowledging a foreclosure, but giving the option to remove it from…