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Las Vegas may still be reeling from the housing slump, but its economy is growing–and so is its pool of renters, according to the Las Vegas Business Press. The Business Press‘ recent article about the rental market indicates the tighter mortgage atmosphere, which has made buying less of an option for many residents, is giving multifamily rental properties a push. The Bentley Group, a Vegas-based real estate advisory firm, says the city can thank its healthy tourism trade. "Nearly 40,000 hotel rooms are coming on line over the next four years, creating more than 285,000 new jobs," Bentley Group President…

For the past year, Canada’s housing market has been steadily rising. Prices for condos, two-story properties and detached bungalows all rose more than 11 percent last quarter from 2006, according to a Royal LePage Real Estate Services report released this week. The Canadian real estate company, which has more than 600 locations in the country, said the fourth quarter saw large housing gains, The National Post reports. "The fourth quarter 2007 was surprisingly strong with unseasonably high price increases and unwavering demand," Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper said. In addition, the Toronto Real Estate Board said 2007 was its best…

We all know green building is hot–according to a McGraw Hill Construction study, the volume of green real estate is going to quintuple by 2010. It’s predicted to then be 10 percent of the U.S. building stock. But just saying your multifamily complex or community of homes is green isn’t enough. Today’s consumers are looking for highly-efficient, economical homes, and they’re more educated than ever about what that entails. So to sell a green home, you need to think green: And that means involving the homes’ ecological aspects in all your marketing and promotional materials and events. A recent article…

The nation’s high foreclosure rate–Irvine, Calif-based Realty Trac said in November that foreclosures were up nearly 68 percent from the same month in 2006–has led to an interesting phenomenon: Banks who are anxious to unload many of their foreclosed upon items. Some likely don’t want to invest in the properties’ upkeep; other banks possibly are acting out of fear the housing market will in fact continue downward next year, further reducing the homes’ value. That’s good news for investors who are eager to buy foreclosed properties and land and reduced homes. However, those deals might not be as much of…

Will the Fed cut rates at its January meeting? There is reason to think so. Yesterday, we analyzed new data about a decline in manufacturing last month–and today, we’re bringing it into focus along with the rest of the foggy economic factors. Yes, manufacturing dropped. But it’s important to remember yesterday’s news came from a private source–the Institute for Supply Management–and the government tends to favor its own data much more. And, luckily, there is some fresh government information, released today, that said new orders for manufactured goods increased unexpectedly in November, which bodes well for the economy. We’re not…

The New Year kicked off to a bleak start with news that U.S. manufacturing fell for the first time in 10 months in December, hitting its lowest point since 2003, according to a report released today by the Institute for Supply Management. The private research group’s manufacturing index–which The New York Times says is considered a leading indicator of recession– fell from 50.8 in October to 47.7 in November. Readings over 50 indicate growth. Stocks fell almost immediately when the report was released. The good news: For once, the disappointing report isn’t about housing! The bad news: Well, it actually…

It’s New Year’s Eve–almost–and that means it’s time for reflections–and resolutions. We have so many memories from this year. Remember when, in September, residential building hit its lowest spending point since 2003? Or when the mortgage-related credit crisis rocked the world’s banks over the course of a few months? Or how about when the dollar became weak–and then weaker? OK, so maybe 2007 wasn’t exactly a collection of warm, fuzzy financial housing moments. But New Year’s resolutions are all about turning things around. I’m about to make mine; and I’ve drawn up five resolutions for the multifamily housing industry. Feel…

Anticipation about the Commerce Department’s housing figures–released today–ran high all week. Some had hoped the data would show the housing decline was turning around; most expected it wouldn’t. Investors were so confident the home sales results would be bad that the dollar fell Thursday against the euro for the fifth consecutive day–its longest period of decline since October, Bloomberg reported. And sadly, the naysayers were correct. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales not only fell from last month but hit their lowest point in 12 years (12 years!). New home sales have plummeted 34.4 percent over the last…

Homeowners across the country are finding a new way to combat sinking home values–voluntary reassessments. According to The New York Times, homeowners can request downward assessments, which seem to be most pronounced in areas where the housing decline has had the greatest affect. Take, for example, Arizona. The state’s home market was one of the first to peak, with the Arizona Republic reporting building industry layoffs as early as May 2006. Housing prices in Phoenix dropped 8.8 percent in 2007, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. As a result, in the state’s largest county, Maricopa County, a large amount of the…

Two separate studies published this week–one about U.K. house prices and another about prices in the U.S.–painted a bleaker seasonal picture of both markets than many economists would have liked. In December, U.K. house prices dropped again–for the third month in a row–according to Hometrack, a residential research company based in London. Hometrack also said houses are now sitting on the market longer than ever: an average of eight weeks. However, Hometrack’s monthly report did contain one good piece of year-end news: Overall in 2007, U.K. home prices were up 3 percent. True, that’s because prices were hefty in the…