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‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Summer Heat Melts Job Report for August
There are a number of reasons why I’m neither surprised nor particularly concerned about the jobs report. At the risk of sounding either bullish or bearish, I like to point out to people the rational difference between managing apartments based on news headlines and the long-term trends that matter in multifamily. Frequently I’m called upon to help decipher the different news releases and help to bring some semblance of order to the different reports on producer price indices, the consumer price index and gross domestic product, not to mention the ever popular monthly jobs report, also known as the establishment survey among the data congnoscenti. Those of us…
‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: The Highline is Another Reason to Join MHN in New York September 19
My second job after college was a writing gig in a behemoth building on West 15th Street in the Meatpacking District. Unfortunately this was before the redevelopment wave that later transformed the area into a hipster’s haven. And by the time the Meatpacking District redevelopment started to happen I had moved on to another job in a more vibrant part of Manhattan. When it did arrive, the urban infill process began slowly: a gallery here, a designer clothing store there, then a boutique hotel and some restaurants to establish the necessary nightlife scene. And, not too long after that—or maybe…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Kocherlakota’s Revenge
I have to admit, despite years of trying to quit, I am an addict. I have been unable to stop being a Fed Watcher ever since those heady days when Alan “they call me Mr. Glib” Greenspan had the job. Now in the latest development, one participant of a group of three that didn’t want to keep the Fed funds rate close to zero has announced he won’t oppose it again, essentially since the decision is now firmly established Fed policy. Now to be honest, as multifamily industry veterans, this is probably better news than you’d think. While some compare…
‘On the Ground’ with Eric Brown: Apartment Communities are Natural Curators
Apartment communities are in an excellent position to add immense value for their residents and prospects by becoming expert curators of all things hyper local. Not sure if everyone knows what “Content Curation” means, or what we are referring to, so here is a quick definition: “The practice of Content Curation is a gathering of information (sorting, categorizing, directing, and presenting) such that material from multiple sources creates a unique editorial experience for readers/visitors.” It seems that apartment communities would be natural curators. Curation is about adding value from humans who add their qualitative judgment to whatever is being gathered…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: Fears of a Double Dip
Nouriel Roubini, “Dr. Doom” who predicted the 2008 crash, is reported to have now tweeted that the next dip will be “uglier than ugly … off the scale bad.” Would the apartment sector, which just saw a strong turnaround in occupancies beginning last year, have to say goodbye to its good fortunes? So soon? Someone commented in a blog that investors know economics, and hence it was not surprising that the stock market plunged, not rose, immediately after President Obama signed the bill that would cut federal spending by $2.4 trillion. There seems to be the notion that the federal…
‘On the Ground’ with Eric Brown: Treat Your Blog Like a Content Command Center
As apartment marketers start to trek down the content marketing pathway, they should treat their blogs as command central. However, you can write the best article in the world, but if no one reads it, or worse, can’t find it, your overall marketing strategy will suffer. There is a multitude of ways to distribute your message and get folks reading your content. Quality content does not make a blog successful. Variety, promotion and connectivity make it successful. Goodbye bare minimum blogging! You need to have a variety of media—podcasts, video, guest posts and slideshare presentations. At The Urbane Way, we…
CMBS Loan Workouts: Why Some Lenders Do Things that Don’t Seem to Make Sense?
You have probably heard the following frequently with regard to trying to successfully complete loan workouts of commercial real estate loans: “What the lender did just does not make any sense.” This could be in the context of an offer to buy your own note from your lender or an offer to continue making loan payments, but at a reduced monthly amount. Depending on the status of the property, a loan workout could put the lender in a significantly better position than if the lender were to foreclose on the property. Yet, many times a lender declines to accept the…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: The Debt Ceiling Debate
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has called upon policymakers to “act swiftly and find a workable solution” in the current debt ceiling negotiations. “The likely impact to the financial markets, interest rates, and to every family in America will be costly if the ceiling is not raised,” says David H. Stevens, president and CEO of the MBA, in a statement issued this week. Some have argued a solution has always existed that will eliminate the necessity for Republicans/Democrats to negotiate to drastically cut federal spending or Social Security (which does not contribute to the federal deficit), Medicare and Medicaid: the…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: 1 for 3
Actions related to the debt ceiling being initiated by President Obama and Congress will establish the spending limits for the HUD budget going forward. President Obama has placed social security and Medicare on the table. He and the Republicans reportedly have plans to curtail social security (which does not contribute to the federal deficit), Medicare and Medicaid, all support programs for the middle class and/or the poor. Will President Obama be known as the Democratic president who succeeded with these radical plans (more than $3 trillion in cuts) to begin to claw back social support programs that even Republican presidents have not had the audacity…
‘Editor’s Notebook’ with Diana Mosher: Crosland Exits Development Scene
During the height of the recession we frequently heard about multifamily companies scaling back or eliminating the development arms of their companies in order to focus on property management activities. These days the top headlines are much more focused on the opportunities associated with the next multifamily development boom. In fact, the entire May issue of MHN Magazine was devoted to this topic. So I was surprised to hear that Charlotte-based developer Crosland has divested its retail, multifamily and residential development arms to focus exclusively on managing its existing assets. But a closer look at the story reported by The…