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It does not seem that long ago that we took note the U.S. population had increased from less than 250 million to about 280 million. That was in the year 2000. The U.S. Census Bureau announced last week that its latest tally of the U.S. population, as of April 1, 2010, stands at 308,745,538.  The South and the West are obtaining most of the  population increase.   The U.S.’s population growth rate in fact exceeds that of China’s. One would think a growing population generates greater demand for apartments, and is generally good news for apartment property owners. Where are the development sites to…

The Bush tax cuts extension that Obama has very skillfully prepared for, and sheperded through, a Democratic Congress now awaits his signature. Joined-at-the-hip to unemployment benefits extension and middle class tax cuts, a long list of measures in the bill are pretty favorable to the real estate industry. The carried interest tax will remain at 15 percent. However, the housing industry failed to obtain an extension of the TCEP program that allows states to trade a portion of unused Low Income Housing Tax Credits for affordable housing grant dollars. Treasury rates increased in expectation of higher budget deficits and economic…

The final proposal from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform was shot down at the end of this week. But don’t worry, at least some Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as probably the President himself, are eager to keep the the package’s ideas alive through next year.     Recommendations from the President Obama-appointed co-chairs include: eliminating or limiting the mortgage interest deduction, taxing dividends and capital gains as ordinary income‑and eliminating the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.   The proposal of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chairs got only 11 votes, not the supermajority 14 votes…

Like almost every other facet of development, the protracted process of obtaining project approval is not for beginners or the faint of heart.

Is a disconnect developing between the level of unemployment and the health of commercial real estate? The nation’s unemployment rate remains stuck at about 20 percent, if you take into account people who have given up looking for a job or are working part time because they cannot find full-time employment. At the same time, many sectors of the commercial real estate industry are starting to look good, with the multifamily sector leading the way: Apartment occupancies have been rebounding rapidly across the board, in both top and bottom markets alike.   At the National Association of Real Estate investment Trusts…

The chairmen of the president’s commission to reduce the federal deficit released their proposals yesterday.   Meanwhile, the release of the full committee’s recommendations is scheduled for Dec. 1. Congress is expected to vote on the recommendations. Some say the commission’s package of proposals to reduce the federal deficit would include recommendations to shelve the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.