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‘Foong on Finance with Keat Foong’: Spread the News: President Obama Wants to Privatize Public Housing
Whether you are for or against it, would anyone be really surprised if President Obama tries to privatize social security, or impose regressive VAT taxation, down the road? For now, President Obama wants to privatize public housing. That is one interpretation of his Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (PETRA). PETRA proposes to convert public housing—on a voluntary basis, it is emphasized—to project-based Section 8. This may be a boon to private multifamily owners and developers. Bankers also stand to benefit under the Act. Think of the immense, publicly owned, housing stock that is at stake. As they say,…
How Do You Measure Consumer Confidence?
I was chatting on the phone with a publicist earlier this week. After he got done with his editorial pitch, the conversation turned to other topics. He and his wife are thinking about downsizing and also moving to a warmer climate… maybe Florida, where there are condo bargains waiting to be snatched up. It was just one consumer talking, but his optimism was contagious. This anecdotal evidence reinforces the May numbers released by the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® which now stand at 63.3, up from 57.7 in April. The Present Situation Index increased to 30.2 from 28.2. The Expectations…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: What’s Up in Miami?
Everyone thinks Miami is overbuilt, right? But the latest report from Marcus & Millichap shows that Miami apartments may not be doing so badly. M&M research says that vacancy in Miami-Dade has already been flat for six months. “Some areas where the threat of shadow stock is not as significant continue to record notable results. The average vacancy rate in the Hialeah, North Dade and North Miami/Bayshore submarkets is around 5 percent,” states M&M. Given such trends, investors are returning in increasing numbers. There is currently about $1.7 billion in distressed apartment properties in Miami-Dade, says M&M. However, opportunities to buy at firesale…
‘Foong on Finance with MHN’s Keat Foong’: Lunch with Carol Galante
No doubt, industry players wanted to hear what Carol Galante, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had to say. Galante heads HUD’s multifamily housing programs, and if you want to know about the Obama’s Administration’s proposals to tighten the FHA multifamily insurance programs, Galante would have the answers. Members of the audience packed a large conference room at the law offices of Nixon Peabody recently for the first-ever “Brown Bag Luncheon” event sponsored by the New York Housing Conference (NYHC). Galante, for many years the president of BRIDGE Housing Corp. before she was…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: What Real Estate Executives Think
Here is an advance look into what real estate executives think, according to DLA Piper’s annual State of the Market Survey. DLA Piperis bringing together the best minds in real estate for its ninth Global Real Estate Summit. Experts at the conference will diagnose each sector of commercial real estate and compare insights. In correlation with the event, the firm normally release the results of their survey. Some of the findings for this year: -The majority of respondents (60 percent) believe that real estate markets have already reached, or will reach, bottom in 2010. -Six out of 10 respondents…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: One More Reason Why More Distressed Properties Will Become Available
Interest in distressed properties remains high, among homebuyers and investors alike. Some CRE investors may even be holding off on acquisitions at the current ridiculously compressing cap rate environment in the expectation that more distressed properties will be hitting the market down the road. This month, attorney Stuart Saft, Dewey & LoBoeuf’s Global Real Estate chair and an authority on workouts and distressed assets, pointed out another reason to expect that more assets may be put on sale in the near future. He says that “Until now many workouts involved merely extending the term of the loans with the hope…
Editor’s Note: Catch the Student Housing Wave
On March 31, just days after signing his controversial healthcare legislation, President Obama advanced another piece of his domestic agenda. In what he has called “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill,” the President signed The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which includes legislation to revamp the federal student loan program. “We will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal,” President Obama pledged to the American public. “By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” The…
‘Foong on Finance’ with Keat Foong: Centerline’s Schnitzer to Head New Venture
As we know, prices for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) have come down considerably. Marc Schnitzer is making a move to help players take advantage of what can be a great time to invest in LIHTC properties. Schnitzer, Centerline Capital Group’s CEO and president, is leaving Centerline to join an affiliate of Island Capital Group LLC. At his new company, Schnitzer will establish and lead a business venture to help investors take advantage of the favorable terms in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit market. “Tax credit market conditions have created unique opportunities for savvy investors to take advantage of historically…
‘Gimme Shelter’ with Daniel Gehman: Halftime
OK, so it’s like we’re all in the locker room, right, and, say, the other team has a lead of at least one, and maybe two touchdowns. We’ve just received some combination of dress down and build up by our fearless leader and mentor/coach, and we’re all chomping to get back on the field to see if we can’t rally to pull this one off. Our industry is such a mutually dependent thing. Though each of us on a development team may carry the ball for a different stretch of the field, no individual would really have a salient function…
‘The Essential Kitchen’ with Kevin Henry: Look Ma, No Wires
Imagine a kitchen where you will no longer have to wander about like a desert nomad with your blender or toaster in hand searching for an oasis of power or at least a clear space near a free outlet. The idea of wireless electricity was first conceived by legendary inventor, Nikola Tesla in the early 1900’s. His idea was to build giant transmission towers across the US that would emit an electrical frequency that your home appliance or light bulb would receive and be powered, much in the same way as a radio picks up a broadcast signal. After a…