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A couple weeks back I wrote about the travesty of the house next door, which had, under my unsuspecting nose, been transformed into an ultra-sophisticated hydroponic pot farming operation. This went on for nearly three years, with my wife and I suspecting nothing.   Not long after I posted that, I heard through the grapevine that the house had been sold. We waited, praying (admittedly, rather selfishly) that the new owners would be a good fit for us personally, and for the neighborhood. Yesterday, we got our first glimpse of the new reality. Shortly after the thirty cubic yard dumpster…

“Government has laid its hand on the health, housing, farming, commerce and education industries, and to an ever increasing degree interferes with the people’s right to know. Government tends to grow; government programs take on weight and momentum as public servants say, always with the best of intentions. But the truth is that outside of its legitimate function, government does nothing as well or economically as the private sector of the economy.”   President Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the U.S. (1981 to 1989) The housing markets are a mess. The massive fraud, perpetrated while the regulators were sitting on…

The effects of widespread single-family home foreclosures on American neighborhoods have received much media attention. We’ve seen light-hearted footage of enterprising teenagers skateboarding in abandoned swimming pools—as well as disturbing images of block after block of empty houses falling into disrepair.   Lately the media has been focusing on new opportunities created as a result of these foreclosed homes.  Americans who were previously unable to afford certain properties are now snatching them up at auction prices. This is good news for neighborhoods on the brink, but others will require more assistance to be revitalized. Multifamily and single-family specialists will need…

New apartment communities are being constructed with eco-friendly materials and processes, but older properties can also implement a green agenda. Whether your communities have laundry rooms or in-unit appliances, this is an easy place to start and one that’s sure to build resident awareness of environmental concerns. You can also use a green laundry project to generate interest in other eco-initiatives like submetering and recycling that require their participation in order to be successful. Gauging the energy and water efficiency of equipment used in common laundry areas is increasingly important to apartment owners and managers, whether the machines are leased…

When the ancient Vitruvius attempted to capture the essence of architectural quality many centuries ago, he arrived at a tri-partheit formula: “firmness, commodity and delight.” To very roughly translate that into today’s terms, every building or project should be evaluated on the basis of “Will it last? Will it work? Will it please?” Naturally, the first two criteria are by far the more objective. Has anyone yet placed a value on the ultimate life span of a wood-frame building (let alone a hybrid, such as today’s “podium” style multifamily dwelling)? Clearly there are specimens of eighteenth century wood frame buildings…

Probably the best commentary I’ve heard when listening to the housing economists from the National Association of Realtors comes from Forrest Gump, who said: “Stupid is as stupid does.” Forrest Gump (c) Robert Zemeckis, Paramount Pictures 1994 And now the proof: Jed Smith, managing director of quantitative research at NAR was recently quoted as saying, “There is a slight trend showing that people are beginning to realize that houses are a good buy right now.” Meanwhile, Lawrence Yun NAR’s chief economist is quoted as saying, “Pending home sales have a long way to go for there to be a meaningful…

“Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity. For the crowd considers anything deep if only it cannot see to the bottom: the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.”Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) At the NMHC Research meeting, just concluded in Chicago, the sidebar conversations were as interesting as the content. While the meeting was billed as the researcher's response to the year of the operator (in China, it's between the year of the Rat and the year of the Water Buffalo), the perceptions of…

I’m at the NMHC Research meeting staying at the Chicago Renaissance Hotel. OK, first things first, they shouldn’t name a hotel Renaissance anything because it’s too hard to spell. What happened to calling a hotel a hotel? Isn’t the name Marriott too long anyway? Then, after a hard day of running around, visiting friends and walking around sunny and freezing Chicago (..hey I have an idea, next time why not Antarctica? I hear they have great room rates and it’s warmer than Chicago?), I went back to my hotel to get some work done. I’m on the 17th floor above…

What a crazy time to be alive. So many of us have been waiting through this difficult “economic circumstance” for signs that things might be getting a little better. We can’t help but continue to scour the horizon for the little glimpse to encourage us. I think it was Confucius who said, “You cannot step twice into the same river.” For those of us in the housing business, I think this is particularly true. “When will things hit bottom? Will we know it when they do? What will be the signs? How will we know?” I watch the industry news…

Frankie: (as the Rat Pack carry Von Zipper away) Toodle-ooo Mouseketeers! (Annette Funicello as Dee Dee is standing next to him.) Beach Blanket Bingo, (c) Alta Vista Productions 1965 Florida, the favored retirement Mecca and employment destination of choice is anticipating a dip in population growth, running at the lowest level in almost 60 years. According to research recently released by the University of Florida, projected growth has declined more than 90 percent off of the annual average between 2002 and 2006. Both job creation losses and the housing bust are cited as failures according to the report, as primary…