News

 By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The National Housing Conference (NHC) and its research affiliate, the Center for Housing Policy, have jointly received the “2009 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions,” receiving a total of $650,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. As co-recipients of the award, NHC and the Center are among only a handful of organizations worldwide selected to receive the honor, which is part of the Foundation’s tradition of encouraging creativity and building effective institutions in order to help address some of the world’s most challenging problems. According to the Foundation, both organizations…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorLos Angeles—Compared with other regions in the nation, Southern California’s apartment markets show some long-term growth potential, according to the 2009 Southern California Multifamily Market Report put out by the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate.Despite this, falling rents and occupancies in Los Angeles County reflect the high unemployment rate, in addition to the increased pressure from the shadow market of rented condos and single-family homes.“L.A. has shown that it changed pretty dramatically from where we have been in the last five years,” Delores Conway, Ph.D., director of the Casden Real Estate Economics…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorRockville, Md.–The credit quality of rental applicants to multifamily homes has gone up as a result of the recession, according to the Multifamily Applicant Risk Index (MAR Index) released by First Advantage SafeRent Inc. The first quarter national MAR Index, including studios, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, was 100, which is a 1-point increase from the fourth quarter 2008, indicating a slightly better applicant pool this quarter.“Some of the weakest applicants have left the market due to unemployment,” Jay Harris, vice president of business services, tells MHN. “Some of those who had bad credit…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Seattle–Alliant Capital LLC has originated $160 million in multifamily loan originations during the first quarter of 2009. The Alliant Capital team rounded out the quarter finalizing more than $48 million in the last two weeks of March, closing 13 various loan and property type deals in seven states.  “With the significant number of deals we saw in the first quarter, we know there are confident borrowers actively seeking to invest with historically low interest rates,” sats Byron Steenerson, president of Alliant Capital. “As a privately held company, we are better positioned to meet the needs…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Norfolk, Va.—For Rent Media Solutions has launched a Leads Dashboard, which offers a streamlined approach for property managers to monitor their advertising performance and drive more leads.As the industry has evolved and there are increasingly more ways to drive traffic to communities—such as print and Internet advertising, text messaging and iPhone apps—property managers have, in the past, had to look at each touch point to ascertain from where their leads are coming. For Rent’s Leads Dashboard pulls all the results together, Terry Slattery, president of For Rent Media Solutions, tells MHN. “It’s a real-time dashboard…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Building owners and property managers are looking carefully at their oil delivery companies and their heating oil bills, after a spate of reports recently of heating oil “shorts.” With oil being a major cost factor in operating a building, property managers are taking precautions by setting up verification systems, such as U.S. Energy Group’s Verifier Digital Fuel Gauge, which can be monitored via phone or Internet connection. Oil shorts are more prevalent in the winter, when deliveries are more frequent and quantities are higher, according to the US Energy Group. However, some buildings use oil…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–National vacancy rates for rental housing in the first quarter of 2009 were 10.1 (+ 0.4) percent, according to the latest figures released by the Census Bureau.  Meanwhile, apartment vacancy rates for the same time period stood at 7.2 percent, Grub and Ellis found.     The overall rental vacancy rate was not statistically different from the first quarter 2008 rate or the rate last quarter (10.1 percent each), whereas the apartment vacancy rate saw a big increase from 6 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Joppatowne, Md.—How is it possible to obtain a construction loan from a bank in this market? Here is how it was done for Harborside Apartments. Meridian Capital Group arranged a three-year $10 million loan for an extension of the 300-unit garden-style apartment property. The loan will fund the construction of 84 apartment units in three new woodframe buildings, and a clubhouse.Tal Savariego, vice president at the New York-based Meridian, negotiated on behalf of the borrower an interest-only construction loan based on LIBOR. The biggest single factor in the construction project being funded was the fact…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–The Dallas office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has arranged a $5.8 million refinancing for Seatree Apartments (pictured), a 220-unit multifamily community in southeast Houston.HFF placed the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.).  The new loan allows Seatree Properties Ltd. to completely pay off the existing loan on the property.Seatree Apartments is located at 2800 Nasa Parkway approximately 20 miles southeast of downtown Houston via Interstate 45 in Seabrook. Renovated in 2006, the property is a garden-style complex that offers five floor plans averaging 750 sq. ft.Arbor Closes Two…