News

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorFort Lauderdale, Fla.—Boca Raton, Fla.-based Altman Development is now offering unit customization for early leasers at its Satori, a 279-luxury mixed-use rental community in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.The option, which is free for early pre-leasing residents, marks the first time a Florida rental community is offering renters customization of their apartments, the interiors of which were designed by Steven G. Residents will have the opportunity to pick from three colors of granite, three carpet colors for the bedrooms and five accent paint colors for the living room and master bedroom. In addition, residents can choose between tile…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorHow bad can it get? What a question to ask just before we head into the peak of the holidays. Nevertheless, here are some forecasts for the apartment industry for the new year. Among the industry experts we are in touch with, at worst there is the prediction that the vacancy rate next year may get as high as during the end of the recession of the late-1980s/early-1990s. Mark Obrinsky, chief economist of National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), says that the vacancy rate (for professionally managed apartments), now 6.2 percent, may head to at least the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Following years of robust growth, the upheaval on Wall Street will soften fundamentals in the New York City apartment market, according to Marcus and Millichap’s recently released 2009 market forecast. Vacancy is expected to climb 130 basis points to a still-tight 4.7 percent and asking rents in large, market-rate communities are forecast to advance 2.1 percent in 2009 to $3,006 per month, while effective rents gain 1.5 percent to $2,906 per month, according to the report. Despite the downside risks to the multifamily market due to a large number of job losses, the local…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Ventas recently closed the sale of five seniors housing assets to affiliates of Emeritus Corp. for an aggregate sale price of $62.5 million. The assets are located in four states and feature 432 units in total.The purchase price represents a 6.7 percent capitalization rate on current annualized cash rent of $4.2 million. Prior to the sale, Emeritus was the tenant in these five seniors housing assets. Ventas expects to record a gain of approximately $23 million on the sale.Net cash proceeds to Ventas of approximately $45 million will be used to pay down debt or…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York, N.Y.–Bids for sale of the 5,881-unit Starrett City, the country’s largest federally subsidized public housing project located in Brooklyn, New York, have now narrowed down to one.The owners of the 46-building project, which spans over 153 acres in Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn, are now negotiating with a group that includes the Christian Cultural Center, the Cogsville Group, the Clarett Group and the nonprofit Housing Partnership Development Corp.At one point, the asking price for Starrett City was said to be $1.3 billion. Now, the Christian Cultural Center is working on a deal to buy the…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorLincoln, Neb.–Freddie Mac is closing the first financings under its conduit program. The Capital Markets Execution is supposed to bring more flexibility, lower spreads, a more favorable Early-Rate Lock option–and even more loan dollars as this transaction, which carries a 79 percent Loan-to-Value (LTV), attests. The Links at Lincoln was one of Freddie Mac’s first Capital Markets Execution loans to be rate locked and funded. Freddie Mac had purchased the $38.7 million mortgage from Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF). The transaction allowed the borrower to retire construction financing on The Links at Lincoln, a 51-building, 612-unit apartment…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Existing-home sales weakened against a backdrop of an eroding economy, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Existing condominium and co-op sales dropped 13.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 470,000 units in November from 540,000 units in October, and are 23.1 percent lower than the 611,000-unit pace in November 2007. The median existing condo price was $185,400 in November, down 15.5 percent from a year ago. “When people were making housing decisions that are being reflected in this study, the economy declined and rate of unemployment went up,” Jed Smith,…

Cluj-Napoca, Romania—Chicago-based Lucien Lagrange Architects recently broke ground on its latest European venture, Sigma Tower, a 26-story, mixed-use tower located in one of Romania’s largest cities, Cluj-Napoca.Developed by S.C. Sigma Tower S.R.L., Sigma Tower will include 100 condominiums, a five-star, 202-key hotel, retail and approximately 130,000 sq. ft. of office space.  Amenities will include fitness facilities, a swimming pool, spa, meeting spaces, a ballroom and two levels of parking.Additionally, because the family-owned developer also owns the local Romanian soccer team, the tower is situated such that the soccer stadium is visible from many of the site’s public spaces, Heather Weed,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorRamona, Calif.–NorthMarq Capital Inc.’s Los Angeles office recently arranged a $9.3 million first mortgage financing for Summer Creek Apartments (pictured), a 156-unit garden-style apartment complex, located in Ramona, Calif. Financing was based on a seven-year interest-only term and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its affiliation with AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance, a Fannie Mae DUS lender. Arbor Closes Over $8M Fannie Mae DUS LoanCedar Rapids, Iowa.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed a loan of $8,475,000 under the Fannie Mae DUS product line to finance the 144-unit complex known as Wheatland Club Apartments in Cedar…