News
Taskforce Will Watch Chinese Involvement with U.S. Subprime Investments
Beijing–The China Banking Regulatory Commission has created a taskforce to monitor Chinese bank’s exposure to the U.S. subprime market, according to the Financial Times.Senior officials told the Times that China’s banking regulator, headquartered in Beijing, created the group to investigate and issue a monthly report about what subprime holdings China’s largest banks have as the country braces for potentially larger-than-anticipated subprime losses.It seems, however, China’s lenders will not see the same impact from subprime holdings as the Western world has. The Bank of China–the largest U.S. subprime security holder in Asia–said Tuesday it would see losses on more holdings than…
Merrill Lynch Provides $46M Refinance Loan for 28-Story Apartment Building
Jacksonville Fla.–Merrill Lynch Capital is providing a $46 million first mortgage loan to St. Johns Phase I LLC for its recently completed 295-unit, 28-story luxury apartment building, The Strand, located in Jacksonville Fla.St. Johns will use the funds to refinance an existing construction loan by Pacific Life Insurance Company. “Most of the money will go toward paying off the construction loan,” Carey A. Stiss, partner at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP, the Miami law firm that advised Merrill Lynch Capital in the refinancing loan, tells MHN.“This is a new project in a market that has a strong demand…
HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2007 Passed in the House
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington D.C.–The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed, by a 271 to 30 margin, the H.R. 3524, the HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2007. This legislation, which ensures all new HOPE VI developments will meet green building criteria and, in that way, helps low-income families across the country.The bill mandates new HOPE VI revitalization projects to meet the Green Communities Criteria for residential construction, or other similar green rating systems determined by the Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For non-residential buildings in HOPE VI developments, the bill…
New W Hotel and Residences to Open in California’s Orange County
By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerHuntington Beach, Calif.–Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. recently announced plans to create a new W hotel and 92 full-service private residences in Huntington Beach, Calif.Owned by an affiliate of Newport Beach, Calif.-based developer Makar Properties LLC, the W Huntington Beach hotel will feature a restaurant, bar, spa and approximately 250 guest rooms. “In considering new project sites, location is extremely important. When the beautiful piece of coastal property in Huntington Beach became available, we couldn’t pass it up,” says Paul Makarechian, president and CEO of Makar Properties. “We are excited to enhance Huntington Beach’s surfside…
DEAL OF THE DAY: Texas Apartments Receive $4 Million Loan
Beaumont, Texas– Bethesda, Md.-based Green Park Financial recently provided a $4,258,000 acquisition loan for the Autumn Cove Apartments in Beaumont, Texas.Green Park Financial structured the loan with a seven-year term–three years of interest-only payments followed by a 30-year amortization. Jason Rice of Quantum First Capital originated the loan; Andrew Tapley, Green Park Financial senior vice president, led the Green Park team.Built in 1983, the two-story Autumn Cove is a garden-style apartment complex with 152 units. The property was 80 percent leased at closing.Green Park Financial services $4.4 billion of loans for more than 90,000 apartment homes across 43 states and…
New Zealand Is the Most Expensive Place to Buy a Home
Christchurch–New Zealand has the least affordable homes, according to an international survey of the world’s six costliest residential markets, released Monday by an international public policy firm with affiliates in Christchurch and St. Louis.High mortgage interest rates helped New Zealand score higher than Australia for the first time. New Zealand homebuyers have the largest difference between earnings and home prices, the New Zealand Herald reports.Low wages and high home prices mean–based on median home prices and wages–that residents spend 18 years and six months of an entire household’s annual income to pay off a home, the report said.The United States,…
Relaxed Rule Gives Tax Break to Co-ops with Commercial Tenants
New York–Changes to federal tax regulations have made housing commercial tenants in New York co-ops more profitable than ever, The New York Times reports.Previously, because of the 80-20 rule–which requires residential co-ops to receive no more than 20 percent of their gross income from external sources, such as commercial tenants, in order to receive tax benefits–co-ops have rented commercial space at low rents and often given thousands of dollars in refunds to tenants at the year’s end.However, the law was modified last year to allow all co-ops to keep their benefits–and rental income. “This change will be a bonanza for…
Zephyr
The ultra-slim series of kitchen range hoods from Zephyr has retractable canopies that extend as little as five inches from the wall making it ideal for small multifamily kitchens. In addition to a choice of more than 20 designs, the island, under-cabinet and wall-mounted models can also be customized with stainless steel, magnesium, colored glass or etched glass. The hoods can also be laminated.The Tamburo is an under-cabinet model that offers halogen lighting, three speeds and an adjustable utensil bar to keep larger cooking utensils right above the cooking surface. The hoods are based on compact motor design that not…
U.K. Mortgage Loans Sink to Lowest Point Since 2005 in December
London–Gross mortgage lending in the U.K. hit its lowest level since May 2005 last month due to tough lending situations and low confidence in the housing industry, according to data from the London-based Council for Mortgage Lenders.Gross mortgage lending dropped to £22.6 billion in December, 25 percent below November’s lending volumes. Although the housing market is often slow at the end of the year, lending volumes usually only decline 6 percent between November and December, The Financial Times reports.Members of the Council for Mortgage Lenders assume roughly 98 percent of U.K. residential mortgage lending. The council’s figures are viewed as…
Chinese Banks May Be Bracing for Subprime Hit
Shanghai–The president of the China’s sixth-biggest bank said Chinese bank earnings will likely be lower this year because of the government’s attempt to slow the economy and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, according to The Guardian.”We have to be very realistic: We are facing many challenges this year which are not only from home but also abroad,” China Merchants Bank Co. President Ma Weihua told Reuters Monday.China Merchants Bank Co. sold the U.S. subprime-related investments it made in 2004 two years later for 13.4 percent returns. However, China’s larger, state-owned banks–including the Bank of China–might not fare as well.Bank of…