News
Declining Home Prices Take Valuations to Pre-Bubble Levels
Cleveland–Lower U.S home prices have brought valuations–the difference between a home’s price and what it should cost–to pre-housing boom levels, according to a survey released Monday by research firm Global Insight and Cleveland-based banking company National City Corp.In the first three months of the year, home prices dropped in 262 of the 330 metropolitan areas studied–which means just eight markets are now thought to be overvalued, CNNMoney.com said. Last quarter, 14 markets were considered overvalued. At the housing market’s 2006 high point, 53 metro housing markets were considered to be valued above their homes’ actual worth.The readjustment was most pronounced…
Biggest U.K. Building Equipment Manufacturer Says Lower Demand Is Spreading to Europe
Rocester–JCB–the U.K.’s largest construction equipment manufacturer–says that reduced North American demand for its building equipment is now prevalent in some western European countries, according to the Financial Times.Due to growing demand in emerging markets including Russia, India, Poland and South America, the company–headquartered in Rocester in the U.K.–is set to announce record sales, profits and market share for 2007 on Tuesday.JCB’s pre-tax profits increased 25 percent to £187 million ($367,296,107) in 2007. The year was, in JCB’s words, “the most successful year in its 62-year history.”However, the company is facing less demand for its products in the future. Because infrastructure…
DEAL OF THE DAY: Quantum First Closes $22.61M Loan to Finance 25-Building Rental Community
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Quantum First Capital recently closed a $22,610,000 loan to finance the Vail Quarters Apartments in Dallas. The loan was funded through Quantum First Capital’s correspondent relationship with Green Park Financial through the Fannie Mae DUS program. The loan was structured at a seven-year term with full-term interest-only payments at a sub-5.75 percent interest rate.The Vail Quarters Apartments is located at 3900 Briargrove Lane in Dallas. The 25-building, 332-unit Class A project was completed in 2007. Developed on 9.61 acres, the garden-style, apartment community features one and two-bedroom units averaging 864 sq. ft.The units are finished…
Firms Compete in LA’s RFP Process for 5.2-Acre Project
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLos Angeles–A panel of city agencies and local citizen groups in Los Angeles will decide which of the three short-listed design firms will design a mixed-use project slated for a 5.2-acre site at the intersection of First and Almaeda streets in Los Angeles.The property, located in an area that is a merging point for Little Tokyo, Chinatown and Downtown, is owned by the city and will be sold to the development team that best meets the criteria reflected in the city’s request for proposal (RFP) for the project.The three developer and architect team finalists include…
Starrett City Will Remain Affordable, Says HUD Secretary
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Senator Charles E. Schumer, Gov. David A. Paterson and local politicians and tenant advocates released a detailed blueprint this week for evaluating any potential sale of Starrett City, a 5,881-unit affordable housing community in Brooklyn, New York, which is the largest federally subsidized development in the United States. In recent years, there has been speculation that the community might be sold to a private developer and converted into condominiums.Starrett City, (now called Spring Creek Towers), will be put up for sale this week, but potential buyers will receive a memorandum of understanding stipulating that…
Green Affordable Housing Project Breaks Ground in Stamford
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorStamford, Conn.–Jonathan Rose Companies, a New York-based real estate development, planning, consulting and investment firm, and New York-based W&M Properties, a real estate management, marketing and acquisition firm, broke ground today on Metro Green Apartments, a 50-unit LEED-certified affordable housing project.The project is the first phase of the 238-unit Metro Green Residential, a mixed-use transit-oriented development of mixed-income rentals and for-sale units. The project is a candidate for LEED New Construction and Neighborhood Development gold certification.Located at the Stamford Transportation Center, the project provides a pedestrian link to the Stamford Metro North Train Station.”Metro Green Apartments…
The Secret to Minimizing Liability with Crane Collapses and Other On-Site Accidents
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–For the second time this year, a crane collapsed at a building site in New York City, bringing the death toll from crane collapses this year to nine, with 28 people injured.The Manhattan district attorney’s office has opened a criminal investigation into the latest fatal crane accident on 91st St. and First Avenue, focusing on whether a part of the crane had been seriously damaged last year and then inappropriately put back into service.So how can developers avoid a mishap like this on their property and minimize their liability in the event that it…
Eco-Friendly GreenShield Technology Provides Water- and Stain-Repellent Finish
As part of its “Eco Intelligence Initiatives” to encourage sustainable manufacturing processes and products, Victor Group Inc., has announced its exclusive distribution of GreenShield, an ecological nanotechnology-based stain and water repellent fabric finish. Developed by G3 Technology Innovations, LLC (G3i), GreenShield uses a new technology that reduces a fabric’s flurochemicals by up to 10 times. Using one-third the amount of chemicals of traditional finishes, GreenShield is certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) for compliance with the indoor air quality emission requirements of Section CA 01350 and as a low fluorocarbon treatment. When GreenShield is applied to Victor’s Eco Intelligent Polyester,…
June Market Pulse
Multifamily Starts: Multifamily starts roared back this month, and got top billing from the daily news outlets, since starts in other areas of housing were anemic. While the numbers don’t differentiate between apartments and condos, it’s likely that most of these starts are rentals, since it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get funding to build condos, especially in markets where many condos sit empty or are being rented.Rent Changes:While the rental component of the Consumer Price Index still hasn’t quite caught up to the overall CPI, it’s getting closer. Of course, it’s the CPI that’s falling, and not the rents that…
Market Report: Bright Spots
on surplus land already owned by these districts. In fact, it has just broken ground for the second phase of Casa del Maestro, which will consist of a three-story building with 30 units in San Mateo, and plans to start another 60 units elsewhere in the fall. Target rents for teachers are 50 percent or less of the market rate. The for-sale market on the Peninsula continues to move product, Dorfman reports. In fact, the developer just entitled a 1,600-unit project in north San Jose. Three different architecture firms will be designing the six buildings in this walkable community, which…