News
Multi-Housing Executives on the Move
Nate Kredich Joins U.S. Green Building Council as First VP of Residential DevelopmentWashington, D.C.–Veteran residential executive Nate Kredich has joined the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), stepping into the newly created role of vice president for residential market development, overseeing USGBC’s LEED for Homes program.Kredich comes to USGBC with experience in the residential construction business. He spent the last five years with Creative Touch Interiors (CTI), a national turnkey provider of design center services to the nation’s largest homebuilders. Kredich led the sale of CTI to The Home Depot in 2004 and oversaw CTI’s integration into the home improvement retailer,…
May Market Pulse
Commentary and Data Supplied by Dean Crist, Senior Economist, National Association of Home Builders Apartment Starts: The roller coaster continues as a steep drop in starts (at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate) for March more than offset February’s gain. While for-rent and for-sale multifamily aren’t differentiated in the monthly data, a majority of current starts are rentals.Rent Changes: Rent growth has slowed in comparison to the entire consumer price index, but that’s to be expected, since the entire CPI includes items such as gasoline, food and beverage costs, and medical care—all of which are rising faster than rents.Interest Rates: The Prime…
Big Apple Riding Out Recession
ern California, this is a very positive environment,” adds Greenburger.Taxi riders take virtual condo toursWith a marketing idea that could only work in New York, the Extell Development Company is giving 1,000 taxicab riders a virtual tour of its condominium, The Lucida.Each time a new fare enters a cab, a television segment on the Lucida will play on Open House TV using Taxi 2.0, the interactive television installed in New York City taxis.The 90-second broadcast of the Upper East Side’s first LEED-certified residential green building will be viewed by more than one million cab riders before the program’s conclusion in…
Products: Creating a Green Footprint
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWith the growing concern about the effects of global warming, developers, architects and designers are focusing on energy consumption to reduce the carbon footprints of for-rent and for-sale multi-housing projects.”Anything we can do to make our properties more environmentally friendly in design and maintenance resonates and is of interest to a segment of the market,” says Mike Everly, president of Novare Management, a subsidiary of Novare Group that provides property management services. While the initial cost of green products may be higher than their non-sustainable counterparts, developers, architects and builders often end up paying less in…
Foreclosures Double GMAC’s First Quarter Loss
Detroit–Foreclosures are causing problems for some mortgage handlers, including GMAC, General Motor’s finance company, Forbes said.Detroit-based GMAC posted a first quarter loss this week that was nearly twice as much as the one it announced during the same period in 2007.GM fell 2.3 percent–50 cents–to $1.44 in afternoon trading as a result on Tuesday.The company’s home mortgage unit is suffering because of “falling home prices in the U.S. and tight mortgage liquidity around the world,” according to GMAC Chief Financial Officer Robert Hull.
Mortgage Application Volume Falls 11 Percent
Washington, D.C.–Mortgage application volume dropped 11.1 percent in the week ending April 25, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.The Washington, D.C.-headquartered association’s application index declined from 637.6 the week before to 567, according to BusinessWeek.Purchase application volume fell 4.8 percent. Refinance volume declined 16.7 percent. Refinance applications comprised 45.7 percent of all applications.The index hit its record high–1,856.7–in May 2003.
DEAL OF THE DAY: GE Real Estate Provides $30.3M Loan For Acquisition of Class B Rental Community
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorKent, Wash.–GE Real Estate recently provided a $30.3 million loan to Kennedy Wilson Inc. for the acquisition and repositioning of James Street Crossing Apartments, a 300-unit apartment complex in Kent, Wash. The property includes 21 garden-style apartment buildings, clubhouse and fitness center. The complex is located about 20 miles south of Seattle. Built in 1989, the Class B asset is 93 percent occupied. Kennedy Wilson will invest $3.81 million for interior and exterior renovations and increase the number of outdoor parking spaces.Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Management’s west coast division acquires, manages and redevelops multifamily properties. It currently owns…
FHA Secure Not Helping As Many Homeowners As Forecast
Washington, D.C.–The FHA Secure program has helped fewer than 2,000 homeowners facing foreclosure, according to federal housing data. In recent weeks, FHA officials have said that more than 150,000 people have taken part in the program to refinance at-risk mortgages into government-issued loans.However, most of the homeowners who have refinanced through FHA Secure have been ones who paid their mortgage on time–not homeowners in immediate danger, the New York Times said Wednesday.Initially, housing officials said that the program would help 60,000 borrowers; they are now saying the actual demand from homeowners was much lower than anticipated.Yet officials feel the program…
U.S. Construction Spending Declined in March
Washington, D.C.–Construction spending fell 1.1 percent last month, fueled by the largest residential construction spending decline in 26 years, the Commerce Department said Thursday.January and February’s numbers were revised upward. Total construction spending is now 3.4 percent lower than last year, according to MarketWatch. In March, private-sector residential project spending dropped 4.6 percent–the biggest reduction since 1981. For the year, residential project spending is down 19.9 percent.Spending for private, nonresidential projects–with a push from communications and lodgings projects–increased 1.9 percent and is up 15.4 percent from 2007.
Q and A: EcoTimber CEO Says Woven Bamboo Has Better Environmental Footprint
By Lisa Iannucci, Green Building Correspondent EcoTimber, a supplier of wood products from environmentally sound sources in San Rafael, Calif., created a new, patented woven bamboo flooring product. This is a new form of bamboo flooring from sustainably-harvested, rapidly-renewable, Timber Bamboo. Grown without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, this woven bamboo can be sanded and refinished just like hardwood.EcoTimber CEO, Lewis Buchner, talks to MHN about the company’s new product and what can be expected in the future.MHN: What is “woven bamboo”?Buchner: Woven bamboo is made from long strands of bamboo about the size of a chopstick, mixed with a non-formaldehyde…