News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLos Angeles–Snyder Langston recently completed construction of Phase III of the Catholic Charities/Good Shepherd Center Women’s Village, a 35,892-sq.-ft. mixed-use building that will provide services to residents of Good Shepherd Center’s facilities. Construction on the property, located at 1671 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, started in November 2006. Move-ins are expected to begin in May.Phase III is situated on a half-acre parcel of land and includes underground and surface parking for 42 vehicles and a retail bakery/cafe that will provide employment assistance and concrete work experience to some of the women at Good Shepherd. The…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.’s proposal to overhaul the regulatory apparatus that oversees the country’s financial system is expected to significantly expand the authority of the Federal Reserve over financial markets, but will likely not have a major impact on multifamily borrowers, according to David Cardwell, vice president of capital markets and technology at National Multi Housing Council. “As borrowers, it does not really affect us. If I were a security issuer, or bank lobbyist, I would be all over this proposal with my suggestions,” Cardwell tells MHN. He goes on to say…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCanoga Park, Calif.–Charles Dunn, a partner company of GVA Worldwide, recently arranged the sale of the 19-unit apartment building located at 7037 Alabama Ave. in Canoga Park, Calif., for 2.85 million.Paul A. Kenworthy, managing director of the investment services group in the west Los Angeles office of Charles Dunn, represented the buyer, Saswata Sen, and the seller, Khougaz Trust.The 17,324-sq.-ft. building is 100 percent occupied.“This transaction had tremendous upside for the buyer, nearly 20 percent,” says Kenworthy. “The apartments are not rent controlled.”

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor New York–Integra Realty Resources recently entered into a non-binding letter of intent to have certain assets acquired by Altus Group Income Fund for the purposes of merging the two companies. A 30-year-old company, Integra has over 800 employees in 55 offices across the U.S.“This merger with Altus will increase the capabilities and service offerings of Integra in the United States,” says Jeffrey Rogers (pictured), president and COO of Integra.Altus Group Income Fund is a multidisciplinary provider of independent real estate consulting and professional advisory services worldwide. With a staff of over 1,100, Altus has…

New York–The housing slump cut 67 percent from homebuilders’ market value in the New York-based Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, changing the companies into small-cap stocks, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.S&P 500 home developers have an overall market value of $16 billion–a reduction from $49.2 billion in January 2006, which was their peak.The nation’s largest builder by sales, Centex Corp., is estimated to be worth $2.62 billion–just a quarter of the size of the largest Russell 2000 Index company. As the high housing inventory caused companies to cut prices, the second largest builder, D.R. Horton Inc., and Lennar Corp., the third largest,…

New York–Home prices fell further in February, indicating the housing slump hasn’t bottomed out yet, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index 10-city composite found that prices fell by 13.6 percent. In the 20-city composite, home prices dropped by 12.7 percent.Las Vegas and Miami posted the biggest declines–22.7 and 21.7 percent. Both cities showed some of the fastest price appreciation and growth from 2004 to 2005.Los Angeles home prices fell 19.4 percent; Phoenix prices declined 20.8 percent. San Diego prices plummeted 19.2 percent.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates–Dubai’s recent legal issues and property scandals could hurt foreign investor interest in its rising real estate market, The Wall Street Journal reports.Persian Gulf states, the former Soviet Union, India and Iran have invested in the area; but earlier this month, the CEO of one of Dubai’s largest publicly traded developers was placed in jail. Another situation involving two disputes between European and U.S. investors have prompted questions about local regulatory and legal standards.The group of seven, semiautonomous emirates was the first Arab Gulf state to allow foreign ownership of property. An estimated $1.2 trillion worth of…

Calabasas, Calif.–Countrywide Financial said Tuesday it had lost $893 million in the first quarter due to the U.S. housing slump, the Financial Times said.Provision for credit losses on its residential loan investments rose from $158 million last year to $1.5 billion.Currently being acquired by the Bank of America, Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide–which was heavily involved in the subprime market–posted a profit of $434 million in the first quarter of 2007.Bank of America expects to complete its $4 billion takeover of the lender in the third quarter and has said Countrywide will at that point no longer offer subprime loans to high-risk…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNorwalk, Conn.–POKO Partners LLC recently received design approval from the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency for phase one of Wall Street Place, located between Wall and Isaacs Streets and West Avenue in Norwalk, Conn.The first phase of Wall Street Place, expected to be complete in spring 2010, includes a fully automated parking facility, which will provide 212 parking spaces housed in two levels below grade, in addition to 23 conventional surface parking spaces.Residents at Wall Street Place will have the  option of buying a space for long term parking.  Parking in the automated lot will cost the…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorRocky Mount, N.C.–United Property Management LLC, a Raleigh, N.C.-based management company of affordable housing, has opened Rollinwood Manor, a 64-unit affordable housing development for adults 55 and older who earn 60 percent or less of the area’s median income.The $5.8 million project was financed with $5.2 million in low-income housing tax credit equity investment from Enterprise Community Investments Inc., a $2.3 million construction loan from Mountain 1st Bank & Trust and $986,361 in funding from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.”Rollinwood Manor creates much needed investment in safe and affordable housing for seniors in eastern Rocky…