News
U.S. Sees More Renters, Less Buyers
Washington, D.C.–Started in 2002, President Bush’s homeownership campaign seems to have been derailed by the high U.S. apartment rental rate, the New York Times reports.The weak housing market and high foreclosure rate have helped boost rentals and drive homeownership down. The percentage of homeowner-run households descended from 69.1 percent in 2005 to 67.8 percent this year–the most severe drop-off in 20 years, according to census data.The percentage of renter-headed households grew from 30.9 percent to 32.2 percent. Yet finding an adequate apartment isn’t easy, due to shrinking vacancies and higher rents. Rents have gone up roughly 11 percent since 2005,…
Harvard Housing Report Says Housing Slump is Worst in Half a Century
Boston–The current U.S. housing market deterioration is most likely the steepest decline in 50 years–and isn’t close to being over, according to the annual report from Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies, which was released Monday.”The national median single-family home price fell [for] the first time in 40 years of recordkeeping, leaving several million homeowners with properties worth less than their mortgages,” the report said.In the past two years, the median U.S. home price has dropped 18 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. The country currently has the worst foreclosure rate in 34 years of tracking data, according to the Boston Herald.The…
Art Deco-Inspired Bath Collection from Delta
With clean lines and geometric forms, Delta’s new Dryden Bath Collection is inspired by the Art Deco period of the early 20th century.The faucets are available in single- and two-handle centersets, mini-widespread and widespread. Additionally, they are water-efficient, with a flow rate of 1.6 gallons per minute (gpm).In the shower, the Delta MultiChoice Universal valve allows residents the option of single- or two-function pressure balance and a dual thermostatic control step-up. The showerhead is available as a square raincan.The new collection will be available this summer, and finish options will include Chrome, Aged Pewter, Brilliance Stainless or Venetian Bronze.www.deltafaucet.com
DEAL OF THE DAY: Sperry Van Ness Completes Sale of North Carolina Apartments for $4.125M
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorGoldsboro, N.C.–Sperry Van Ness has completed the sale of McArthur Apartments, a 110-unit community in Goldsboro, N.C., for $4.125 million.Concord, N.H.-based EWT LLC bought the 21-building community that was built in 1970 and 1987. The units range in size from 900 to 1,900 sq. ft. and are mostly two-bedrooms (with the exception of one unit). Monthly rents have increased to the $550 range since the sale.Located at 204 Benton St., the property is approximately 50 miles from Raleigh and is situated on 11.36 acres of land. It was 95 percent occupied at the close of escrow.Jim…
RMK Completes First Phase of Rehab Project in Chicago Suburb
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorSchaumburg, Ill.–The opening of the new clubhouse at Versailles on the Lakes marks the completion of the first phase of RMK Management Corp.’s $11.5 million rehabilitation of the property.”We wanted to start out with the clubhouse, rather than anything else, since this is the most important thing to the residents,” explains Tony Rossi, president of RMK Management Corp. The rehab for the clubhouse cost $2 million.Located in Schaumburg, a suburb of northwestern Chicago known for its strong office market, the 618-unit, 12-building Versailles on the Lakes was built in two phases in 1970 and 1974. The…
Coldwell Banker Assists Consumers with Facebook.com "Housetrology" Quiz
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Parsippany, N.J.–In an innovative marketing initiative that utilizes the rise of social networking, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC has launched a “Housetrology” quiz on Facebook.com.”Finding a home is a gradual process, so one of the nice things about ‘Housetrology’ is to get people to start thinking about what home would fit their individual characteristics,” says Michael Fischer, senior vice president for marketing. The quiz asks consumers a number of questions to determine their ideal home styles. Rather than the traditional home-buying variables, the questions are more personality-based, asking such things as what a prospective buyer…
Multifamily Vacancies Increase as More First-Time Buyers Purchase Homes
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C–Multifamily vacancies are on the rise, according to preliminary information from the Commercial Real Estate Outlook of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).”We have been seeing, over the last two years, relatively tight vacancy rates because of the slowdown in home sales,” says Walter Molony, a spokesman for NAR. “This will change, as sales are expected to pick up.” Because of this, multifamily vacancy rates are expected to rise to 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, up from 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.”To the extent that people have secure jobs,…
Time Equities Breaks Ground on 65-Story Skyscraper in New York, LEED Gold Expected
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–Time Equities Inc., a New York-based development and management firm, broke ground today on 50 West Street, one of several new high-rises expected to rise up just south of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.New York City Council Member Alan Gerson and Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky, along with local school officials, clergy members and politicians, joined Francis Greenburger, CEO and chairman of Time Equities, at the event.The 65-story hotel and residential tower will serve as an “iconic presence in the downtown skyline,” remarked Greenburger. Additionally, the development will provide a pedestrian…
N.Y. Condominium Solves the Parking Challenge
By Jim Ryan, Sentry Protection ProductsThe address “110 Livingston Street” has been a famous New York City address for as long as living New Yorkers can remember. Originally built in 1925 to house the Benevolent Organization of Elks, it became the high profile headquarters of the New York City Board of Education featured on education news reports throughout the latter half of the 20th Century. Today, however, that address equates with luxury condo living in the center of Brooklyn’s cultural scene.While the condo conversion’s attractive glass and steel addition to the original 12-story building is a welcomed Brooklyn skyline addition,…
Bush Administration Threatens to Veto Senate Housing Bill
Washington, D.C.–The White House said Thursday it would veto the housing bill currently under debate in the Senate, the Washington Post said.The plan–which calls for the Federal Housing Administration to assist borrowers in refinancing their loans if their lenders agree to forgive a portion of their debt–would be paid for using part of a new affordable housing fund bankrolled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Citing concern about the program’s proposed funding, administration officials said that the White House opposed both establishing the affordable housing fund and giving some of its capital to the new program.