News
Yoo by Starck to Design $400M Condo Project in India
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPune, INDIA–Yoo by Starck, a global design-focused real estate development company, is entering the Indian market with a $400 million condominium project spread over 21 acres in Pune, a city situated few hours from Mumbai in the western state of Maharashtra.Though Yoo is not releasing any information regarding the project in the U.S, the company held a press conference in Pune last week where it revealed plans for Yoo Pune, a 400-unit project to be designed by architect and designer John Hitchcox and built in collaboration with Pune-based developer, Panchshil Realty.Yoo Pune will feature condos…
Axiom
The new compact Algonquin bathroom speaker from Axiom Audio is fully waterproof, enabling it to withstand exposure to water and moisture. The unit’s rear bass port is angled upward inside the cabinet to prevent water from entering. The port is also screened to make sure bass sounds get out, but water doesn’t get in.The Algonquin binding posts are gold-plated and covered in plastic to prevent rust. The plastic/metal grille ensures that the speaker’s drivers are protected, while the plastic housing around the unit’s rear cable inputs offers additional protection.The Algonquin speakers are based on the company’s M3 bookshelf unit, winner…
PRG Acquires 15 Affordable Housing Buildings
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor New York–Phoenix Realty Group, a New York-based real estate fund manager, is acquiring and renovating 15 affordable housing buildings with 362 units, located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, for $96 million.All the apartments will be preserved as affordable housing, and 95 percent of them will be subsidized with long-term Section 8 contracts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).“These projects are very important within the community and have a huge impact on the neighborhood,” Ron Orgel, Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) managing director, tells MHN. “We believe that the preservation of affordable…
NAHB Says OFHEO Needs to Do More than Lift Caps on Fannie, Freddie
Washington, D.C.–The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced recently that it would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase and hold more home loans in their portfolios. While this is a step forward in helping ease the mortgage credit crunch, more needs to be done, the National Home Builders Association (NAHB) said in a statement. “We applaud OFHEO for taking this step to help inject more liquidity into the mortgage markets by giving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac added flexibility to invest in the housing market,” says Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB. “However, OFHEO,…
Deloitte Exec Acknowledges Credit Squeeze has Led to Decline in Valuations
By Keat Foong, Exective Editor New York, N.Y.—Deloitte’s analysis of the commercial real estate market at this point in time still yields a positive picture. In Real Estate Capital Markets Top 10 Issues—2008 Report released earlier this year, Deloitte LLP acknowledged the credit crunch and economic uncertainty, but said that commercial real estate remains relatively attractive as an investment. Fundamentals remain solid, capital is still plentiful and allocations are steady, says the report. Dennis Yeskey, of Deloitte’s real estate capital markets practice, says that the commercial real estate industry is not suffering like it was in previous industry cycles. “We…
Republicans Halt Housing Bill in Senate
Washington, D.C.–Claiming it would hurt mortgage lenders and prolong the housing slump, Senate Republicans blocked a Democrat-sponsored bill to assist the troubled housing industry Thursday, the Washington Post reports.The Senate failed to gain the necessary 60 votes to end a proposed housing bill filibuster. The bill earmarks billions of dollars for local communities to purchase subprime mortgages and would allow a revision of bankruptcy laws to let judges cut interest rates for low-income homeowners.The mortgage industry has expressed disapproval of the bill; President Bush Thursday said that he wanted to give the $168 billion stimulus bill a chance to “kick…
Paulson Opposes Blanket Mortgage Rescue Programs
Chicago–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a crowd at the Economic Club of Chicago Thursday that he does not support a government-backed homeowner bailout, the Chicago Tribune reports.Less than 2 percent of home mortgages are in foreclosure, Paulson said.”So, while some in Washington are proposing big interventions, most of the proposals I’ve seen would do more harm than good,” he said. “I’m not interested in bailing out investors, lenders and speculators. I’m focusing on solutions targeted at struggling homeowners who want to keep their homes.”In addition, Paulson said homeowners are responsible for asking for help, and that if a home’s value…
Troubled Homeowners Just Want to Walk Away
Charlotte, N.C.–Top executives from Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America and Wachovia–as well as executives at JPMorgan Chase in New York–have seen an increasing number buyers walk away from mortgages in recent months, The New York Times reported Friday.The homeowners are more interested in getting out of their current mortgages than in renegotiating or defaulting. Some companies, such as San Diego-based You Walk Away, surrenders homes to banks for a $995 cost to homeowners.Shrinking downpayments–last year, the median downpayment showed a 20 percent drop from 1989, according to a National Association of Realtors survey–and heavy borrowing to cover closing costs and…
AIG Sees Close to $15 Billion Loss Because of Subprime Investments
New York–American International Group declared almost $15 billion in subprime mortgage-related writedowns and losses Thursday, the Financial Times reports.The New York-based insurer’s net loss for the fourth quarter was $5.29 billion as a result. Full-year earnings were reduced by more than half to $6.2 billion.AIG expects the U.S. housing market to stay soft and feels credit market chaos will continue, said chief executive Martin Sullivan.Nearly $11.5 billion of the writedowns were connected to AIG’s dealings in collateralized debt obligations (CDO), which are often backed by subprime mortgage bonds. The company also posted $3.3 billion worth of charges due to the…
Rising Construction Costs, 500,000 Vacant Units in ‘Busted’ Condos Plague Multifamily Market, Says RERC Report
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Construction costs for multifamily projects are continuing to rise, obtaining entitlements is getting harder and the condominium market is in trouble, according to the Real Estate Research Corp. quarterly real estate report, titled “Uncovering the Facts-Risk Under Examination.”About 18 months ago, the market for condominiums was enjoying a solid five- to six-year run. Today, however, many areas of the nation are scattered with “busted” condos, some of them under construction or just completed, others that are condominium conversions and partially sold. “The formerly most-booming “boom areas”—Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and California—have the largest inventory of busted…