News
Hotel Guests Rent–and Help Finance–New St. Maarten Resort Residences
By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerSt. Maarten–At the new Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Residences in St. Maarten, the adjacent Westin resort will offer condo owners a hotel guest experience–and guests will provide funding to offset owners’ mortgage costs.Ninety-nine condominiums are planned for the Dutch side of the Caribbean island. The units will be part of Westin’s five-year leaseback program, in which owners provide a 25 percent downpayment, and Westin secures financing for the remaining portion of the condo purchase price. The resort then rents the units to hotel guests, generating income to contribute to the owners’ monthly mortgage payments.The 1,654-square-foot…
Government Restrictions Cool Real Estate Market in China
Hong Kong–Based on the relaxed real estate markets in two of China’s biggest cities, the Chinese government’s plan to ease real estate investments appears to be successful, The Wall Street Journal reports.New home prices in Shenzhen, a southern town of nine million next to Hong Kong, fell 8 percent from September to the end of 2007, according to global real estate adviser DTZ. In China’s third-largest city, Guangzhou, new home prices dropped 9.9 percent in November from a high of 11,574 yuan ($1,600) a square meter in October.After several years of growth, real estate in Shenzhen faltered in summer as…
U.K. Home Prices Drop; Market Activity Picks Up, According to Property Site
Milton Keynes–U.K. home prices fell for the third consecutive month as homeowners rushed to put their residences on the market before the new regulation requiring pricing packets to be included with all for-sale homes kicked in, according to property Web site Rightmove.In addition, Rightmove said that home prices are increasing at their slowest rate in two years, the Times Online reported Monday.Since December 2007, a Home Information Pack, which contains information such as a sale statement and proof of title, must be made for every U.K. home put on the market. Real estate agents are required to provide buyers with…
Atlanta Public Housing Plans Under Fire From City Council, Residents
Atlanta–Once a public housing pioneer, Atlanta is now reconsidering the future of its plans to renovate housing projects into mixed-income lodging, The Los Angeles Times reported Monday.On Tuesday, the Atlanta Housing Authority–which pioneered the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI program more than a decade ago–will face a potential stumbling block when City Council members vote on the future of several public housing projects.The council is considering asking the Atlanta Housing Authority to halt the demolition of three of its last housing projects amidst concern about where the buildings’ 3,800 residents will go.Convinced that congregating the poor…
Housing Decline Hurts Wolseley Trading Profits
Reading–The weakening housing market helped lower the largest global distributor of plumbing and heating supplies’ trading profits by 40 percent in the five months ending in December, The Financial Times reported Monday.In November, the U.K.-based company–headquartered in Reading–said North American trading profits were down 30 percent. Wolseley’s shares have lost half their value in the past 12 months and fell 8.9 percent early Monday in London trading.North America comprised more than half of last year’s £16.2 billion group turnover and £877 million trading profits, the Times said. Wolseley’s overall trading profit–operating profits before amortization and impairment–fell by a quarter in…
Alsons Corporation
The trend to “go green” is omnipresent and a sound choice for both the environment and the property owner. There are several easy and inexpensive changes that can impact water usage and save money. One such way is to install a low-flow shower head. Alsons Corporation, a manufacturer of shower products, offers patented fluidics spray technology that delivers a reduced, water-saving flow while giving the user a superior shower experience. The fluidics shower heads are available with a 1.85 gallons per minute (gpm) spray, a 1.75 gpm spray and, for a 36 percent water savings over the standard 2.5 gpm,…
Insurers are Beginning to Recognize Green Building… But what Makes a Building Green?
By Robert Mittleman, Riemer Insurance GroupAs we begin this New Year, the housing and real estate industry is turning its attention to the potential environmental risks and challenges associated with “green” compliance. The insurance industry has always been a leader and advocate for both the education about, and eventual reduction of, foreseeable risks. Recently, insurers have extended their aspiration of improving standards in the direction of the environmental arena, with a major focus on global warming.This challenge to increase both awareness and compliance will create significant opportunities in 2008. Green building practices represent a significant step toward minimizing the destructive…
Case Study: Learn Fire Safety Lessons Before Disaster Strikes
By Jeff Hendrickson, Silent KnightAtlantic City, N.J.—In September 2006, a service call was made to Fire Alarm Maintenance Company (FAMCO) of Aston, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. The call came from the Plaza Condominium, a 14-story high-rise on the Atlantic City boardwalk. The Plaza’s fire alarm system had failed and required urgent attention.Upon arriving on site, FAMCO technicians determined that the panel had self-destructed. And despite every effort to restore the control panel to normal operation, it was completely unsalvageable. “It was an outdated system, one that had been out of production for about 15 years,” said Ken Scott, president…
Looking for Solutions: How Do We Get Workforce Housing Built?
By David Senden, KTGY Group, Inc.While we in the housing industry cringe at recent falling home prices, there are large groups of people for which prices can’t fall far or fast enough. Over the past decade, as the rising cost of housing has priced more and more people out of the market, the term “affordable housing”—often associated with low-income housing—is being replaced by the term “workforce housing” to better reflect that it isn’t just “poor” families that can’t afford to buy a home or pay escalating rents.The lack of affordable workforce housing continues to be a chronic concern to communities…
DEAL OF THE DAY: $114.4 Million Loan Secured for The Tower Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas
Dallas–Commercial real estate company Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.’s Dallas office recently arranged a $114.4 million, non-recourse construction loan for The Tower Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, Phase II of the Ritz-Carlton’s luxury hotel and condominium development in Dallas.Holliday Fenoglio Fowler Executive managing Director Scott Galloway, Senior Managing Director Trey Morsbach and Associate Director John Ahmed worked on behalf of Fort Worth, Texas-based Crescent Real Estate Equities to secure the 36-month, adjustable-rate loan through Societe Generale, headquartered in Paris.Upon completion in 2009, The Tower Residences will include a 23-floor tower with 96 units and four exclusive townhomes that will be separated from…