News

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorBoca Raton, Fla.–Developers at a roundtable at the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) annual meeting here suggested a diverse range of approaches to overcoming common development and redevelopment challenges. Value engineering, community relations, consumer needs and green building were some of the topics covered at the session entitled “Roundtable: Construction Challenges with Development and Redevelopment.”John Doherty, practice leader of the development consultant FMI Corp., moderated a panel that consisted of Paul Hutchinson, president of Lane Construction LLC; Gregory Lamb, executive vice president and regional managing partner at JPI; Guy Poux, director of construction at The Laramar…

Atlanta–Perseus Realty Partners, headquartered in Washington, D.C., recently entered into a joint venture with Atlanta-based J. Tucker Development Partners, Inc. to develop Ashton Hills, a new 225-unit, mid-rise rental apartment community in Atlanta.”We saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the strong Atlanta apartment market,” says T.J. Hofheimer, Director of Perseus Realty Partners. “We liked this specific site because of its access to major interstates and its location next to the Embry Village shopping center.”Ashton Hills will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 673 to 1,366 square feet. The development also will have a swimming pool,…

Zurich–Swiss bank UBS, headquartered in Zurich, will overhaul its investment banking business because of massive U.S. subprime mortgage-related losses, CNNMoney.com reported Friday.In an internal memo, Chief Executive Marcel Rohner said the bank could cut jobs and will decrease its riskier strategies, which included ceasing its U.S. proprietary credit operations.UBS’ credit market business will be reduced and the bank has formed a real estate ” workout group” that will gather the bank’s mortgage-backed securities and credit default obligations, along with UBS’ asset-backed securities.”This team will be primarily responsible for developing exit strategies for our existing portfolio through market alternatives and innovative…

New York–A group of mortgage counselors, lenders and servicing companies said Friday that more than 370,000 homeowners avoided foreclosure in the last six months of 2007, The New York Times reports.The Hope Now alliance said that the amount of homeowners who received help–as mortgage servicers tripled the rate at which they eased loan terms from the third quarter to last quarter–is “significantly higher” than originally thought.With guidance from the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hope Now said servicers made 120,000 loan modifications and settled new repayment plans for an additional 250,000 homeowners.

Sacramento–A California appraiser filed a lawsuit against Washington Mutual Inc., claiming she was blacklisted after reporting lower home prices, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.The suit, filed in state court in Sacramento, also named two appraisal-management companies and alleges the lower home evaluations made it difficult for the bank to get loans approved.The appraiser, Jeniffer Wertz, says she found prices were dropping in a neighborhood last May during the appraisal process and marked a box in one of her reports to show the decline. Marking that box typically causes a lender to cut loan amounts and ask for a greater…

London–British property prices haven’t declined at their current rate since the early 1990s, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).Data from the group showed that 49.1 percent more chartered surveyors recorded a drop in home prices in December–the sharpest increase since November 1992, Forbes.com reports. In November, 40.6 percent more surveyors reported a home price decrease.London’s traditionally strong housing market also saw severe declines starting in December. In addition, the RICS said 25 percent more surveyors saw a drop in buyer inquiries.RICS data is an indicator of future home prices and is closely watched by the Bank of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChennai, India–Hirco Plc, the investment vehicle for Hiranandani, one of India’s largest developers of luxury mixed-use communities, announced this week that the company had made sales worth $133 million for residential units in Phase 1 of its newest township development, Hiranandani Palace Gardens. Palace Gardens will offer a range of condominium sizes and styles. The three-phase development will contain offices, schools, health care facilities, shops, recreational facilities, and public space set within 369 acres. It is located in the south west part of Chennai, one of India’s premier Information Technology cities.The Palace Gardens was selling…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorMalvern, Pa.–USA Technologies has introduced eSuds Credit, an online laundry service for the nation’s multi-housing laundry industry. eSuds Credit enables residents in multifamily housing to go online to see what washers and dryers are available in their shared laundry facility, pay for their laundry services with a credit or debit card, and also be notified via email, PDA or cell phone when their wash or dry cycles are complete.This system has already been installed by Coinmach in Potomac Place Tower, a high-rise apartment community in Washington, D.C.“Many Potomac Place residents appreciate how the online service…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorJersey City, N.J.–Canco Lofts has started sales for the first phase of condominiums in Jersey City’s largest single-building industrial-to-residential conversion.Construction on the landmark American Can Co. factory began in late 2006. When completed in fall of this year, the building will have a total of 551 loft residences. Of these, 101 lofts are now for sale. “The revitalization of this building and adjacent properties signals the start of a new and vibrant neighborhood for Jersey City in an area that for a year was underutilized,” says Edward Yorukoff, director of marketing for Canco Lofts.The developer…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSpringfield, Ill. – A new 67-unit senior housing facility, with financing worth $7.9 million from state loans and tax credit, opened in Springfield this week.Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich released a statement pledging his commitment to providing affordable housing to all residents of the state. “As more and more baby boomers reach retirement age, we need to make sure that our seniors have options when it comes to their housing needs, especially when they are on a fixed income. They deserve to have the choice of remaining in the community they grew up in,” he…