Regions

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorNew York, N.Y.—Who says construction financing is not obtainable? LCOR Inc. secured construction financing in this very difficult environment to finance the $69 million rental 34 Berry Street, which is located in the trendy neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The 142-unit development was able to secure financing for a number of reasons.  Much of the new construction in the neighborhood has been of condominiums. 34 Berry Street is one of the first ground-up apartment rental developments in the area. “The project provides necessary rental product in a sub-market with demonstrable demand,” says David A. Sigman, senior vice…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNewport News, Va.–Alliant Capital closed an $11 million loan for the refinance of Village at Stoneybrook Apartments (pictured). The 256-unit garden-style community was built in 1974 and features 16, two-story residential buildings. Alliant’s loan has a 10-year term with nine years of yield maintenance and a 30-year amortization. The rate is fixed for the first nine years and then adjustable in the final year and was rate locked 90 days before the loan settled.  KDX Ventures to Sell $144M in HUD LoansBoston–KDX Ventures (KDX), a partnership of DebtX and KEMA Advisors, will sell $144 million…

Washington, D.C.–President Barack Obama plans to nominate Ron Sims, county executive of King County, Wash., to become the deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As the deputy secretary, Sims will be charged with managing HUD’s day-to-day operations, a nearly $39 billion annual operating budget and the agency’s 8,500 employees.“Sims’ track record as an innovative leader with an exciting vision for the future of our nation’s communities make him the perfect deputy secretary candidate as we tackle the nation’s housing crisis amidst the biggest economic downturn in decades,” says HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan. “His experience…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–While the performance forecast for the rental multifamily market in 2009 is bleak, sales of condos and co-ops seem to be looking upward.The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed for condos and co-ops as well as single-family homes, in December rose 6.3 percent to 87.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 82.5 in November, and is 2.1 percent higher than December 2007 when it was 85.9. “Now is the time to buy,” Jed Smith, managing director of quantitative research, tells MHN. “When the prices are down it is a…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C.—The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) for all residential construction, which includes apartments, condominiums, land development and single-family homes, as well as remodeling and renovation.This is the first and only consensus-based green building standard for residential properties. A joint effort between the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the National Green Building Standard included input from a number of organizations, including the NMHC (National Multi Housing Council), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News editorSeattle–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of The Max, located at 8520 Evanston Ave. North in Seattle. The 30-unit apartment community was sold for $7.1 million.The Max was slated to be converted into condominiums, but with the downturn in condo sales, was reverted back to luxury apartments.“We are seeing high-end properties coming back from the conversion market and leading the apartment market in terms of pricing, rents and vacancy rates,” says John Shaw of Hendricks &Partners.FHL Bank Atlanta to Award $3.6M for Affordable Housing in Cities Across AlabamaAtlanta–Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–Renters insurance provider, Assurant Specialty Property, has begun issuing Chase Visa debit cards as an alternative to paper-based manual checks for claims settlements of renters insurance. Through this card, renters insurance customers can receive advanced claims payments after a catastrophic loss in the form of a Chase Visa-branded debit card, issued by J.P. Morgan.“With the new debit card program, our customers have access to funds as soon they receive the card, says Kathy McDonald, senior vice president for Assurant Specialty Property. “With a paper check, it sometimes can take 10 to 15 business days to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Apartments.com has recently acquired social media apartment Web site, Apartment Home Living, in order to deepen its footprint in the online apartment rental search category and extend its reach to a broader audience of renters. With the acquisition, advertisements and listings on Apartments.com will automatically appear on the Apartment Home Living web site. The Apartment Home Living web site will not have any exclusive ads.“The main reason for this acquisition is that we wanted to provide our advertisers with a broader reach and different environment to showcase their properties,” Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorDoha, Qatar—The first of three phases of the $2.5 billion, 14 million-sq.-ft. Pearl-Qatar, a man-made island off the coast of Doha, Qatar, has opened its first five parcels. Phase one, known as Porto Arabia, will include 31 towers with 4,700 residential units, 450 townhomes and low-rise apartments, one million sq. ft. of retail and commercial space, 6,378 parking spaces and a 700-berth marina. At completion, which is slated for the end of 2009, Porto Arabia will include 18 parcels of land.Seattle-based Callison served as the master planner for the entire site, as well as urban planner,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Boston–The acceleration of job losses over the past few months has reinforced the idea that the current downturn will be extremely painful, according to Portfolio and Property Research’s (PPR) latest forecast figures. With the national unemployment rate at its highest since the early ’90s, and the housing market still in bad shape, there is no doubt that the recession will be deep, says the real estate research firm. The implications for the apartment market are no less macabre in the near term, PPR’s latest fourth quarter data suggests.Vacancies Will Hit Historic Highs for ApartmentsThis…