Regions

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor New York—Manhattan may be showing some signs of a recovery, according to CORE’s Quarterly Real Time Report, Second Quarter 2009, a culmination of snapshots of current market inventory, pricing and absorption. However, whether this is due to seasonal activity or pent-up demand remains to be seen, notes Shaun Osher, founder and CEO of CORE Group Marketing LLC, a boutique luxury real estate firm specializing in resales, new development sales, marketing and rentals.The report shows that the Manhattan residential market is in a stage of absorption recovery; June 2009 had more than four times the volume…

General Aharon Zeevi Farkash, a security expert who previously served as head of Israeli Military Intelligence, established FST21 in 2007 with the mission of providing preventive security solutions to increase safety and enhance tenant quality-of-life in residential, commercial & mixed-use buildings. He is the chairman & CEO of FST21 Ltd. based in Tel Aviv, Israel.Farkash talks to MHN Online News Editor Anuradha Kher about the importance of security in multifamily buildings and the new technology developed by his company that provides security through face, voice, license plate and behavior recognition. MHN: What is the reason security needs to be considered…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–Boston Capital has opened Boston Capital Tax Credit Fund XXXII, a $150 million diversified portfolio of affordable apartment properties throughout the U.S.    “Given the high quality of assets in Fund XXXII, we anticipate strong investor interest in this offering,” says Kevin Costello, director of Institutional Investing at Boston Capital. “With the rise in LIHTC yields to the double digit, after-tax level and the drop in Treasury rates, yield spreads are back to levels not seen since 1993. These economic factors, in addition to the ability to use the credit to reduce alternative minimum tax…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C. –The Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) has announced that it issued more than $43 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in June. For the first six months of calendar year 2009, Ginnie Mae provided nearly $207 billion of liquidity to the secondary market, compared to nearly $107 billion for the first six months of 2008.”The extraordinary strength of our MBS program clearly demonstrates the continuing need for Ginnie Mae securities in the secondary market,” says Joseph Murin, Ginnie Mae president. “Ginnie Mae’s ability to provide a safe security for investors and critical liquidity…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPlano, Texas–Walker & Dunlop provided a $7,400,000 refinance loan for Lockwood Avenue Apartments located in Los Angeles. The loan was structured with a five-year term and a 30-year amortization. The loan was underwritten to a 74 percent loan-to-value with a 1.28x debt-service coverage ratio. Lockwood Avenue Apartments features two three-story buildings, totaling 72 units, constructed in 1966. The property was 97 percent leased at closing. Arbor Closes $2,239,700 Fannie Mae DUS Loan  Riverside, Mo.–Arbor Commercial Funding recently completed funding of a $2,239,700 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS product line for the 116-unit complex known…

Redondo Beach, Calif.–Web Service Company has expanded its operations by entering into a collaborative partnership with Fowler Commercial Laundry Solutions. Fowler provides commercial laundry services in several states across the country and Web Service Co. will be responsible for providing management and service for Fowler’s common area laundry facilities on the West Coast.Earlier this year, Web was named the 2008 Multiple-Housing Excellence Award winner by Maytag Commercial Laundry. Additionally, it has received the “Readers Choice Award” from Apartment Finance Today four years in a row. “In addition to its commitment to provide superior customer service and products, Web offers a variety…

By Mike Manning, Vice President of Marketing, LoopNet Inc.Real estate marketing, be it at the corporate, property or personal level, has always relied heavily on relationships. As we know, people do business with people they like, know, trust and can rely on for good information. The surging popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (which have seen their traffic increase by between 100 and 1,000 percent over the past year) can be explained largely by the effectiveness with which some people are using them to develop and enhance relationships.At LoopNet, we have observed a significant and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) s making available $113 million in HOPE VI funding. Donavan announced this while speaking on the future of urban revitalization at the National Press Club during the Brookings Institution’s event, “From Despair to Hope: Two HUD Secretaries on Urban Revitalization and Opportunity.” Former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and Donovan engaged in a discussion about the HOPE VI revitalization program and the Obama Administration’s proposed Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, which seeks to build on the lessons from HOPE VI and expand urban revitalization beyond public housing.   “The HOPE…

By Tonie Auer, Contributing CorrespondentTaking advantage of a new platform to create more interest from buyers in auction-sold properties, Sperry Van Ness/Guardian launched the MarketMaker auction platform to sell REO, bank ordered and developer close-out properties.The firm will test the platform for the first time in a July 30 auction as a way to accelerate sales for the region’s most motivated sellers of commercial properties. MarketMaker is designed to be a new distressed real estate liquidation platform.“The last market run-up for commercial real estate was between 2005 and 2007 and a lot of what drove pricing was the abundance of…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Camarillo, Calif.—Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of Mountain View Apartments (pictured), a 106-unit community, for $14 million. This represents the first sale transaction of over 100 units in Ventura County in 2009, and the first in the City of Camarillo in the past several years.Camarillo Mountain View LLC acquired the community from Essex Portfolio Properties and plans to invest in minor upgrades to the 30-year-old property.Dean Zander and Vince Norris of Hendricks & Partners reported the locally based investor offered the highest certainty of closing, due in part to its close ties with the…