Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSomerville, Mass.–Ishay Grinberg has recently re-branded and launched his rental listing company as RentalBeast.com. RentalBeast is almost six years old but was born as Grand Central Apartments.The web site aims to make the process of finding a rental unit easier by putting seekers directly in touch with property owners and managers, thus avoiding a broker’s fee. The web site currently features about 60,000 rental listings a majority of which are apartments, with 600 management companies and 4-,000 to 50,000 private companies listing their rentals on the site.RentalBeast is free for property owners and managers but…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPalisades Park, N.J.–Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) has purchased 71 units in The Trio (pictured) high-rise condominium project in Palisades Park, N.J., for $18M. The property comprises two adjacent nine-story towers featuring 140 units and a 200-space attached parking structure. The unsold units and parking spaces were purchased by PRG’s Metropolitan Workforce Housing Fund.These units will be offered for lease, and future tenants will enjoy the property’s condo-level amenities and finishes.Ralph Raciti, PRG managing director, says that the acquisition represents a near perfect intersection of PRG’s market focus and real estate experience. “By acquiring highly desirable…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Philadelphia—In the next three years, the city of Philadelphia will be a sweet spot for multifamily investment, asserts Carl Dranoff, president and CEO of Dranoff Properties, a developer and owner of Class A multifamily communities in Philadelphia.Dranoff notes that while home prices throughout the nation have dropped from about 12 percent in New York to 40 percent in Phoenix, Philadelphia is weathering the storm relatively better, having seen only a 10 percent decline in value—which, though substantial, seems to point to the relative health of the state’s largest city.“I would say we are probably more…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorEssex County, N.J.–A community coalition led by HANDS Inc is acquiring first mortgages of 47 vacant properties in Essex County, N.J., which will be converted to affordable housing or rental units. The properties were acquired for a concession price of about $2 million.New Jersey Community Capital, a community development financial institution working throughout New Jersey, took a lead role in this transaction, coordinating the provision of debt and equity from its socially responsible partners, Prudential Social Investment, Local Initiatives Support Corporation-Greater Newark & Jersey City (LISC), NeighborWorks America, and Enterprise Community Partners.NeighborWorks America put in…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMarlton, N.J.–Interstate Realty Management Company (IRM), a property management firm and an affiliate of the Michaels Organization, has appointed Mark Morgan, CPM as president. Morgan succeeds James Henderson, who retired as IRM President in October 2008, after 26 years.Morgan, a 24-year veteran of the company whose first job was on-site leasing specialist, will oversee a portfolio of more than 33,000 apartment homes at 250 communities in 26 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.“Morgan brings tremendous knowledge of every facet of our operations to his new role as president of Interstate Realty Management,” says…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAnnapolis, Md.–The credit crisis is now beginning to show its impact on the seniors housing industry—the last bastion of commercial real estate. The sector has recorded lower transaction volumes and rising capitalization rates during the last quarter of 2008, according to data tracked by the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing Care Industry (NIC). Every quarter, NIC collects financial- and performance data from leading senior living lenders, owners and operators, and appraisal professionals. The result is the NIC Key Financial Indicators (KFIs). During the fourth quarter, about $1 billion in loan volume was placed in…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLouisville, Colo.–KeyBank Real Estate Capital recently closed a $4.9 million Fannie Mae loan for a multifamily property in Louisville, Colo. Key provided a supplemental permanent mortgage loan to Meadow Ridge Apartments Ltd. for Grandview at Flatirons (pictured), a 180-unit garden-style apartment complex. The property was built in 1990. Arbor Closes $3.52M Fannie Mae DUS MBS LoanSyracuse, N.Y.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed funding of a $3,520,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS MBS product line to finance the 138-unit complex known as Ballantyne Apartments in Syracuse, N.Y.The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York, N.Y.–Tamarkin Co. has now finished topping out at its new condominium building, 456 West 19th St. in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. The 11-story building, which overlooks the High Line, features a hand-laid, sand-finished black brick exterior inspired by the neighborhood’s classic industrial modern architecture. Drawing on the artists’ studio spaces of the early 20th century, the building features 22 duplex residences with custom-designed multi-paned steel windows and 20 ft. ceilings. The project will be ready by early 2010, and though sales began four months ago, the firm is taking a slow and quiet…

Washington D.C.–There is a further decline in origination volume while multifamily mortgage debt outstanding remained relatively stable, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book for the fourth quarter of 2008. Though economic pressures such as job losses and the decline in retail spending will continue to curtail originations and to raise the pressure on outstanding mortgages, expectations for the commercial mortgage market have been set so low that it may be hard to under-perform them, according to MBA’s analysis. “Moderate amounts of new construction coming online, added to a significant pull-back in demand…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorFoster City, Calif.—The best prices can sometimes be obtained by selling properties to the next-door neighbor.  The 42-unit Kula Kai Apartments was sold close to its listing price of $10.9 million, or nearly $260,000 per unit. The overall cap rate obtained was 5 percent. Representing both the buyer and seller were Tom Doglio, vice president investments and director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group in Palo Alto, Calif., and Brian Henry, senior associate and associate member at that time of Marcus & Millichap’s National Multi Housing Group. Doglio and Henry were co-listing agents. According…