Regions

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor San Gabriel, Calif.—The West San Gabriel Valley is outperforming the East San Gabriel Valley, asserts Daniel Withers, senior associate-National Multi Housing Group in Marcus & Millichap’s Encino, Calif. office.“As you get closer to the east—El Monte, West Covina, Covina—there are huge increases in vacancies in those areas [6.8 percent, 5.8 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively]. They are demographically the working class, and there’s a lot of pressure from the Inland Empire, which for so many years was employing so much of the workforce and that’s no longer there,” Withers explains.According to Marcus & Millichap’s Submarket…

Needham, Mass.–Jasper Stone Partners has selected Resolve Technology’s Portfolio Maximizer software to centralize and automate investment analysis and reporting.   “As we acquire more properties and create new investment portfolios at different locations, using Excel spreadsheets has become increasingly time consuming,” says Joshua Meyer, Jasper Stone’s Chief Financial Officer. “Portfolio Maximizer enables us to scale our operations with efficient and reliable analysis capabilities.”Jasper Stone will use the Portfolio Maximizer software to perform scenario analyses on prospective properties to be acquired and conduct hold/sell analysis on current fund properties.  “Being able to run multiple scenarios in a quick and efficient manner allows…

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor Washington, D.C.–New single-family  home sales recorded an uptick in June, increasing 11 percent compared with May, to an annualized rate of 384,000, the Commerce Department said. It looks like a little pent-up demand for new homes is being unleashed, especially since prices are still falling. The Commerce Department also reported that the median price for a new house stood at $206,200 in June, down 12 percent from last June.An uptick, but how serious an uptick? When compared with June 2008, new housing sales were still down 21.3 percent, so the housing market has a ways…

By Anuradha  Kher, Online News Editor New York– Boston Capital has invested $7,392,761 in Harriet Tubman House Apartments (pictured), a to-be-built, 53-unit multifamily development in Harlem, N.Y. The general partner is West Harlem Group Assistance Inc. (WHGA). “Boston Capital is excited to be involved in the rehabilitation and production of much-needed affordable housing in Harlem, expanding the options available to individuals and families with low- to moderate-incomes,” says Jeff Goldstein, chief operating officer and director of Real Estate at Boston Capital. Harriet Tubman House Apartments will include the rehab of two existing buildings that formerly served as a homeless shelter, and…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.—Here is one example of a distressed sale, of which the ultimate result may be newly constructed homes selling at $250,000 instead of $550,000. The 1.5-acre property consisted of nine assembled multiple family lots in the Poinciana Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale. The sites contain single family homes, duplexes and triplexes. The properties were purchased for a total of  $4.7 million in 2006. Originally, the developer’s intention was to redevelop the site: to demolish the existing buildings and build 33 new townhomes selling for $550,000 per unit. “The developer wanted to eventually assemble…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWest New York, N.J.—Del-Sano Contracting Corp. has completed construction of West New York Urban Renewal II’s William Jefferson Clinton Tower, formerly Kennedy Tower II, an 11-story, 71-unit sustainable senior affordable housing community in West New York, New Jersey.  “The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency has green future guidelines and it makes recommendations for the project during the planning stages,” Angelo Del Russo, founder and CEO of Del-Sano, tells MHN. The $16,735,000 million project, which was funded by HMFA (Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency), broke ground in July 2008 and was ready for occupancy on…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–CAS Financial Advisory Services (CAS FAS) has launched its Green Capital Needs Assessment (CNA), the first product on the market to meet the green planning needs of residential building owners and managers. Each Green CNA is based on a detailed building inspection and a building cost database, and provides quantitative cost-benefit analysis of green improvements, with numbers and recommendations.  “In the United States, buildings consume 65 percent of the electricity and create 30 percent of the greenhouse gasses,” says Jed Lowry, director of capital planning for CAS Financial Advisor Services. “Owners want to do the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAlbuquerque, N.M.–Walker & Dunlop provided a $23,790,000 refinance for Cottonwood Ranch located in Albuquerque, N.M. The loan was structured with a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization. The loan was underwritten to a 65 percent loan-to-value with a 1.48x debt-service coverage ratio. Cottonwood Ranch is a garden-style community built in 1999, featuring 24 apartment buildings and one office/clubhouse. Common amenities include two swimming pools and a Jacuzzi; basketball, tennis and volleyball courts; a putting green and a playground. ARA Negotiates Sale of 17-Unit Property for Over $1MDenver–Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) recently brokered the sale of…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorWashington, D.C.—Fannie Mae announced that it has provided $10.1 billion in debt financing for the multifamily rental housing market in the first half of 2009.  “Fannie Mae and its DUS lenders had a very strong first half of the year,” said Phil Weber, senior vice president of Fannie Mae’s Multifamily division. “The company remains committed to providing liquidity and bringing stability to the multifamily industry, especially during this volatile market.”Of the 10.1 billion in financing, Fannie Mae’s DUS lenders and affiliates delivered $9.9 billion of the company’s total investment in multifamily housing. Fannie Mae says that…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorGrover Beach, Calif.—RentShout, an online rental marketing service that allows property managers to create syndicated online advertisements, has launched a rental video creation to provide managers increased online visibility. (Click here for MHN’s coverage of RentShout’s launch.)“These videos receive hundreds of views from these video portals and oftentimes show up in the top of Google organic rental searches,” notes Misty Lackie, CEO of Go Smart Solutions LLC, the company that created RentShout and that provides self-serve advertising solutions.The new feature will automatically create a property video from customers’ rental listing photos on RentShout.com, which will be…