Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Existing condominium and co-op sales jumped 14 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 570,000 units in June from 500,000 in May, but they are 3.1 percent below the 588,000-unit level in June 2008, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Overall sales, which includes single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, have also increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2 percent lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in…

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor It was a good way to start the week, economically speaking. According to the Conference Board, the U.S. index of leading economic indicators rose 0.7 percent in June, marking the third rise in the index in as many months. In the first half of 2009, the index improved at an annualized rate of some 4.1 percent , a clear contrast to the way it shrank in the last half of 2008 at an annualized rate of 6.2 percent. The latest survey from the National Association for Business Economics, also released Monday, posited that the U.S….

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor New York–The Community Preservation Corp.’s (CPC) Bronx/Manhattan office closed on a $2.1 million Freddie Mac loan to refinance a mixed-use rental building (pictured) located in the Inwood section of Manhattan.The property features two contiguous five-story buildings, located at 79 Sherman Ave. and 152 Dyckman St., containing 38 apartment units, six stores and two professional office apartments. Owner/borrower, Silpar Realty whose principal is John Pavon has owned the property since 1982. Freddie Mac has been a lender on the property since 1987 when it provided a mortgage of $825,000. CPC refinanced this mortgage with a new $1.15…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor Portland, Ore.—What is the multifamily market in Portland, Ore.-Vancouver, Wash. like? Look at Phoenix for the answer, says Gary Winkler, senior broker-multifamily investments in Colliers International’s Portland, Ore. office.“Our expectation is value loss and a number of properties not being able to meet debt coverage. We believe that you can look at a market like Phoenix and you can see what’s happened—we’ll probably follow suit,” he tells MHN. Unemployment in the metro is currently at 11.6 percent, compared to the national average of 9.5 percent—as of June 2009—according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Home building generates substantial local economic activity, including new income and jobs for residents, and additional revenue for local governments, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which has developed a model to estimate the economic benefits. The model captures the effect of the construction activity itself, the ripple impact that occurs when income earned from construction activity is spent and recycles in the local economy, and the ongoing impact that results from new homes becoming occupied by residents who pay taxes and buy locally produced goods and services.”To fully understand the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–200 Water Street, formerly a New York University faculty housing community, is now re-opening as a luxury rental property. Owned and managed by Rockrose Development Corp. since 1997, 200 Water was built in 1971 by Emery Roth & Sons, Associate Architect for the World Trade Centers, and converted into apartments in 1988 by Avinash Malhotra. It is located between John and Fulton Streets in the South Street Seaport neighborhood of Manhattan and was home for NYU faculty for 10 years.The 32-story, 576-unit newly renovated project features several new amenities, along with an unusual perk…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor New York–NCB arranged $22 million in new loan originations during the month of June. The financings included $14.2 million in mortgages and $7.8 million in lines of credit for 13 local properties.“NCB’s June activity is consistent with recent months, with many properties looking to secure financing while rates are still low,” says Edward Howe III, managing director of the NCB New York office. “For others, it was simply the right time to refinance or tackle costly improvement projects. We anticipate both of these trends to be driving factors for arranging financing in the coming months.”Howe…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorSan Diego—Selling properties to affordable housing developers may sometimes be the way to go if a seller wants to obtain the best price. CB Richard Ellis recently brokered the sale of a market-rate property, the 95-unit Village Green Apartments, located at 4140-4150 Bonillo Drive in San Diego. The property was purchased by Wakeland Housing and Development Corp., an affordable housing developer that acquires, rehabilitates and develops affordable housing communities in San Diego and throughout California. According to Eric Comer, senior vice president at CBRE, the seller approached CBRE which assessed the highest and best use for…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorSacramento, Calif.—With higher vacancies putting pressure on property managers to relax their applicant criteria somewhat, owners and operators are assuming more risk at their communities in order to lease more units. While this is mostly an increased financial risk, it is interesting to examine other areas where property managers are forced to question their standards.California and, most recently, Nevada have legislation in place that makes it illegal for a community or property management company to reject a prospective resident based on sexual offender status. (Affordable housing is excluded from this, as HUD regulations set screening restrictions…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMcLean, Va.–Freddie Mac’s board of directors has appointed finance industry veteran Charles E. Haldeman, Jr. as the company’s CEO as well as a member of the board of directors. Haldeman was chairman of Putnam Investment Management LLC, the investment advisor for the Putnam Funds, until June this year. Previously, he served as president and CEO of Putnam Investments. Freddie Mac expects that Haldeman’s employment and board tenure will begin in August 2009, following release of the company’s second quarter financial results. He will succeed John A. Koskinen who has been serving as Freddie Mac’s interim…