Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNorth Brunswick, NJ.–The Kislak Co. Inc. has recently completed the $27.5 million sale of Northwood Estates (pictured), an apartment community located at 500 Adams Lane in North Brunswick, NJ. “Even though residential real estate is in decline and the stock market is faltering, investors remain willing to trade multifamily properties and yield high returns in the process,” says Barry Waisbrod, vice president of Kislak Co.Northwood Estates features 253 residential units, which include 17 townhomes and six ranches. The property was built in the 1970s and has private entrances and private basements. It was 93 percent…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorPajaro, Calif.—KTGY Group Inc. has received accolades for the design of Nuevo Amanecer Apartments, an affordable, workforce housing community in Pajaro, Calif. The Irvine, Calif.-based architecture firm was selected as a finalist by the Center for Community Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. The 2009 I. Donald Terner Prize recognizes innovative affordable housing projects and their leadership teams.The acknowledgment is about “more than just what the building looks like, but [also about] what it does for the people there,” asserts David Senden, principal at KTGY Group Inc. The biennial prize is designed to inspire projects…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMcLean, Va.–Freddie Mac has set a record of $24 billion in volume for its multifamily whole loan and bond guarantee business (multifamily mortgage settlements) in 2008. This is a more than 10 percent increase over the 2007 volume of $22 billion. This volume includes Freddie Mac’s targeted affordable housing products, which finance apartments that receive some form of government subsidy. In addition to the mortgage settlement volume, Freddie Mac purchased $1.4 billion in Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) in 2008, compared to $22 billion in 2007, reflective of the inactive CMBS market. Freddie Mac’s multifamily…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Hamilton Township, N.J.–Gebroe-Hammer Associates has recently negotiated the $11.125 million sale of Miry Run, a 144-unit garden apartment community, in Hamilton Township, N.J. Located at 145 Brookwood Rd., the community features 108 one-bedroom and 36 two-bedroom units. The property was 98 percent occupied at the time of sale. Located in Mercer County, Hamilton is one of the largest townships in New Jersey. Trenton is located next to Hamilton, and Philadelphia, New York and the Jersey Shore are less than an hour away. “Despite the current economic climate impacting other real estate classes, investors are willing…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Diego–Wachovia Securities with $412.9 billion in U.S. master and primary servicing topped the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) annual ranking of commercial and multifamily loan servicers (as of the end of 2008) released during MBA’s Commercial Real Estate (CREF) Convention currently being held in San Diego. PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services with $310.3 billion, Capmark Finance Inc. with $260.9 billion and Wells Fargo with $182.6 billion followed Wachovia on the list.  Wachovia, PNC/Midland, Capmark and Wells Fargo are the largest master and primary servicers of commercial/multifamily loans in U.S. CMBS, CDO and other ABS; GEMSA…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorCincinnati—Huff McDermott, Assurance Property Management and the National Condo and Apartment Insurance Group have announced an alliance to help investors overcome the obstacles of multifamily acquisitions and ownership. “It made sense to offer this as a coalition for multifamily investment,” Frank Constant, President of Assurance Property Management, tells MHN. The companies have “a proven track record to come together and go out and have these resources available to others if they are interested in having them together. In my opinion, all three components are vital in an acquisition.”The three organizations have collaborated over the past several years…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMiami–Condo.com has added River Cities Condos to its online real estate inventory. River Cities Condos’ initial offering, the Marquette, is a 600-ft. long, 108-ft. wide vessel consisting of four river barges connected to form a platform, which will house 185 to 200 condo units.The Marquette will travel a total of 6,600 miles along the Mississippi, connecting rivers and inter-coastal waterways, annually, with residents on board.  Prices for the studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units will range from $55,000  to $1,800,000.”In our quest to present every condo available in the world, from time to time…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorHouston–Standard and Poor’s credit rating organization has assigned an “AA-” rating to the Houston Housing Authority. AA is the highest a housing authority has ever received from S&P.According to S&P, “the Houston Housing Authority effectively balances maintaining a level of financial stability with achieving its overall public purpose goals.”“The S&P ‘AA- rating’ will enable us to attract investors, financial institutions and development partners during these difficult economic times as we seek to expand our portfolio of affordable housing here in Houston,” says Ernie Etuk, president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority. “Being highly rated…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSmithtown, N.Y.–Meridian Capital Group, on behalf of AvalonBay Communities, has arranged a first mortgage loan of $55,100,000 for the refinance of Avalon Commons (pictured) in Smithtown, N.Y. The property is a garden-style residential community consisting of 312 units spread over 13 buildings. The community features beautifully landscaped gardens, an outdoor swimming pool, fitness center and a luxury clubhouse. It is a fixed interest rate loan for five years with a local lender. The loan also featured an attractive extension option. GFI Acquires $13M in Distressed Assets Miami–GFI Capital Resources Group has acquired two South Florida multifamily…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrving, Texas–Cole Heard (pictured) has joined CMG as the senior vice president/division director. She is responsible for the daily operations of the firm.Cole has more than 13 years of multifamily real estate experience and has worked for some of the largest third-party and owner-operated student-housing firms in the United States. “With the addition of Cole, CMG will be able to offer a lot of new services to universities and equity partners,” said Chief Financial Officer, Richard Wygle.RealtyTrac Promotes Ari Monkarsh to VP of Business DevelopmentIrvine, Calif.–RealtyTrac has promoted Ari Monkarsh to the position of vice…