Regions

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Washington, D.C.—Debate continues about the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This week the Wall Street Journal reported that Congress and the future Obama administration would be likely to restructure the two entities and in doing so consider the economic crisis and conflicts between the companies’ mission to support the housing market and their need for profits. David Cardwell, Vice President of Capital Markets and Technology, has told MHN that the apartment industry has an interest in seeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue as private companies. Whatever the eventual structure of the two…

Dear Reader,Despite all of the fluctuations in today’s economy, multifamily housing developers still need funding sources for their deals.The winners of our 6th Annual Capital Choice Awards represent excellent choices in terms of where to start that funding search.The companies shown here represent the leading edge in a fast-changing landscape. You and your peers have voted these lenders as the “best of the best” at providing valuable services, speed of processing, flexibility of terms, scope of loan products offered, and the quality of loan servicing.Some of the financial institutions listed here have been bought by larger banks. We have simply…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBethesda, Md.—Green Park Financial recently completed a $102,899,000 addition to a credit facility for Milestone Multifamily Investors LP, a joint venture between The Milestone Group and INVESCO Real Estate.The loan addition is secured by eight garden-style multifamily properties, totaling 3,000 units, in Ariz., Fla. and Texas. The transaction utilizes cross-defaulted and cross-collateralized mortgages.Green Park Financial completed an original $322 million credit facility for Milestone in March 2005. The current loans were an addition with a series of discounted non-interest bearing advances and include a five-year term with an option to extend for another five years.Stuart Wernick…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York—Closings recently began at 133 West 22nd, a 99-unit luxury condominium project in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood that is being developed by The Ascend Group LLC, a New York-based developer of boutique residential properties.iStar Financial served as the primary lender for the project and mezzanine capital was provided by Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc. Both firms are headquartered in New York.Designed by Cetra/Ruddy, 133 West 22nd Street offers one-, two- and three-bedroom residences and penthouses, ranging in size from 750 to 3,000 sq. ft. In addition, the building offers one interior courtyard townhouse, located on…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor New York—A webinar recently addressed the question “Is the Sky Falling on Commercial and Multi-Housing Property Developers?”While the answers may not have been a resounding “yes,” the presenters were grave in their analyses. Speakers at the webinar, organized by Commercial Property News, Multi-Housing News and Contract magazines, generally agreed that although at the beginning of the year the forecast for the economy may have started to look up, and the housing market had seemed as though it may begin to bottom, the prognosis has worsened considerably since then. “In just the past few months, as…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorDallas—BlackRock Realty Advisors, Inc., the real estate equity arm of BlackRock Inc., has engaged Riverstone Residential, a CAS Partners company, to manage its portfolio of apartment communities. Located in a variety of markets in nine states, the 62 communities in the portfolio represent more than 15,000 units and are Riverstone’s largest outsourcing agreement to date. Previously, these communities were managed by Metric Property Management Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based BlackRock Realty Advisors, one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. Today marks the final stage of the management transition, which…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorWashington, D.C.—The severity of the financial crisis may have done its part in scaring off homebuyers in October. Sales of existing condominiums and cooperatives fell 1.8 percent in October, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.98 million units in October, down 1.6 percent from October 2007. The New York Times reported that home values as a result fell at their fastest annual rate since NAR records began in 1968. “Many potential home buyers appear to have withdrawn from…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorReno, Nev.—Sperry Van Ness recently completed a $56 million sale of Montebello at Summit Ridge, a 450-unit luxury apartment community.Michael Miyagishima, CCIM of Sperry Van Ness in San Francisco, and Dewey Struble, CCIM of Sperry Van Ness in Reno, Nev., represented the buyer, while Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, I & G LLC.Montebello at Summit Ridge, originally built in 1997, offers one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, many of which include one- or two-car attached garages. Monthly rents range from $950 to $1,739. Amenities include a pool and spa, a 9,000-sq.-ft. fitness center, clubhouse and business…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing Editor San Jose, Calif.–Residents have begun moving into The 88, San Jose’s newest and tallest high-rise residential tower, which was just honored as “Design Project of the Year” in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal’s annual Structures Awards.Named for both its address, at 88 E. San Fernando St., and its height, at just about 88 meters tall, The 88 contains 197 condominiums. Designed by SB Architects and developed by Wilson Meany Sullivan, both based in San Francisco, The 88 also was the runner up in both the “Mixed-Use Project of the Year” and “Community Impact Project…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C.—David M. Johnson has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fannie Mae by Herbert M. Allison, Jr., the company’s CEO.“With his broad and deep financial services and capital markets experience, David will help lead Fannie Mae as we assist the market during this unprecedented correction and weather the challenges facing all financial companies today,” Allison said. “Going forward, as the financial system and industry undergo significant change, David will also help to lead Fannie Mae’s transition to the future.”Previously, Johnson served as executive vice president and CFO at Hartford Financial Services…