Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLas Vegas–RealPage Inc., provider of on-demand software and services to the multifamily industry, has acquired OpsTechnology, an electronic purchasing marketplace for multifamily owners. The announcement was made today at the 2008 Multifamily Executive Conference.OpsTechnology will become a wholly owned subsidiary of RealPage and Sukhi Singh, president and founder, will continue to manage day-to-day operations. Current employees will remain with the company and continue to work out of its San Francisco office.Sukhi Singh, president of OpsTechnology, tells MHN, that the rough times in the economy have nothing to do with the timing of this acquisition. “Both…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Multifamily lending increased 7 percent between 2006 and 2007, from $137.9 billion to $147.7 billion, but fell steeply in the first half of 2008, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).   The number of multifamily loans decreased by 5 percent, from 50,959 loans in 2006 to 48,577 loans in 2007; the average loan size increased by 11 percent, from $2.7 in 2006 to $3.0 million in 2007, according to MBA’s latest report.”2007 saw strong multifamily lending activity, but the market is changing significantly,” Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSt. Louis, Miss.– NorthMarq Capital, Inc.’s St. Louis regional office, recently arranged first mortgage financing of $34.2 million for the Waterford Apartment portfolio located in St. Louis. The portfolio consists of four multifamily properties featuring a total of 746 units. Financing was based on a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule, with the first two years interest only and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its affiliation with AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance.Arbor Closes Three DUS Loans Totaling $4,994,000 Edinburg, Texas, Winchester, Va, Johnson Creek, Wis.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC has completed funding of three…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Extraordinary accomplishments in affordable housing development and investment are being recognized through this year’s Urban Land Institute (ULI) J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. F. Barton Harvey III, former chairman and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners Inc., and former chairman of the board of Enterprise Community Investment Inc., is sharing the 2008 prize with Columbia, Md.-based Enterprise, provider of affordable rental and owner-occupied housing. The ULI J.C. Nichols Prize recognizes a person or a person representing an institution whose career demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of responsible development. The $100,000…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorWashington, D.C.–Rising expenses for multifamily owners may be causing rent increases, according to a new study by the Center for Housing Policy. The report, “Stretched Thin: The Impact of Rising Housing Expenses on America’s Owners and Renters,” is co-authored by Barbara J. Lipman, research director, and Maya Brennan, research associate, both of the Center for Housing Policy, a research affiliate of the National Housing Conference.The study found that, from 1998 to 2004, the consumer price index rose 16 percent, while the average cost of insurance rose 97 percent, taxes rose 25 percent, marketing costs increased by…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–In the third quarter of 2008, the U.S. apartment market had the smallest increase in annual effective rent since the first quarter of 2004, according to AXIOMETRICS INC., a national apartment research company headquartered in Dallas, Texas that has been conducting this survey for 12 years.The 3Q08 annual growth rate in rents of +0.8 percent is the lowest of any quarter since then. The apartment market is expected to worsen into 2009 as the U.S. economy continues to lose more jobs; so far in 2008, the U.S. economy has lost over 760,000 jobs and the…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorGreeley, Colo.—Professional speakers and consultants in the multifamily industry have recently come together to form the National Multifamily Speakers Alliance (NMSA).“It’s a group of people coming together for one cause: maintaining a high standard of performance for professional speakers in multifamily,” says Toni Blake, founder and president of NMSA. “Our real goal is about establishing professionalism and creating a set of criteria that people can work toward to establish themselves at a higher level.” All members must meet a certain set of criteria and sign a code of ethics.Additionally, NMSA creates a forum for speakers and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNashville, Tenn.–Atlanta headquartered Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) recently brokered the $71.5 million sale of Wyndchase at Aspen Grove (pictured), a 560-unit Class A multifamily community located in the Franklin/Cool Springs submarket in Nashville, Tenn.This is likely to be the largest investment sale in Nashville this year.The property was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. Constructed in 1997, Wyndchase at Aspen Grove is comprised of 33 buildings situated on over 60 acres in a campus-like setting, surrounded by landscaped grounds that overlook the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club providing residents with golf course views on…

Dallas–Riverstone Residential Group has initiated a new organizational structure and created a client services group. The new organizational structure is expected to position the Dallas-based company for growth and increase the focus on client services by enhancing core capabilities, strengthening internal systems and practices and creating a new client services group, according to the company. The change will also redefine the leadership roles of co-founders Christy Freeland and Terry Danner. Freeland will take over as CEO of Riverstone Residential Group and will be responsible for oversight of national operations, along with the internal resources, financial services and information systems divisions…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Calif.–The number of multifamily foreclosures more than doubled in July and August this year compared to July and August of 2007, according RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August 2008. Last July there were 4,501 multifamily foreclosures and this year there were 9,061 while last August there were 4,089 and this August saw 8,134 multifamily foreclosures.While the nation’s foreclosure activity rose almost 12 percent from the previous month and 27 percent from the same month in 2007 and one in every 416 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during August this year, the number…