Regions

New York–Home prices fell a record 15.3 percent year-on-year in April in 20 of the biggest U.S. cities, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Index.Prices showed the sharpest yearly decline since the New York-based index began eight years ago, the Financial Times said Tuesday. Prices increased in eight cities, including Chicago and Boston. But overall, prices in the top 20 U.S. cities fell 1.4 percent between March and April.Miami had the most difficult price conditions; prices dropped in the area by 26.7 percent.The Conference Board also announced its latest measure of U.S. consumer confidence on Tuesday. Confidence fell to its…

By Rachel Block, ReporterIrvine, Calif.–LeasingDesk has further expanded its resident screening process, now including records from out-of-state metropolitan areas. LeasingDesk’s stategy allows for the comparison of multiple criminal databases against a prospective resident’s address and name that is revealed during the initial screening. By searching beyond the immediate area, the screening allows for the consumption of data from metropolitan criminal authorities, including cities that are out of state. “It provides a more comprehensive criminal search, and obviously the benefit of that is providing a safer environment for our employees and residents,” says David Carner, senior vice president of LeasingDesk.Due to…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Shenzhen, CHINA—CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. has joint ventured with the largest residential developer in China to provide property management services in China. CB Richard Ellis says its partnership with Vanke represents a new business model within the real estate industry in China, and it is intended to combine “strong local market knowledge and expertise with international best practices.” The venture will provide property management services to high-end residential properties, such as single family houses, town houses, serviced apartments and luxury apartments, that are developed by Vanke. The Shanghai-based venture will be jointly managed by…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor San Francisco–Even as the housing crisis continues to spread and investors become increasingly wary, multifamily executives are looking at the situation with a great deal of optimism. Gathered at the Multifamily Trends 2008 Conference in San Francisco on June 23, a panel of industry insiders discussed the problems facing multi-housing–lack of financing, high cost of loans, rising cost of construction–but from a perspective suggesting that the glass is half-full rather than half-empty.In his welcoming remarks, Richard J. Campo, chairman and CEO of Camden Property Trust, emphasized that the fundamentals of the multifamily industry are…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorCorpus Christi, Texas—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP (HFF) has placed an $18.7 million permanent loan with Freddie Mac for a 274-unit apartment community in Corpus Christi, Texas.The loan, which was arranged by Andy Scott, managing director of HFF, on behalf of Peek Howe Real Estate, has a seven-year fixed-rate financing term.Located at 5701 Saratoga Boulevard, The Reserve at Saratoga offers a luxury clubhouse, indoor basketball court and resort-style swimming pool. It is currently 98 percent occupied.

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMiami–Chicago-based MCZ Development Corp. is beginning to market its properties towards European buyers.The location of the properties and the strength of the Euro are the two reasons Michael Lerner, president of MCZ Development, cite for the company’s marketing strategy. “MCZ is focusing on its International Broker Network,” he says. “MCZ has developed a huge base of real estate agents and brokers.””Many of these international clients are cash buyers, which makes it easy for them to purchase,” Lerner tells MHN. “Europeans love to vacation in Florida, and we are fortunate to have properties in all of the…

New York–Bond insurers–including Ambac and FGIC, which are headquartered in New York, and Armonk, N.Y.-based MBIA–are considering eliminating $125 billion of insurance on risky debt securities to reduce the threat of financial damage, the Financial Times said.Talk of “commuting” the insurance contracts became more pressing after last week’s bond insurance ratings downgrades. A plan could take months to form; however, any agreements involving the value of the credit default swaps sold to banks by bond insurers could affect the entire financial system, which is struggling to establish values for derivatives and complex bonds linked to mortgage-backed securities, the Times said.Bond…

New York–Big investors are becoming increasingly nervous about pouring money into banks as bad loan and investment losses mount. Bank executives have met with a surprisingly large amount of opposition from investors to capital-raising transactions in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal said Monday.Banks attempting to correct their balance sheets by distributing stock and securities to investors could have to woo investors in other ways–which may increase the cost of their deals.Many financial institutions are struggling as regulators place more restrictions on Wall Street firms and commercial banks to ensure they have the capital to weather the current credit crisis….

Washington, D.C.–Started in 2002, President Bush’s homeownership campaign seems to have been derailed by the high U.S. apartment rental rate, the New York Times reports.The weak housing market and high foreclosure rate have helped boost rentals and drive homeownership down. The percentage of homeowner-run households descended from 69.1 percent in 2005 to 67.8 percent this year–the most severe drop-off in 20 years, according to census data.The percentage of renter-headed households grew from 30.9 percent to 32.2 percent. Yet finding an adequate apartment isn’t easy, due to shrinking vacancies and higher rents. Rents have gone up roughly 11 percent since 2005,…

Boston–The current U.S. housing market deterioration is most likely the steepest decline in 50 years–and isn’t close to being over, according to the annual report from Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies, which was released Monday.”The national median single-family home price fell [for] the first time in 40 years of recordkeeping, leaving several million homeowners with properties worth less than their mortgages,” the report said.In the past two years, the median U.S. home price has dropped 18 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. The country currently has the worst foreclosure rate in 34 years of tracking data, according to the Boston Herald.The…