Regions

London–The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 5 percent on Thursday after determining that the risk of inflation was too large to reduce borrowing costs, the Guardian said.Speculation had been rampant that the bank would echo April’s quarter-point cut to help ease the rough housing market.Mortgage approvals in the U.K. are almost half the 2007 level, and home permits have fallen by two-thirds. Declining home prices and lower consumer confidence could lead to less consumer spending, economists fear.”The housing market has come to a standstill, but there’s no shortage of buyers, just a shortage of mortgages–which is now…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDoug McCauley Named Regional Manager of Marcus and Millichap Ontario Office. Encino, Calif.–Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has named Doug McCauley regional manager of the Ontario, Canada office.“Doug has extensive experience in commercial real estate as an agent and manager,” says Harvey E. Green, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap.McCauley has been serving as the sales manager in the Ontario office since July 2007. He joined Marcus & Millichap as an investment specialist in Ontario in June of 1992. As a multifamily specialist, he was named a director in the firm’s National…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–New York City’s Hudson Yards project ran into a road block today, after developer Tishman Speyer and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) could not reach an agreement over certain aspects of the massive $3 billion development project on a 26-acre site in Manhattan’s midtown west neighborhood.The deadline for negotiations has now been extended.“The plan isn’t dead by any means,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters in London, where he is currently meeting the newly elected Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. “These projects are fundamentally complex. They have lots of different layers of government involved.”Since the…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorThomasville, Ala.–Country Club Cottages, a new 32-unit affordable housing community for seniors, has officially opened. The six-acre development is comprised of six one-story buildings and a clubhouse.The project, developed by Auburn, Ala.-based Bennett & Company, is for adults 55 and older earning 50 percent or less than the area median income (AMI). Move-ins began in February and the project is approximately 60 percent occupied. “There’s a pretty high demand for affordable housing for 55 and older,” says Judy Van Dyke, a partner at Bennett & Company. Thomasville is a community comprised of about 6,000 people, and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed an omnibus housing bill (H.R. 3221) addressing the nation’s foreclosure crisis. The package combined several bills into a single measure, including reforms for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE), and $11 billion in tax-related relief.While the package was designed to address the downturn in the single-family market, the bill includes issues pertaining to tax-exempt bonds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, GSE and FHA reform, and homebuyer tax credit, all of which are of interest to apartment firms, according to the National Multi Housing Council…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLa Vista, Neb.–Quantum First Capital, based in Dallas, has closed a $9.6 million loan to purchase the Shadow Ridge Apartments in La Vista, Neb.The loan was funded through Quantum First Capital’s correspondent relationship with Green Park Financial in the Fannie Mae DUS program. The 80 percent LTV loan was structured at a 10-year term with three years of interest-only payments. The property is located at 8500 Granville Parkway, one block west of the intersection of 84th St. and Brentwood Dr. With easy access to I-80, the property is 10 minutes from the largest shopping center…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorAtlanta–The final phase of Villa Sonoma, a 321-unit resort-style condominium community, has been released. The development, which was split into four phases, is currently 60 percent sold, and the first three phases are sold out.“The property is selling at the same velocity that we began with because we’ve re-priced it to work with the market,” says Joe Lopez, sales director of Atlanta-based Coldwell Banker: The Condo Store. “What’s different is that now people are also getting many more upgrades. Many upgrades are now included standard.”To increase the number of closed sales, Villa Sonoma property agents are…

Basel, Switzerland–After posting an $11 billion first quarter loss, Basel, Switzerland-based banking giant UBS said it would reduce 2,600 jobs from its investment banking division, the Washington Post reports.The bank plans to reduce its workforce by 5,500–7 percent–by mid-2009. Most of the job cuts are expected to happen in the U.S. and Britain.UBS also said this week that, in order to reduce exposure to risky assets, it had come to an agreement with asset manager BlackRock to sell it $15 billion worth of distressed mortgage assets.

Washington, D.C.–U.S. wholesale inventories fell in March but sales of goods increased, the Commerce Department said Thursday.Wholesale inventories fell 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted $420.77 billion. U.S. wholesaler sales grew 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted $384.34 billion in March, following a revised 0.5 percent decline in February, The Wall Street Journal said.The number of U.S. workers filing new unemployment claims dropped unexpectedly last week–but remained at high levels due to the weak labor market.After seasonal adjustments, initial jobless claims dropped 18,000 to 365,000 in the week ended May 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. Ongoing claims lasting more…

London–The U.S. and Europe both want to see the dollar strengthen against the euro, according to the Financial Times.Senior officials told the London-based paper that policymakers want the dollar–which at one point this week hit a six-week high against the euro–to recover because they’re worried the currency markets have been focusing too on short-term economic weakness in the U.S.Senior eurozone officials feel that the dollar-euro rate had risen to levels that would fail to help either the U.S. or Europe, the Times said. The officials want to sidestep a situation in which the dollar could plunge too far before rebounding…