Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Calif.–NWP Services Corp. (NWP), provider of financial transaction processing solutions to the multifamily housing industry, has launched its enhanced billing, payment processing, collections and resident services platform called the NWP v8.0.Powered by Open-cIS, the new platform utilizes advanced software architecture to ease the complexity, increase the accuracy and quality, and reduce the cost of building and maintaining billing and resident information systems. The system is based on an engine built specifically to serve multifamily property owners and fee management companies who face complex resident billing requirements, especially those found in rent, water, electric, gas,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online New EditorShenzen, Bejing, Chengdu, CHINA–Steven Holl Architects, a New York-based firm, has been selected to design three mixed-use projects in China.The Linked Hybrid project in Beijing is scheduled to open in the late Spring/early Summer of 2008, the Vanke Center in Shenzhen is currently under construction and the Chengdu Project is scheduled to open in late 2010.The Linked Hybrid is a 700-unit apartment complex located adjacent to the old city wall of Beijing.Most of the development currently taking place in Beijing comprises independent towers. But the Linked Hybrid is a 2,368,060-sq.-ft “city within a city,” project,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSouth Gate, Calif.–Boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya today joined city and community leaders to celebrate the start of construction of Tierra del Rey, a 107-townhome project targeted toward working families. Located on a former industrial site in South Gate, Calif., this is the first urban infill community development for De La Hoya’s real estate company, Golden Boy Partners,  and Metro Housing Partners.Metro Housing Partners, a new housing company formed by Golden Boy Partners, Trimark Partners and CarVal Investors (an affiliate of Cargill Inc.) to develop and construct urban housing in Southern California, is the…

Washington, D.C.–Builder confidence in the single-family home market rose in February, according to the National Association of Home BuildersWells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released Tuesday afternoon.The index–which hit an all-time low of 18 in December 2007–increased a point to 20 in February. A reading above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor.The sales expectations index, which forecasts builders’ expectations for the next six months, rose five points to 19–the highest level since July 2007. Three regions saw HMI increases this month–the Northeast, which rose three points to 24; the South, which rose two…

Milton Keynes–Thanks to two Bank of England interest rate cuts, U.K. home prices increased for the first time in four months in February, according to property Web site Rightmove, headquartered in Milton Keynes. The average home list price had jumped 3.2 percent to £237,856 by mid-month, Bloomberg reported Monday. In January, listing prices declined by 0.8 percent. The average time a home sat on the market increased from 78 to 93 days in the year, according to Rightmove, which also found that prices in nine of the 10 England and Wales regions it tracked rose 5.8 percent in the month.Homebuilder…

Los Angeles–Los Angeles is on the verge of adopting one of the toughest U.S. residential green building plans, the Los Angeles Times reports.The under-consideration plan–voted on by two city council committees Friday–would force all major commercial and residential developments to cut energy and water use using low-emission paints, recycled materials, irrigation systems and natural light. The city’s more than 200 annual privately built projects over 50,000 square feet would have to incorporate a checklist of green features based off the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) guidelines. If the measure passes, Los Angeles likely would set up a “Green…

Washington, D.C.–Government data released Friday indicated manufacturing was faltering along with consumer confidence in the U.S., TheNew York Times reports.Oil prices pushed import costs up 1.7 percent in January, a 13.7 percent rise compared to January 2006–the highest annual rate since 1983. Expensive gas is also hurting consumer spending as people continue to reduce the amount of nonessential items they buy, the Times said. Imported petroleum prices rose 67 percent from a year ago, according to the Labor Department.The Empire State Manufacturing survey, which measures New York’s business conditions, dropped to negative levels in February–minus 11.7–its lowest reading since April…

London–The U.K. government announced Sunday that it would nationalize Northern Rock bank, the country’s fifth largest lender, the Financial Times reported Monday.After five months of trying to secure a private buyer, the decision to nationalize stemmed from the mortgage lender’s commitment to protecting taxpayers’ money, chancellor Alistair Darling said. After running into problems with its funding structure, which involved relying heavily on short-term money markets instead of deposits, Northern Rock collapsed last year during the global credit crisis.Taxpayers, who are now subsidizing the bank in loans and guarantees to other lenders, stand to lose about £100 billion–7 percent of national…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–Skender Construction, a Palos Hills, Ill.-based general contracting company, has unveiled its plans for two new buildings–a mixed-use and a senior housing project–in Chicago and Lombard, Ill. Fountain View Lincoln Square is a 48,500-sq.-ft. mixed-use development located in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. The project, being developed by Terra Firma Co.,  will feature Class A retail shops, 18 luxury condominiums and underground parking. Construction for the project started in December 2007 and is slated to be complete in fall 2008. The development is also expected to receive LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Sunrise…

Orlando, Fla.–Rents will hit a new high in the next few years, two Florida-area apartment builders told crowds at the International Builders’ Show Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., the Tampa Bay Tribune reports.”Rent increases will exceed historical averages over the next three to five years,” said Steve Patterson, CEO of Zom Inc., an Orlando-based apartment builder.As credit difficulties make it harder for people with less-than-perfect credit to obtain home loans, demand for rental units will increase, Patterson said.The increasing number of homeowners who are losing their homes to foreclosure are also expected to give the rental market a boost as they…