Regions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAnnapolis, Md.–Despite the slowing economy, seniors housing and care “held its own” in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC). The report is based on NIC’s Key Financial Indicators and is updated quarterly.Capitalization rates remained stable compared in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter, according to NIC. Only continuing care retirement communities showed a major downtick – of about 130 basis points – but that was from a relatively small sample of 13 transactions, says NIC. Overall, about 220 transactions were…

Washington, D.C.–Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator said that the agencies are still a “significant supervisory concern,” The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said in its annual report to Congress that although both mortgage-finance agencies helped offer liquidity and stability to the U.S. mortgage market in 2007, “matters requiring attention”–including Freddie’s internal controls and corporate governance–still existed.Fannie Mae’s “somewhat aggressive” strategy for managing interest-rate risk was also labeled as a potential problem.”While they have made progress in fixing many of their systems…they still have much work to do, especially with the continuing challenges of…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. homebuilder confidence remained at a record low in April due to declining home values and tighter lending, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder sentiment.The index remained at 20, Bloomberg said. In December, it plummeted to a new low of 18. A reading below 50 indicates the majority of respondents feel conditions are weak.The Washington, D.C.-based NAHB’s buyer traffic index, which gages the amount of prospective buyers checking out properties, also remained the same–at 19–for the third month in a row.As sales drop for a third year and the supply of unsold homes…

London–U.K. homebuilder stocks dropped after the London-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported Tuesday that March home price declines rose their highest levels in 30 years, the Times Online reports.Persimmon fell 2.5 percent to 65; Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Barratt Developments and Bovis Homes all declined more than 3 percent.A separate survey this week found retail sales had dropped for the first time in two years in March in the U.K., with big ticket items particularly affected. Home Retail Group–which owns Argos and Homebase–dropped 3.3 percent.The housing market decline may also damage banks in the U.K. because many of their assets…

Washington, D.C.–Housing starts fell to their lowest level in 17 years in March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.U.S. homebuilder starts fell 11.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 947,000–the lowest housing start rate since 1991, according to MarketWatch. Compared to a year ago, starts fell 36.5 percent.Building permits also declined 5.8 percent to 927,000 last month–a 40.9 percent drop from March 2007.Last month, multifamily unit starts plummeted 24.6 percent; multifamily permits declined 5 percent.New home completions dropped to their lowest level since December 1995–a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million.In all four regions, starts dropped. In the…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–A slowdown in household formation and additional condo completions will counter-balance stronger demand for apartments, according to Reis Inc.’s “First Quarter Apartment, Office and Retail Sector Trends.”According to Reis’ forecast, the slowing economy will continue to weaken household formation in the second and third quarters. Recent college graduates will have difficulty finding jobs, and will be forced to move home, thus cutting into the household formation rate. Additionally, Sunbelt metros are grappling with additional condo completions, Reis points out. Renters are seeking out condominiums for rent, an activity that is partly responsible for a relatively…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAustin, Texas– Chicago, Ill.-based Campus Acquisitions, a firm that focuses on student housing acquisitions, redevelopments and new construction, recently bought Sterling by the River, a 170-unit student housing property located in West Columbia, S.C. for $26 million.Built in 2007, Sterling by the River is comprised of 12 buildings totaling 472 beds, featuring 86 two-bedroom, 36 three-bedroom and 48 four-bedroom units. Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) Austin Managing Director Patton Jones and ARA National Student Housing Group Director, Chris Bancroft, represented the seller, Houston-based Dinerstein Cos., in the transaction.“Sterling by the River was highly sought after by…

By Lisa Iannucci, Green Building CorrespondentLos Angeles–When environmentally conscious property managers or owners choose carpets over other flooring options in lobbies or common areas, they need to not only consider what the carpets are made of, but also how they are made. A Los Angeles-based commercial carpet manufacturer, Bentley Prince Street, has created a product that can help. Bentley’s new carpet tile backing line uses next-generation thermoplastic technology, which reduces the two-step operation to one, and eliminates the need for any latex and polycarbite laminate. The technology has been in development for three years and has cost $5.2 million. The…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBaltimore–The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) has recently started its annual awards process to honor the nation’s top condominium, apartment complex, or planned community grounds management programs with its Green Star Awards.The Green Star Awards program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The program complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction by saluting the grounds’ superintendent and staff responsible for maintaining a well-manicured landscape around the year.The society is inviting candidates to apply before Aug. 1. The cost is $150 for PGMS members…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–In the Logan Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where condo conversions have become increasingly common, the 2006 average median sales price for a home exceeded $570,000. But this neighborhood is also home to the historic R Street Apartments, a nearly century-old affordable housing complex, which was last renovated in the mid-1980s. If not for the National Housing Trust-Enterprise Preservation Corp. (NHT-Enterprise) and Hampstead Development Group’s renovation plans, this complex could have become another one of the neighborhood’s condo conversions.“Due to high demand in the neighborhood owing to the building’s proximity to public transportation, restaurants…