Regions

By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerHuntington Beach, Calif.–Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. recently announced plans to create a new W hotel and 92 full-service private residences in Huntington Beach, Calif.Owned by an affiliate of Newport Beach, Calif.-based developer Makar Properties LLC, the W Huntington Beach hotel will feature a restaurant, bar, spa and approximately 250 guest rooms. “In considering new project sites, location is extremely important. When the beautiful piece of coastal property in Huntington Beach became available, we couldn’t pass it up,” says Paul Makarechian, president and CEO of Makar Properties. “We are excited to enhance Huntington Beach’s surfside…

Beaumont, Texas– Bethesda, Md.-based Green Park Financial recently provided a $4,258,000 acquisition loan for the Autumn Cove Apartments in Beaumont, Texas.Green Park Financial structured the loan with a seven-year term–three years of interest-only payments followed by a 30-year amortization. Jason Rice of Quantum First Capital originated the loan; Andrew Tapley, Green Park Financial senior vice president, led the Green Park team.Built in 1983, the two-story Autumn Cove is a garden-style apartment complex with 152 units. The property was 80 percent leased at closing.Green Park Financial services $4.4 billion of loans for more than 90,000 apartment homes across 43 states and…

Christchurch–New Zealand has the least affordable homes, according to an international survey of the world’s six costliest residential markets, released Monday by an international public policy firm with affiliates in Christchurch and St. Louis.High mortgage interest rates helped New Zealand score higher than Australia for the first time. New Zealand homebuyers have the largest difference between earnings and home prices, the New Zealand Herald reports.Low wages and high home prices mean–based on median home prices and wages–that residents spend 18 years and six months of an entire household’s annual income to pay off a home, the report said.The United States,…

New York–Changes to federal tax regulations have made housing commercial tenants in New York co-ops more profitable than ever, The New York Times reports.Previously, because of the 80-20 rule–which requires residential co-ops to receive no more than 20 percent of their gross income from external sources, such as commercial tenants, in order to receive tax benefits–co-ops have rented commercial space at low rents and often given thousands of dollars in refunds to tenants at the year’s end.However, the law was modified last year to allow all co-ops to keep their benefits–and rental income. “This change will be a bonanza for…

London–Gross mortgage lending in the U.K. hit its lowest level since May 2005 last month due to tough lending situations and low confidence in the housing industry, according to data from the London-based Council for Mortgage Lenders.Gross mortgage lending dropped to £22.6 billion in December, 25 percent below November’s lending volumes. Although the housing market is often slow at the end of the year, lending volumes usually only decline 6 percent between November and December, The Financial Times reports.Members of the Council for Mortgage Lenders assume roughly 98 percent of U.K. residential mortgage lending. The council’s figures are viewed as…

Shanghai–The president of the China’s sixth-biggest bank said Chinese bank earnings will likely be lower this year because of the government’s attempt to slow the economy and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, according to The Guardian.”We have to be very realistic: We are facing many challenges this year which are not only from home but also abroad,” China Merchants Bank Co. President Ma Weihua told Reuters Monday.China Merchants Bank Co. sold the U.S. subprime-related investments it made in 2004 two years later for 13.4 percent returns. However, China’s larger, state-owned banks–including the Bank of China–might not fare as well.Bank of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorFederal Way, Wash.–Fairfield Residential, a privately held real estate operating company, recently bought Glen Park, a 464-unit community spread across 33 acres at West Campus in Federal Way, Wash. for $65.5 million.Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA), a multi-housing brokerage and advisory company, executed the transaction on behalf of Fairfield Residential. “The acquisition of this institutional quality asset, in the much-sought-after Puget Sound area, provides an excellent repositioning opportunity for Fairfield Residential and aligns well with their overall investment strategy,” says ARA Vice President Jim Claeys.Glen Park, located 25 miles south of downtown Seattle, includes a mix…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAlexandria, Va.–Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) is developing a 2.8-acre 280-unit rental apartment community called Alexan Carlyle, located at 800 John Carlyle St. in the Carlyle neighborhood of Alexandria, Va.Alexan Carlyle is a $94 million joint venture between TCR and Olayan America Corp., with construction financing provided by PNC Bank. This is TCR’s latest luxury apartment development in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. It will have feature stories and amenities will include a pool, clubhouse, exercise room, billiards room, business center and more. Designed by Cubellis DCA, the building incorporates three distinct architectural styles. One portion…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) has presented its second annual Good Neighbor award to Braintree, Mass.-based John M. Corcoran and Co. and Atlanta-based Post Properties.The Good Neighbor award, instituted last year, honors apartment owners and managers with a good record of community service and philanthropy. The award of $10,000 is split evenly between the winners’ charities.John M. Corcoran and Co. received this honor for its support of the St. Mary’s Women and Children’s Center in Dorchester, Mass. and Post Properties won for its charitable arm, the Post HOPE Foundation.“Between the two companies, it…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorIrvine, Ca.–The Urban Land Institute’s newly released book called Developing Sustainable Planned Communities outlines strategies to design and develop sustainable planned communities that are environmentally responsible, attractive to the market and profitable. The book, which eight sustainability experts contributed to, is a practical guide with case studies that cover green practices in urban, suburban and rural settings.“The authors trace the evolution of planned communities over the last 40 years with case studies illustrating how the definition of sustainability has changed over that period of time, what it is today and how it can be implemented,”…