APARTMENT NEWS

ARCHIVES 2010:

Builders Get Back in Game - 03/03/10
Construction of Multifamily Units Expected to Soar in 2010
In St. Petersburg, Fla., close by Tropicana Field, an unusual structure is emerging from a construction site: a rental apartment building.

Property Pricing Increases for Second Straight Month - 02/22/10
In a sign that the period of large monthly price declines may finally be over, commercial property pricing in December increased for the second consecutive month, according to the Moody's/Real Commercial Property Price Indices, or CPPI.

AvalonBay Ramps Up New Apartments in Bet Rental Glut Disappears - 02/18/10
AvalonBay Communities Inc., the second-largest publicly traded apartment owner in the U.S., plans to start $400 million of construction this year, a wager record vacancies will give way to a rental shortage by 2012.

REITs Take Tepid Approach in 2010 - 02/18/10
The REITs want to be more active in 2010 than 2009. No one is sure just how much, though. Green Street Advisors, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based consulting and research firm, says the REITs have announced guidance for $2 billion to $2.5 billion in acquisitions this year, after tallying less than $500 million last year. Already, they’ve closed on about one-half to one-third of the $2 billion to $2.5 billion target, however, according to the firm.

Lumber's gain is impressive, but its foundation's not set - 02/14/10
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- It's tough to say that lumber's climb to its highest price level in more than two years is built on solid ground.

Multifamily REIT CEOs Upbeat On Apt. Prospects Despite Bleak Fundamentals With Demographics On Their Side, Multifamily Firms Say a Tough Recovery Is Underway - 02/10/10
Even as apartment rents continue to erode, vacancies remain at historic highs and prospects for recovery unlikely until next year, executives for the nation's largest publicly traded apartment companies sounded a note of optimism during the latest round of earnings conference calls, believing that the worst of the pain has already passed.

Commercial Mortgage Origination Activity Continues Uptick - 02/05/10
Commercial mortgage origination volumes rose in the fourth quarter by 12% when compared to a year ago and 15% from the third quarter, indicating that capital might be starting to creep back into the market.

Developers Diversify to Stay Recession-Proof - 02/01/10
The Great Recession has already claimed some of the industry’s largest owners and developers—Fairfield Residential, Bethany Group, Lembi, Babcock and Brown, Opus Corp. The list goes on and on and will likely swell some more before the next upturn.

Conduit Shops Open, But GSEs Still Dominate - 02/01/10
While the CMBS market continues to struggle with record-breaking delinquency rates, several conduit lenders are cautiously re-opening their shops.

JLL Sees Investment Sales Recovering This Year - 01/21/10
Commercial property investment sales in the United States are poised for a significant recovery from their horrid 2009 results, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Commercial Property Pricing Rises in November - 01/21/10
Commercial property pricing rose in November for the first time since December 2008, according to the Moody's/Real Commercial Property Price Indices, or CPPI.

Grubb Sees Continued Decline in Property Fundamentals This Year - 01/14/10
Fundamentals for all commercial property types will continue weakening this year, although the declines will be less severe than they were in 2009, according to Grubb & Ellis.

Apartment occupancy up, rents down in Upstate SC - 01/09/10
Developers building fewer units as more people get pushed into rental market. A combination of slower construction of new multi-family units and mounting job losses may be causing more Upstate residents to rent apartments.

N.C. Triangle Apartment Managers Working to Fill Vacancies - 01/09/10
Reis Inc. reports that apartments in North Carolina's Triangle region are faring better now after an increase in the number of vacant rental units last year.

ARCHIVES 2009:

Investment Sales Volume Seen More Than Doubling to $100B in 2010 - 12/29/09
Sales of office, retail, multifamily and industrial properties could exceed $100 billion in 2010. That would more than double the $45 billion projected for all of 2009, according to Real Capital Analytics.

Freddie Mac Sees 20% Drop in Originations This Year - 12/18/09
Freddie Mac is likely to see a 20% reduction in its origination volume this year, to roughly $19 billion.

Glimmers of Hope Emerge in the Multifamily Market - 12/01/09
The third quarter was the strongest to date for the apartment transaction market this year, with the highest volume and largest deals.

Switching Gears: Wood Partners Enters Acquisition - 11/23/09
The Atlanta-based builder is pulling away from development and construction work to focus on acquisitions and asset and property management.

Undergrads Seek More Privacy, Single Units in Student Housing - 10/29/09
Preference for single units with private baths increases even as students rely on peer networking for selection of college residential communities.

Grandbridge Amplifies Multifamily Debt Platform - 10/13/09
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital continues to expand its multifamily operations, both in terms of people and products.

Investment-Sales Freeze Shows Signs of Thawing - 09/29/09
The near freeze in the property investment-sales market over the past year has shown signs of thawing in recent weeks.

RealPage Acquires EverGreen Solutions, A.L. Wizard - 09/22/09
Multifamily software and services provider launches new cloud computing division and establishes senior housing platform.

IRS Gives Servicers Flexibility to Modify CMBS Loans - 09/15/19
The Internal Revenue Service has granted servicers of securitized commercial mortgages greater flexibility to extend those loans and otherwise modify their terms.

SEs Tighten Up On Student Housing Deals - 09/02/09
While the student housing market has been a bright spot for the multifamily industry this year, lenders are growing more conservative in their approach to the sector.

Multifamily Starts: Pogo-Sticking into Nothingness - 08/25/09
Volatility plagues NAHB multifamily housing starts still reeling from frozen credit markets, poor rent fundamentals.

Apps for Apts: The Latest Technology-Based Marketing Trend - 08/25/09
Many forward-thinking decision-makers in the apartment industry are paying closer attention to mobile apps, believing such technology is what their customers want and need in their search for apartments.

Apartment Occupancies, Rents Rising in Chicago - 08/24/09
Apartment rents in downtown Chicago rose 2.4 percent from the previous quarter, according to a report by Appraisal Research Counselors.

Commercial Property Sales Down in Charlotte - 08/17/09
Commercial property sales for the Charlotte, N.C., area dropped 81 percent for the year ending June 30 to $450 million, according to LoopNet.

Loan-Sales Market Sees Flurry of Activity, But Big Slowdown Seen - 08/13/09
A total of at least $800 million of performing and distressed commercial mortgages are in the market through loan-sale advisers - a relatively hefty volume for late summer - but many players expect the market to slow down sharply soon.

Multifamily Firms Rebid Contracts to Cut Costs - 08/06/09
While the recession has chipped away at the balance sheets of many multifamily firms, it’s also presented opportunities to cut down on some costs.

Freddie Mac's New Products to Include Single-Loan Securitization - 08/06/09
Freddie Mac is working on a single-loan securitized product for a rollout later this year, an outgrowth of its Capital Markets Execution (CME) program.

AIMCO’s Dispositions Heat Up - 08/03/09
AIMCO is continuing to sell. In last Friday’s conference call, the Denver-based REIT said it has $1.2 billion in dispositions either in negotiations or under contract to be sold and more than another billion in the market.

Economic Week in Review: The mood turns hopeful - 07/24/09
There was little economic news this week, but most of it was good. The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators and existing-home sales both rose for the third straight month.

Multifamily Mobile Apps Continue to Proliferate - 07/20/09
Companies keep rolling out new apps, improving on wireless-based technologies first debuted in the industry by UDR in 2005.

Apartment vacancy increases locally (Greenville, SC) - 07/03/09
Blame it on the economy - and new construction

Apartment Demand Takes Positive Turn - 07/01/09
ATLANTA - After being one of the nation’s most beaten-down apartment markets, the metropolitan area absorbed 3,000 units during the second quarter.

New apartment complexes filling up quickly - 06/26/09
Sharon Gordon leases an average of 10 apartments per week. "Since the end of January, we have leased over 70 percent of the property so far. That's kind of a record for our company ...

Here come the real estate vultures. - 06/22/09
REITs are raising cash to take advantage of bargain prices on distressed commercial properties and mortgages.

Terwilliger Will Give $100 Million to Habitat For Humanity - 05/28/09
Trammell Crow Residential chairman hopes his gift, which will help families around the world, to inspire others to examine their philanthropic giving.

Housing Bill Codified: Multifamily Dodges Bullet - 05/28/09
Foreclosure amendments targeting multifamily housing stock not included in Obama-signed legislation.

Signs of Life Emerging for Multifamily Capital Markets - 05/20/09
Access to debt and equity is slowly improving for the multifamily industry.
While credit availability for multifamily borrowers is still constrained, there have been some recent glimmers of hope that the capital markets are starting to stabilize.

Small Loan Borrowers Turn from Banks to Agencies - 05/20/09
After years of domination by national and regional banks, the small balance loan space is being usurped by Fannie Mae.

Renovating in a Recession - 05/08/09
Renovation strategies need to be readjusted in a recessionary environment. Apartment owners may not get a return on their rehab investment as market rents can stagnate or decline down the road.

Climate Change Bill May Impact Multifamily Retrofitting incentives, stricter building codes, and energy labeling are on NMHC's radar - 05/08/09
The climate change bill currently before Congress has several provisions with big implications for the multifamily industry.

Student Housing Sector Strikes a Balance Despite Bad Economy - 05/06/09
An estimated 140 lenders have stopped making federal student loans and 40 private lenders have cut back on educational funding

Apartment Vacancies in North Carolina's Triad Climb - 05/05/09
In North Carolina, the Triad region's apartment vacancy rate was higher at the end of this year's first quarter than it was a year ago.

Southeast Rebound - 05/01/09
The Southeast multifamily market has mixed news.

Second-Half Property Investment Rebound Possible - 04/22/09
 ... 37 percent majority of respondents foresee their investment activity rebounding in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

GSEs’ Lending Practices Usher in Soft Landing for Apartment Sector - 04/10/09
As the last men standing in the multifamily debt game, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are single-handedly keeping apartment values from dropping to unrealistic levels.

Apartment Vacancy Rate Rises in Charleston as Residents Cut Back - 04/09/09
In Charleston, S.C., more and more financially strapped apartment residents are moving back home with their families or doubling up and becoming roommates with other residents.

Charlotte's Apartment Vacancy Rate Grows, Rental Rates Fall - 04/08/09
Charlotte, N.C.'s apartment vacancy rate rose for the six-month period ending Feb. 28, to 11.8 percent from 9.1 percent

Construction Material Prices Head South, Labor Costs Slow to Follow - 04/07/09
For the fifth straight month, the producer price index (PPI) for multifamily finished goods fell in February, dropping 0.6 percent.

Private Investors Drive Equity Market- March/April
Small private equity groups are flooding the marketplace and investors are targeting cash-on-cash returns over internal rates of return

Linwood Thompson: The Bottom is Close - March/April
The bottom of the single-family housing market is near, and the apartment industry is well positioned for a strong recovery

Babcock & Brown's Troubles Hit U.S. Apartment Market - 04/01/09
Australia's Babcock and Brown Ltd. was recently placed in voluntary administration, an action that is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Apartment REIT Rankings Announced - 04/01/09
MMA Financial LLC currently ranks as the largest apartment owner despite unloading 1,700 rental units in 2008.

CMSA Wants Fair-Value Accounting Reform to Add Specifics 03/31/09
Proposed changes to the fair-value accounting standard are insufficient to improve CMBS trading, according to the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association.

Rents Flat, Vacancies Up in Hampton Roads (Va.) Apartments 03/28/09
n Virginia, the Hampton Roads apartment sector is currently dealing with its highest vacancy rate in nearly a decade.

Post Properties Completes Refinancing of 2009 Scheduled Debt Maturities 03/27/09
Post Properties Inc. has announced the closing of a mortgage loan with PNC ARCS, LLC, pursuant to the Freddie Mac loan program.

MBA Reports Point to Positive Signs in Multifamily Loan Market 03/26/09
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) recently released a couple of different reports painting a more optimistic picture of the multifamily loan market than was previously believed.

Freddie Mac To Launch $1 Billion CMBS Deal 03/20/09
Freddie Mac expects to launch a $1 billion securitization of multifamily mortgages in late May or early June.

Quarterside project converts to apartments - 03/18/09
Quarterside, David Furman’s 184-unit uptown condo project, will be converted to apartments available for lease.

Economist Thornberg: This Too Shall Pass 03/12/09
Economist Christopher Thornberg, who foresaw the single-family housing meltdown, advises developers to take a deep breath and ignore trends.

CMBS Defaults Expected to Soar in 2009 03/06/09
Defaults on commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) will triple this year ...

Freddie’s Record-Setting Year 03/01/09
Freddie Mac had a record-setting year in 2008.

Fannie Mae Releases 2008 Figures 03/01/09
Fannie Mae invested $35.5 billion in multifamily housing in 2008.

Student Housing Raises its Hand 02/26/09
Public and private firms see strong returns and widespread interest in student housing.

Multifamily Transactions Stall in Fourth Quarter 02/26/09
Deal flow falls 87% at the end of 2008, versus the year-earlier period.

Final Tally for Multifamily is Grim in the 4th Quarter 02/26/09
Occupancy and vacancy rates plummet to record lows, delivering on all worst-case scenario expectations.

Mortgage Applications Plummet 02/12/09
Commercial, multifamily mortgage originations fall

ARCHIVES 2008:

N.C. among fastest-growing states 12/22/08
North Carolina is among the five fastest-growing states in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.