Headlines
Top Story
U.S. House Fails to Pass $700 Billion Bailout
Industry News
AvalonBay Nets Its Largest Bond Financing for SF Development
Thompson National Properties Forms Joint Venture With Morgan Management
North County, CA, Apartment Rents Post Small Increase
NAI Tampa Bay to Help Housing Authority Find Good Apartment Buys
Camden Property Trust Announces Closing of $380 Million Fannie Mae Credit Facility
Foreclosures Push Rents Higher in Minnesota's Twin Cities
Construction of Housing at Pace of '91
Legislative/Legal News
Bill Forces Jersey Apartment Owners to Exterminate Bedbugs
Storm Refugees in Texas to Get Rent Help for 18 Months
Dallas Apartment Residents Must Pay Rent Again After Check Theft
Calif. Apartment Association Gets Win With Underage Drinking Ordinance
Aspen Apartment Replacement Program Survives Mini-Uprising
Wisconsin Council Allows Apartment Residents to Own Chickens
Top Story
Time Warner Cable Community Solutions has proven success partnering with MDU owners, providing quality voice/video/data products to their residents.
U.S. House Fails to Pass $700 Billion Bailout
Digested From "Treasury, Fed Low on Rescue Options"
Washington Post (09/30/08) P. A9; by Neil Irwin; David Cho
The failure of the U.S. House to pass the $700 billion bailout package on Sept. 29 caused the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board to re-examine the package and push for its passage. If a bailout fails to pass, he financial overseers will have to return to their ad hoc approach of examining failing firms on a case-by-case basis and invest in only those that cannot be allowed to collapse financially. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says this method of helping the financial markets sends "mixed signals" to investors and would do little to stabilize the markets. Unlike the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which has unlimited powers to intervene in the affairs of depository banks during financial crises, the Fed is at the limit of its emergency powers by offering resources to failing institutions and increasing the sums available through its discount lending window. The FDIC recently encouraged the sale of Wachovia to Citigroup with a guarantee that the FDIC would cover any sale-related losses over the next three years above the $4 billion per year threshold. Although the Fed can continue offering loans to troubled firms, Chair Ben Bernanke believes the root cause of the financial crisis is best handled by legislators; and if the bill fails, it will make his ability to offer funding to those troubled firms more difficult. Some lawmakers have laid the bill's defeat at the feet of Bernanke and Paulson, claiming that the leaders failed to explain how inaction would impact consumers. On Sept. 29 after the bill's defeat, Paulson stipulated that without government intervention consumers would be hard-pressed to receive a student or homeowner's loan from banks and companies would struggle to free up cash to cover payroll and inventory.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Industry News
IRES offers property management software solutions. Its world-class offerings provide clients flexibility, transparency and a competitive advantage.
AvalonBay Nets Its Largest Bond Financing for SF Development
Digested From "AvalonBay Nets Its Largest Bond Financing for San Fran Mixed-Use"
Commercial Property News (09/26/08) by Coreen Bailor
AvalonBay Communities Inc. has received $135 million in financing--the apartment REIT's biggest bond financing ever closed. The financing will fund construction of Avalon Walnut Creek at Contra Centre, a $400 million mixed-use development situated adjacent to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit's Pleasant Hill Bay station. The law firm of Goodwin Procter LLP, AvalonBay's finance counsel, helped the REIT secure the letter of credit from Bank of America N.A., comprising $116 million in tax-exempt and $19 million in taxable multifamily housing revenue bonds. The first phase expanded the station's parking garage. The second phase broke ground over the summer, adding 422 apartments. Of that, 85 percent has been designated as affordable housing. The project is on track for a 2010 completion. Tuan Pham, partner at Goodwin Procter, remarks, "The confluence of skyrocketing energy prices, turmoil in the homeownership market, and the desire to live, work and shop in one location near mass transportation, makes this type of development very attractive."
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Thompson National Properties Forms Joint Venture With Morgan Management
Digested From "Thompson National Properties Enters Into Multifamily Joint Venture With Morgan Management"
MarketWatch (09/24/08)
Thompson National Properties LLC has partnered with Morgan Management LLC to acquire multifamily housing communities. Dubbed Thompson/Morgan Properties LLC, the new entity will specifically focus on apartment acquisitions in Texas and in states east of the Mississippi River. Thompson National Properties specializes in providing value-added property investment opportunities and asset management to high net-worth domestic, foreign and institutional investors. Thompson National Properties COO Neil Miller states, "The multifamily platform is an integral element in our strategy of providing a balanced portfolio of investment opportunities." For its part, Morgan Management currently owns and manages more than 40 apartment communities in four states--Alabama, New York, Texas and Tennessee. Its apartment portfolio is comprised of approximately 12,000 rental units.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
North County, CA, Apartment Rents Post Small Increase
Digested From "Housing: North County Rents Post Small Increase"
North County Times (CA) (09/24/08) by Zach Fox
New studies by MarketPointe Realty Advisors and Hendricks & Partners show that the average apartment rent in California's North County rose by a modest 4 percent from a year earlier. Researchers say this is proof that the county's job losses have not cut into the rental apartment sector. Such rent growth also showed that a foreclosure crisis has translated into more apartment residents and more rental units. Through 2008's first and second quarters, MarketPointe confirms that vacancy rates at apartment communities in North County fell to 2 percent versus 2.8 percent a year earlier. At the same time, new condominium sales have plummeted by as much as 90 percent in some North County markets, prompting owners to offer more units for rent. MarketPointe's research shows that more than 2,000 units--or about 2 percent of the entire market--were added to the pool of available apartments countywide as failed condo conversions reverted back to rentals. The Hendricks & Partners report, meanwhile, showed that apartment vacancy rates fell but to levels much higher than the MarketPointe report. Communities along the Highway 78 corridor recorded a 4.5 percent vacancy rate in the April-through-June period, a decrease from 4.8 percent a year earlier.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
NAI Tampa Bay to Help Housing Authority Find Good Apartment Buys
Digested From "NAI Tampa Bay to Help Housing Authority Find Good Buys"
Tampa Bay Business Journal (09/25/08)
A team from NAI Tampa Bay has been chosen to represent the Tampa Housing Authority over the next three years as that agency looks to acquire more multifamily housing within the Tampa city limits. The housing authority is looking to buy communities with at least 100 units between now and the end of 2011. Authority representative Casey Babb comments, "The market is now experiencing a hangover effect after the irrational exuberance of the condo conversion market and transaction volume has slowed to a crawl due to the current financial crisis." The Tampa Housing Authority picked NAI after what it described as a "rigorous selection process."
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Camden Property Trust Announces Closing of $380 Million Fannie Mae Credit Facility
Digested From "Camden Property Trust Announces Closing of $380 Million Fannie Mae Credit Facility"
MarketWatch (09/24/08)
Camden Property Trust has announced the closing of a $380 million secured credit facility with Red Mortgage Capital Inc., a Fannie Mae DUS lender. Camden plans to use the proceeds from this credit facility for the repayment of approximately $173 million of maturing secured debt and for general corporate purposes. Camden Chairman and CEO Ric Campo comments, "The closing of this facility clearly validates that Fannie Mae continues to provide attractive financing to the multifamily markets." Camden Property Trust is a leading owner, developer and manager of apartment communities. The REIT has ownership and management stakes in 179 such communities nationwide, containing more than 62,400 rental apartments. In addition, Camden recently placed on Fortune Magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For."
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Foreclosures Push Rents Higher in Minnesota's Twin Cities
Digested From "Foreclosures Push Rents Higher, Squeezing Low Income Families"
Minnesota Public Radio (MN) (09/21/08) by Dan Olson
In Minnesota's Twin Cities, a wave of home foreclosures has pushed more people into the rental apartment sector. The result is an intensifying demand on Minneapolis and St. Paul's rental housing stock, so much so that the vacancy rate is very low and rents are on the rise. This, in turn, means low-income working families face higher monthly rents even though their income hovers at unchanging levels. Since 2005, the Twin Cities apartment vacancy rate has dipped from 7 percent to closer to 4 percent. Average monthly rents over that same time span are up more than $25, rising to more than $850. The St. Paul-based Wilder Foundation recently reviewed income data for several Twin Cities counties. The organization's research found that the number of people in those markets paying too much for their rental housing will double from around 70,000 currently to a whopping 140,000 by 2010. Some say a partial solution would be for the U.S. government to reverse course on housing policy and substantially increase funding for rental assistance, particularly help for working families.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Construction of Housing at Pace of '91
Digested From "Construction of Housing at Pace of '91"
New York Times (09/18/08) P. C8
New residential building fell 6.2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 895,000 units, which represents the lowest level in 17 years. The Commerce Department's report surprised analysts, who were anticipating a decline of just 1.6 percent, and suggests the downturn in the housing market is far from over. Construction of new single-family homes slid 1.9 percent last month to an annual rate of 630,000 units, while construction of multifamily units slumped 15.1 percent to an annual rate of 265,000 units.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Legislative/Legal News
Bill Forces Jersey Apartment Owners to Exterminate Bedbugs
Digested From "Bill Forces Landlords to Exterminate Bedbugs"
South Jersey Courier-Post (09/29/08) by Chris Newmarker
In New Jersey, three Democratic Assembly members--Joan M. Quigley, L. Grace Spencer and L. Harvey Smith--have introduced a bill that would make apartment owners entirely responsible for keeping their units free of bedbugs. Bedbugs, which are less than a fifth of an inch long, hide in all kinds of places around a home. They were once thought to be mostly eradicated in this country, but have staged a comeback in recent years amid the banning of powerful pesticides and increases in overseas travel. The lawmakers say severe bedbug outbreaks have occurred in apartment communities, especially those in Hudson County. They further cite instances of residents being charged with extermination costs, which can run into the hundreds of dollars. Quigley laments, "It's disgusting to think there are places in New Jersey where renters are being forced to cohabitate with vermin, simply because they cannot afford a proper extermination. [Apartment residents] shouldn't have to pay extra simply to live in a clean and safe environment." Under the legislation, owners would have to exterminate bedbugs at their own expense when an outbreak occurs. Those who fail to do so could face fines of up to $300 per infested apartment and $1,000 per infested common area. The New Jersey Apartment Association counters that the bill would leave owners liable for bugs that may have been brought in by their residents when they moved in.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Storm Refugees in Texas to Get Rent Help for 18 Months
Digested From "Storm Refugees to Get Rent Help for 18 Months"
Houston Chronicle (09/24/08) by Mike Snyder
The federal government recently announced that thousands of people facing extended displacement from their homes because of Hurricane Ike will receive rental assistance for up to 18 months. Dubbed the Disaster Housing Assistance Program-Ike, it will pay the full rent for qualified families for six months. After that, participants will be required to make gradually escalating monthly payments. The assistance will be provided via a joint effort of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), HUD and its network of local public housing authorities. The cost of the program, which starts Nov. 1, is estimated at $478 million. Generally, people will qualify if they live in an area affected by the hurricane and their homes are uninhabitable. Apartment owners will choose whether to take part in the program and accept monthly rental payments from a contractor hired by the federal agencies. Andy Teas, vice president of public affairs for the Houston Apartment Association, expects most of his organization's members will participate. However, owners are lobbying for assurances that they will be compensated for any damage evacuees cause beyond normal wear. After Hurricane Katrina, Teas noted, "some units were absolutely destroyed."
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Dallas Apartment Residents Must Pay Rent Again After Check Theft
Digested From "Tenants Told to Pay Rent Again After Theft of Checks"
WFAA.com (09/27/08) by Rebecca Lopez
In Dallas last month, someone broke into the Solana Ridge apartment community leasing office and stole residents' money orders and checks. Now, management has ordered affected residents to pay their rent again or face eviction. Managers at the community insist they are following Texas Apartment Association guidelines in the matter--guidelines, the Association concedes, vary from case to case. This is little comfort for those residents living paycheck to paycheck who now have to come up with the extra funds, especially in the case of money orders that have already been forged and cashed.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Calif. Apartment Association Gets Win With Underage Drinking Ordinance
Digested From "Supervisors Pass Underage Drinking Ordinance "
ABC7 News (CA) (09/23/08) by Karina Rusk
In California, Santa Clara County supervisors have passed an ordinance intended to crack down on underage drinking and punish the adults responsible for allowing such parties to occur. Initially, the proposal would have held apartment owners responsible for underage drinking on their premises. But a majority of supervisors felt that was overreaching. To save the ordinance from defeat, its sponsors struck that clause at the last minute. Kirsten Carr of the California Apartment Association remarks, "We came in here hoping for an exemption and that's exactly what we got." Stanford University received a similar exemption after its administrators successfully argued that the campus already has aggressive polices in place that could be undermined by county enforcement.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Aspen Apartment Replacement Program Survives Mini-Uprising
Digested From "Multifamily Replacement Program Survives Mini-Uprising"
Aspen Daily News (Colo.) (09/23/08) by Curtis Wackerle
In Aspen, Colo., a 20-year-old ordinance designed to prevent low-end, free-market apartments from being torn down and converted to second homes remains on the books. This is thanks to Aspen City Council members recently passing amendments to the program that reinstate exemptions that had been accidentally removed the last time the ordinance was changed a year ago. First initiated in 1988, Aspen's multifamily housing replacement program requires that when developers redevelop multifamily housing, they replace those units with deed-restricted affordable housing. When the program was first initiated, it required that half of the unit count or 25 percent of the bedrooms be replaced with affordable housing. Over the years, those replacement requirements have been raised. In 2005, though, council members loosened the requirement, allowing a building to be built back completely as "free market" provided the developer kept the same exact building size and configuration. Realizing they had paved the way for more demolition of free-market apartment communities, the council changed the program in 2007 and increased the replacement requirement of affordable housing to 100 percent of the units demolished. Only after the 100 percent replacement is satisfied could developers build free-market housing on the site without triggering more employee housing mitigation.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Wisconsin Council Allows Apartment Residents to Own Chickens
Digested From "Council Compromise Allows Apartment Dwellers to Own Chickens"
Madison Capital Times (WI) (09/23/08) by Kristin Czubkowski
In Wisconsin, the Madison City Council passed an ordinance on Sept. 23 allowing apartment residents to own chickens, but not before creating a compromise limiting the building size to four units and the number of chickens on a single lot to four instead of the ordinance's original eight. Alderman Michael Schumacher comments, "I think this is a great compromise between those who believe in local food and want to have the fresh eggs and possibly even have the animal for food if they take it to an appropriate place for being slaughtered, and at the same time, it protects those people who feel we're turning Madison into farmland." The new ordinance would now require all potential owners to notify any neighbors within 200 feet about keeping chickens as well as get apartment owner approval. If more than 50 percent of the person's neighbors filed a complaint within two weeks to the city, the person would not be permitted to keep the poultry. Several Madison council members expressed concerns about the health risks of chickens, while others questioned the city's ability to enforce the regulations on owning such birds. Ultimately, though, a majority of council members decided the risks of chickens were negligible.
Web Link | Return to Headlines
Abstract News © Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC.
|