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Family-Size Apartments in Urban Areas Could Help Smart-Growth Communities
Industry News
Philadelphia Apartment Sector Poised for a Rebound
A Somewhat Mixed Bag in Ann Arbor's Off-Campus Student Housing Market
Memphis Investor Buys Two More Collin County Apartment Communities
Job Growth Pushes Apartment Rents, Construction in Chicago Area
Permian Basin (Tex.) Apartment Communities Are Filling Up 
REIT Buying 3 Dallas Apartment Communities
Blue Rock on Multifamily Spending Spree
Communicating with Staff: Advice on Giving Advice
Legislative/Legal News
NY Law Requires Apartment Owners to Tell New Residents About Bedbugs
Monarch Properties Restricts Medical Marijuana at Its Apartments
Trash Rates Likely to Increase in Lebanon, Ohio
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Family-Size Apartments in Urban Areas Could Help Smart-Growth Communities
Digested From "Family-Size Apartments in Urban Areas Could Help Smart-Growth Communities"
Washington Post (DC) (08/28/10) P. E3; by Roger K. Lewis
Traditional families often have a difficult time locating apartments in urban areas that are large enough and affordable. Additionally, school quality becomes another concern that deters families from settling in urban locations. Smart-growth experts hope to change current trends that market urban apartments almost exclusively to people without families. Small, walkable communities with higher densities and access to transit, jobs, and affordable housing have focused primarily on people without children to reduce the need for additional schools and with the aim of increasing tax revenue benefits. More family-size units would require some counties to subsidize development by reducing the per-unit cost of land and providing tax breaks for developers and occupants.
Industry News
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Philadelphia Apartment Sector Poised for a Rebound
Digested From "Philly Multifamily Sector Poised for a Rebound"
GlobeSt.com (08/31/10) by Ian Ritter
Marcus & Millichap's latest report shows that apartment fundamentals throughout the Philadelphia metro area are on the upswing. As a result, investment activity could heat up in the weeks and months to come. The area's apartment vacancy rate is projected to decline 20 basis points this year to 6.3 percent, and the firm forecasts that monthly rents will grow 1.2 percent to $1,014 -- the first growth period for rental rates in two years. Additionally, apartment owners in and around Philadelphia are slowing the concessions they give to residents as demand rises. A major positive for the sector right now is employment growth. About 24,000 jobs are primed for addition this year, Marcus & Millichap calculates, compared with 100,000 lost in 2009. New construction is also up slightly, with nearly 900 apartments due to come on line this year versus 442 a year ago. Unfortunately, the addition is just a scant 0.4 percent increase in the metro area's overall stock.
A Somewhat Mixed Bag in Ann Arbor's Off-Campus Student Housing Market
Digested From "Rents Fall But Occupancy Stabilizes in Ann Arbor's Off-Campus Student Housing Market"
Ann Arbor News (MI) (09/02/10) by Dan Meisler
Competition from new high-rise apartments coupled with the fragile economy are putting rent pressures on the off-campus rental housing market in the Ann Arbor, Mich., area. New apartment communities near the University of Michigan Central Campus are indeed siphoning off more students, resulting in less demand and lower rents for off-campus rental units. Still, some of the biggest property management firms have reported a better year in 2010 than the previous year. Three communities -- Zaragon Place and 4Eleven Lofts near Central Campus and the Courtyards at North Campus -- have added more than 1,000 beds over the last couple of years. The university's new North Quad academic and residential complex boasts 460 more apartments. While owners and managers have recorded some loss of high-end tenants willing to pay $1,000 or more per month in rent, leasing activity remains solid. Arch Realty President Francis Clark states, "The economy is poor, but it's not getting any worse. We're doing much better than last year." Off-campus housing developer Panos Tharouniatis adds that the competition for residents has been very tight this year, noting that the high-rises have been taking the wealthier students out of the market. In turn, this has had the effect of reducing rents in each successive level of housing.
Memphis Investor Buys Two More Collin County Apartment Communities
Digested From "Memphis Investor Buys Two More Collin County Apartment Communities"
Dallas Morning News (TX) (09/03/10) by Steve Brown
Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. confirms that it has acquired its second and third Collin County, Texas, apartment communities in less than a week. The Memphis-based apartment investor has purchased the 250-unit Venue at Stonebridge Ranch, which was built in 2000, along with the 270-unit La Valencia at Starwood in Frisco. The latter was acquired from Tonti Properties. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. A week ago, the REIT bought the Times Square apartment community and retail complex in McKinney's Craig Ranch development for $31.25 million. With these deals, Mid-America now owns a dozen Dallas-area apartment communities. Systemwide, its portfolio boasts more than 45,000 apartments in 13 states.
Job Growth Pushes Apartment Rents, Construction in Chicago Area
Digested From "Job Growth Pushes Apt. Rents, Construction"
GlobeSt.com (08/30/10) by Robert Carr
Marcus & Millichap's third-quarter report makes it clear that apartments are the most preferred asset in the Chicago area, with vacancy for the city and suburbs hovering around the 6.5 percent mark. However, researchers note, even low vacancy is having trouble pushing rents off their stable position as new apartment construction is practically non-existent and lending is still tight for major acquisitions. Still, the ability to deal is still there. Stephen Rachman, vice president of investments for Marcus & Millichap, reports, "Multifamily debt has never been more attractive. I would argue we’re in a seller's market. Demand is led by well-located assets, which sets off a bidding frenzy." Apartment demand is fueled by employment, and the Chicago area's job market should see around 40,000 positive new jobs this year versus a loss of 234,400 jobs in 2009. There are plans for new development, but few projects have yet to get off the ground. Currently, there are 580 new apartments under construction in the Loop market, which also has the highest area vacancy at nearly 12 percent. Proposed construction in the suburbs totals 5,460 units in 21 new communities. None, however, have broken ground.
Permian Basin (Tex.) Apartment Communities Are Filling Up
Digested From "Permian Basin Apartment Complexes Filling Up"
KWES NewsWest9 (TX) (09/01/10) by Cierra Putman
Apartment residents are finding it increasingly difficult to find a place to live in Texas' Permian Basin. Analysts report that low unemployment, thanks to a mini oil boom, is partly to blame. Some apartment communities in both Midland and Odessa are getting so full, they are actually turning applicants away. This increase in demand coupled with limited availability may mean current apartment residents could see rent rates increase in the coming months. Permian Basin Apartment Association President Rhonda Lesley expects this boom time to continue for a while. She remarks, "Now we have most properties at 90 to 100 percent occupancy. So it's hard to find an apartment right now."
REIT Buying 3 Dallas Apartment Communities
Digested From "REIT Buying 3 Dallas Apartment Communities"
Dallas Morning News (TX) (09/01/10) by Steve Brown
Three Dallas-area apartment communities are being purchased by Grubb & Ellis Apartment REIT Inc. from Virginia-based Mission Residential. The total purchase price was nearly $48 million. Together, the three North Texas apartment communities contain nearly 700 rental units and are located in Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Richardson. They are part of a nine-property package of multifamily housing Grubb & Ellis is buying from Mission Residential, a Forward Capital LLC subsidiary, for $182 million.
Blue Rock on Multifamily Spending Spree
Digested From "Blue Rock on Multifamily Spending Spree"
GlobeSt.com (09/02/10) by Jennifer LeClaire
Blue Rock Partners LLC recently purchased the 168-unit Woodbridge Apartments in Winter Park, Fla., for an undisclosed sum. With two additional communities under contract, the Tampa-based apartment owner is making a push to double its holdings in the Orlando metro area for a total of 2,000 rental units. Reuven Oded, co-managing partner of BlueRock, reports that the firm's acquisition strategy is to target value-added assets with a substantial upside potential across Orlando and Tampa. Blue Rock's portfolio currently boasts nearly 5,000 apartments throughout Central Florida. Oded remarks, "We are very bullish on the Orlando metropolitan area. Orlando naturally was hit a bit harder because of the skewed tourism component of its economy. With the recovery underway, we feel the spigots will open and tourists will start to stream into Orlando and job growth will follow."
Communicating with Staff: Advice on Giving Advice
Digested From "Want My Advice? Um, Not Really"
Wall Street Journal (09/01/10) by Jeffrey Zaslow
According to a 2009 Pew Research Center poll, 82 percent of those ages 18 to 29 and 79 percent of those ages 30 to 74 believe there is "a generation gap" in America. This gap was defined as "a major difference in the point of view of younger and older people today." That is up from 60 percent of Americans in a similar poll 30 years prior. Today's young people cite generational differences in "perspective," "work ethic," and "technology" -- three factors that help explain their reservations about taking advice from their elders. Jason Dorsey, a cross-generational consultant who helps companies understand Generation Y, remarks, "Age is no longer the qualifier for being the go-to person for advice. Yes, if I go into a hardware store, I want advice from someone over age 60, because he could build my house with a screwdriver. But if I walk into an Apple store, I want the young person with blue hair and stretched earlobes, because he can talk to my computer." Certainly, many of today's young adults remain very close to their parents, whether they are texting or e-mailing them every day or living in their basements or spare bedrooms as a result of the recession. But that doesn't mean they're always seeking or embracing parental advice, notes Dorsey and others.
Legislative/Legal News
NY Law Requires Apartment Owners to Tell New Residents About Bedbugs
Digested From "New York City Law Requires Landlords to Tell New Tenants About Bedbug Infestations"
Law.com (09/02/10) by Noeleen G. Walder
Earlier this week, New York Gov. David A. Paterson signed a new law aimed at helping combat the raging bedbug epidemic. Dubbed the Bedbug Disclosure Act, the measure requires owners and lessors to notify new rental tenants of bedbug infestations that have plagued the building and the resident's individual unit during the previous year. The law, which takes effect immediately, comes amid a rash of complaints about bedbugs in New York City and other major metro areas nationwide. This particular measure, it should be noted, applies only to New York City. Last year, the city's 311 hotline received approximately 11,000 calls about bedbugs versus 537 six years ago, reports Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal (D-Manhattan). The epidemic has not been limited to residential properties either. The small insects have been spotted in the basement of the Empire State Building, at least one Victoria's Secret outlet, former President Bill Clinton's office in Harlem, the Time Warner Center, a Times Square movie theater, and clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.
Monarch Properties Restricts Medical Marijuana at Its Apartments
Digested From "Housing Policy Kicks Medical Marijuana Users to the Curb "
KOBTV-4 (09/01/10) by Taryn Bianchin
In New Mexico, Monarch Properties has decided that any resident found with medical marijuana will be evicted from its apartment communities. In fact, the management firm says it is going so far as to rewrite its lease agreement to specifically address the medical marijuana issue. Monarch clarified Wednesday that the policy will only be in place for communities that get federal funds for low income housing, which are most of its units in Albuquerque. In order to receive federal funding, such firms are required to strictly follow federal law that classifies marijuana as an illegal drug with no medicinal value. The New Mexico Health Department, which oversees the medical marijuana program, concedes that Monarch has the right to implement the policy. The no-tolerance policy was implemented after the company received numerous memos from federal housing officials saying the law must be upheld. Monarch is a leading apartment manager that operates nearly 80 apartment communities statewide, 23 of which are in Albuquerque.
Trash Rates Likely to Increase in Lebanon, Ohio
Digested From "Trash Rates Likely to Increase in Lebanon"
Western Star (OH) (09/02/10) by Justin McClelland
In Lebanon, Ohio, a majority of city council members approved a new five-year contract with Rumpke to handle trash collection within the city. The council will next vote on a hike in sanitation rates to cover the increased cost built into the new contract with the company. Based on the proposed rate increase, monthly charges for single-family residential garbage and recycling collection will rise from $15.80 to $16.60 starting Jan. 1, 2011. Council members have also added a $15.10 monthly fee per apartment to cover the costs of collecting trash at apartment communities and other multifamily housing. This monthly rate will increase 30 to 50 cents each year between 2011 and 2015. Only one council member, Matt Rodriguez, opposed the contract. To no avail, he argued, "Increasing rates is out of balance for where we are right now economically."
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