UNITS magazine has the apartment industry covered.
Jan. “Believe me, on Monday I had more fun shoveling snow [in front of my apartment community] than people did who were watching their stock market investments.”
— Wisconsin-based independent owner Rich Sommer on others’ failed investment strategies
Feb. “You know you are in trouble when it seems that the biggest risk taker out there is the federal government. Debt is great in an up cycle, but it’s very unforgiving in a down cycle.”
— Dale Gruen, Managing Director, BlackRock Realty, on the credit crisis
March “Personal contact is worth a hell of a lot more than sending e-mail. When you’re talking face
to face, [employees] know you’re feeling their pain, that you’re sincere in what you’re doing.”
— Dave Watkins, CAPS, Senior Director, Greystar, on communicating with employees about layoffs
April “We wanted to create a program where our residents wouldn’t be penalized by us for being involuntarily out of work.”
— Resource Residential President Harlan Krichman on his company’s decision to waive termination fees for residents who are laid off
May “A lot of these overleveraged owners can’t hang on. You’re throwing good money after bad. They just let go.”
— Chris Burns, Southeast Regional Vice President for Lincoln Property Co., on owners who purchased overvalued properties being unable to refinance or pay debt service after the bubble burst
June “Five or 10 years ago, no one ever discussed green. In the last few years, we’ve been focused on green not only in development, but also on the management side. Companies are looking for new ways
to manage and market green.”
— Kettler President Cindy Clare on the surge in popularity of green apartment living
July “That’s an indicator for what’s out there and what’s going to be out there. It was a highly motivated seller in a market that it didn’t want to be in. [The seller] never intended to be in the property management business.”
— Bill Freeman, Co-Founder, Freeman Webb Investments, on the $3.95 million price it got for an apartment community originally listed for $9.3 million
Aug. “Don’t expect new construction any time soon. You shouldn’t be building in most markets anyway. What’s the point, when you can walk in and buy a three-year-old, beautiful property for 20 percent
to 30 percent below the cost of new construction?”
— Apartment Realty Advisors’ Principal Jeff Hawks on the current new construction standstill
Sept. “As consumer habits change, so should our industry. The apartment industry has been slow to adapt to changing technologies, but text messaging and mobile apps provide us with another mode
of communication—a mode many folks prefer.”
— Melanie Stiles, National Director of Training and Marketing for Milestone Management, on marketing via text-messaging and phone apps
Oct. “There’s the possibility that maturing debt in the commercial real estate sector will bring another big blow to the financial industry and refreeze the capital markets just as they start to make some solid progress in the thawing process. It is doubtful 2010 will be as ugly as 2008 and 2009 have been, but it won’t be pretty, either.”
— Greg Willett, Vice President of Research & Analysis, MPF Research, on the coming year
Nov. “The apartment sector experienced one of its weakest quarters in decades, with the national vacancy rate reaching 7.8 percent in Q3 2009, marking a 23-year high, according to Reis. Asking rents fell by 0.5 percent over Q2, one of the largest single-quarter declines in the firm’s history.”
— Real Estate research firm Reis’ Q3 2009 “Trends for the Apartment Sector” report
Dec. “Many Gen Y members are now in their late 20s ... They are the target market for conventional apartment communities, but they still possess high expectations for social connectivity.”
— Inland American Communities VP of Marketing Rachel Kihn on social-media efforts and needs.