Archive for September, 2013

When it comes to student housing, one thing is pretty much clear: The dorm days are over. To satisfy both cost and quality-of-life concerns, most students have moved off campus into modernized student housing communities. Competition for their rent dollars hinges on several key components of the rental property: proximity to school; apartment size and plenitude of storage space; availability of one bathroom for every resident (even if they share a bedroom); and a fitness center as the crown jewel in your ... Read more

The apartment and condominium market continued to gain momentum in the second quarter with builders’ and developers’ confidence in the sector soaring to an all-time high, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ multifamily index.  The index rose to its highest reading since 2003, which is the year the index began. The index measures builder and developer sentiment in the apartment and condo market. The latest reading for the second quarter was 61. Any number above 50 indicates that more respondents ... Read more

While demand for apartment homes remained strong, rising interest rates exerted negative pressure on the industry’s ability to secure debt financing according to the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) July Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. Only the Market Tightness Index (55) remained above the breakeven line of 50 this quarter. Sales Volume (46) and Equity Financing (49) dipped, with Debt Financing dropping sharply to 20.   » Click here for full story Read more

Raleigh checks in at #1 in America's fastest growing college towns according to NREI.  » Click here for full story Read more

Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties has unveiled its plans to develop a $110 million office park for MetLife on Weston Parkway in Cary. Called Weston Lakefront, the 100 percent pre-leased build-to-suit campus along the shores of Lake Crabtree will initially include two, 213,500-square-foot, LEED-certified office buildings with structured parking. The facilities will be located on 26.5 acres of a 40-acre site Highwoods owns near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The remaining 13.5 acres of waterfront land will be pre-graded to accommodate a third potential building, ... Read more

The Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor are the earliest leading indicators of how asking prices and rents are trending nationally and locally. They adjust for the changing mix of listed homes and therefore show what’s really happening to asking prices and rents. Because asking prices lead sales prices by approximately two or more months, the Monitors reveal trends before other price indexes do. With that, here’s the scoop on where prices and rents are headed. Trulia Price Monitor & ... Read more

Developers are turning roadside ruins into affordable housing The Luna Lodge once welcomed weary travelers making their way on old Route 66 through New Mexico. One of the many motels that sprouted up along the famed highway in the 1950s, Luna was built at a time when families vacationed by car and stayed in mom-and-pop motels advertising cheap rates. But as Route 66 was replaced by faster freeways, roadside businesses dwindled and fell into decline. Luna Lodge, which is listed on the National Register ... Read more

Nationally, infill development qualifies as a widespread trend that many housing and planning experts love to discuss. But a new study by the EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities shows that the presence of infill varies significantly in housing markets across the country, with infill accounting for just 2% of new-home construction in Prescott, Ariz., and 80% in San Jose, Calif. “The biggest surprise was the wide range of outcomes across metropolitan areas,” says Kevin Ramsey, a policy research fellow with the EPA ... Read more