Market-Rate Housing

• Market-Rate Owners to Follow New Lead Safety Procedures

  New federal regulations will soon require market-rate property owners to follow lead safety renovation procedures.

• Multifamily Market a Mixed Bag

  Lane Co. wanted to attract echo boomers to a midtown Atlanta project. So the firm launched an aggressive, "sexy" ad campaign, said Bill Donges, CEO of the Atlanta-based multifamily housing developer. The campaign worked-with a twist. Instead of attracting the young, hip urban crowd, 60 percent of Donges' customers were baby boomers. "You are seeing baby boomers wanting to come back," he said. Unlike their single-family counterparts, market-rate multifamily builders seemed fairly optimistic during Wednesday's "Forecast and Trends in Multifamily" press conference at the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.

• Grand Central: Manhattan Mulitfamily Market

  In keeping with its reputation as the city that never sleeps, Manhattan saw its apartment industry stay wide awake this year. Considering that more than 70 percent of this borough's housing is renter-occupied, it's no surprise that 2007 was a very good year for New York City.

• New Fix: Funding Affordable Housing

  Washington, D.C., is considering a new weapon in the never-ending battle to fund much-needed affordable housing in the nation's capital. The city commissioned a study to explore the use of commercial linkage fees—per-square-foot fees on new development that are used to finance below-market-rate housing. The study recommends that, over two years, D.C. implements a fee no higher than $10 per square foot.

• Extra Credits: Quality Tax-Credit Projects

  Jamboree Housing's Granite Court is the epitome of Orange County, Calif., multifamily living. When it opens in December 2008, the podium-style project of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments in the heart of Irvine will boast an outdoor courtyard with barbecues; a “tot lot” children's play area; a Wi-Fi active clubhouse with a demonstration kitchen and art gallery; a state-of-the-art fitness center; and earth-friendly finishes like bamboo flooring and low-flow appliances. Embracing New Urbanist concepts, Granite Court is also less than one-quarter mile from public transit and within walking distance of shopping, medical services, churches, and schools.

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