Negotiations be darned: When you look at the bottom line, it's almost impossible to put a fair price on reliability and human results in the workforce. But recruiting, retaining, and rewarding top talent at all levels of an organization is crucial to ensuring its long-term success—and even moderate turnover can be crippling. Read more
Taking a Gamble: CityCenter Las Vegas
I have become disillusioned by Las Vegas. While some love to revisit the 24/7 city, these days, I much prefer to be at home with a good book. Yes, there are great shows and restaurants, but there's also a limit to the amount of over-stimulation a person can take in a single visit. Read more
The shadow market of excess for-sale inventory strikes again. This time, builder confidence took the hit. In September, the National Association of Home Builders released its quarterly Multifamily Rental Market Index, which said that confidence dipped across product lines in the second quarter of 2007. Class A, B and C apartments all showed a decrease compared to the second quarter of 2006. Confidence in the market's demand for luxury units fared the worst, dropping nearly 10 percentage points to 63.8 percent from its all-time high of 73.2 percent in the second quarter of last year. Read more
Getting Schooled: High-Density Development
A Rutgers University study debunks the popular myth that high-density developments burden local school systems. The study, based on 2000 Census data, presents averages of the number of people, school-age children, and public school children that live in different types of communities. The study focuses on data from New Jersey houses built between 1990 and 2000, but the results are telling. Read more
Waukegan, Ill., is saying goodbye to manufacturing and hello to lakefront living. The small town north of Chicago wants to capitalize on its greatest asset—Lake Michigan—and transform the industrial lakefront area into a vibrant mix of residential, retail, and recreational offerings. But there are major roadblocks: the relocation of a National Gypsum Co. wallboard plant and a Lafarge cement distribution centers, not to mention the EPA-mandated environmental cleanup of contaminants in the harbor, which could cost up to $36 million. Plus, more than 80 workers from the two plants would be displaced if the plan goes forward. Read more
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Homeowners aren't the only ones facing a major housing crunch. Nationally, the number of working families paying more than half their income for rental housing (both multifamily and single-family) more than doubled from 1 million to 2.1 million between 1997 and 2005, according to Read more
Back in the Saddle: Steady Cap Rates
The condo boom? Busted. The credit crisis? Overblown. As real estate markets continue to adjust to recessionary conditions in the for-sale arena, business in multifamily rental properties is finally getting back to normal. Acquiring land is suddenly competitive again; due diligence periods are increasing; cap rate spreads are beginning to decompress across product lines; and buyers, sellers, and lenders alike are exercising more traditional levels of conservative scrutiny and pricing expectations when it comes to closing the deal. Read more
Indianapolis
Life in the Fast Lane: Indianapolis Mulitfamily Market
It's a timeworn truism: Different markets see vast improvement at different times. For Indianapolis, that time is now. After watching its Midwest neighbors, especially Chicago, see tremendous fundamental growth and market tightening over the past 12 to 18 months, the Indianapolis apartment market is now seeing marked advancement in effective rents and occupancy levels. With its diverse economy and population growth, Indianapolis has outperformed neighboring markets over the past year, and its economy is projected to grow at a faster pace than the national average into 2010. Read more
Dream Builder: The Centurion
For two Manhattan-based developers, The Centurion condominium project has been a waking dream. Their ardor stems from convincing legendary architect I.M. Pei and his son L.C. (Sandi) Pei to design it as their first ground-up, residential condominium building. Read more
New Ground: Apartment Construction Loans
For the past several years, all development plans have been indefinitely on hold for Gainesville, Fla.-based Collier Enterprises and Paradigm Properties, a developer of B-plus, garden-style apartments and student housing across Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Until 2007, most of Collier's customers were headed toward homeownership, courtesy of easy subprime access to credit. And the condo and townhome builders catering to those buyers? They were paying land prices with which the for-rent developer could ill afford to compete. Read more
When it comes to online lease-ups, multifamily companies have always taken their fair share of knocks for failing to deliver a seamless point-and-click experience for prospective residents and property managers alike. But the industry is done dipping its toes in the waters and has leapt into something that could amount to a tidal wave of change in this area: accepting electronic signatures online. With several pilots, trials, and beta runs of the technology currently nearing completion, industry observers say a legally binding lease signed electronically over the Internet should be achievable by the end of the year. Read more
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Hot Product of the Month: Thermique Towel Warmer
Thermique Technologies' towel warmer is the ultimate bathroom luxury item. Read more
Outside In: Building Envelopes
The building envelope—the complex framework of materials that serves as the exterior and interior walls—is arguably the most important part of a structure. If the envelope is engineered and constructed properly, it will have a “tight” building envelope—one that is structurally sound, fire-resistant, energy-efficient, and quiet. Without a tight envelope, the building is doomed to a life of poor performance, experts warn. Read more
The 12-unit Silverado Flats, tucked on a quiet cul de sac just 2 miles from the University of Arizona campus, is a brilliant example of how to go green in style. Sure, the sustainable elements offer essential energy and water savings. But the carefully designed green features also serve as focal points of the community and help create a chic, ultra-modern vibe. Read more