News
9/30/2011 On Oct. 1, the conforming loan limit will decrease, from $729,750 to $625,500, though most counties will fall below the $625,500 maximum.
9/29/2011 In 17 U.S. cities in July, Case-Shiller reports that home prices actually increased! Las Vegas and Phoenix were two markets that remained in decline.
7/20 – Essex Skyline at MacArthur Place (349 units) is 98% leased. Essex Property Trust, a Palo Alto-based REIT with more than 27,000 units, purchased the property from the lender in March 2010 for $128 million, or about 55% of replacement costs. Units lease from $2,275 a month for a one bedroom unit on a lower floor to $11,500 a month for a 2,840-square-foot penthouse on the 25th floor. The average rent is $3,000 a month. Originally conceived as a luxury condo tower, the lender foreclosed in 2009. Essex bought it and converted to apartments. The buildings are the county’s tallest residential towers. (From OC Register)
7/17 For calendar month June — latest DataQuick stats — 98 residences sold in Garden Grove vs. 122 deals closed in the matching period a year ago — a 19.7% decline over the past 12 months. Multifamily rents are trending upward. Jeff Knowles
7-12 Next spring, the US Government is going to force home buyers to come up with 20% down. This will help those in the multifamily business but damage the overall economy.
7-5 - There’s been a 200 net gain in OC construction jobs as compared to 2010 at this time.
6-22 – * U.S. rents are projected to rise 5.1% this year, with vacancy of 5% to 6%. * So. CA will lag behind these statistics, due to jobs and the overall economy. * Apartments represent 50% of the U.S. rental stock, with townhomes, condos and single-family homes making up the other half of rentals. (MPF Research Greg Willett)
6-16 - The level of commercial real estate loan distress appears to be at or nearing its peak – a welcome sign that the worst of the Great Recession may have passed (CoStar)
6/13 - A 23.53-acre property in Las Vegas, that sold for $30.2 million in 2007 has been sold at foreclosure for $4.4 million. Local Newport Beach investor Dominic Magliarditi had planned to develop the site.
5/31 -Orange County home values have fallen a collective $5.4 billion in six months (Real Estate Research Council of So. CA)
5/27 – A few Good Quotes
“The stock market is a giant distraction from the business of investing.” John Bogle
“A true bubble is when something is overvalued and intensely believed.” Peter Thiel
“The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Mark Twain
5/26 – Article, “To Big to Fail” A “what-happened” look at the melt down of 2007
——- The commercial mortgage-backed securities market is returning to life, and could provide additional liquidty for sales transactions. (CoStar)
5/24 – Seventeen lawyers from the CA Department of Justice will pursue fraudulent lending practices (story)
5/23 - A local LLC bought a bank-owned lot near Angel Stadium for $8.5 Million. The site, entitled for 320 condominiums, will be developed as apartments.
5/23 – The sales slump is widespread as the OC Register found homebuying dips in all OC areas.
5/19-The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.63% for the week ended 5-18-2011, down from 4.93% a year ago. (WSJ)
5/18- Over 50% of Americans don’t think a housing recover will happen until after 2014. (up from 34% in 2010) - OC Register
Real Estate Bubble? 70.2% of the acquisitions made from 2005-2007 that sold in the first quarter of 2011 sold at a lower price (CoStar)
U.S. multifamily properties sales dollar volume jumped 40% in the first quarter over the same period last year (over 4,000 transactions)
Orange County apartment owners are getting roughly half the rent hikes that their peers nationwide are able to obtain (Reis Inc. Article Lasner – OC Register)
Demolish! the Saddleback Inn, says Santa Ana to the owners of this long-time vacant hotel.
Phoenix Realty Group bought 432 Inland Empire apartment units from Fannie Mae, which had foreclosed in 2009. In 18 months, occupancy was raised from 80% to 95% (BizJournals.com)
Multifamily Loan - originations (Jan – March, 2011) were 89% higher than during the same period last year. (Mortgage Bankers Association Survey- CoStar)
716 More Blockbuster Stores are going dark (closing!) - NNN Investments were the “go-to” 1031-exchange property-type for years. NNN is a riskier investment these days.