WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) have praised the Biden administration on the release of the Housing Supply Action Plan, which aims to alleviate the housing affordability crisis and lower costs for renters. Under the plan, the administration outlined new measures that would produce more housing supply, including more affordable housing units, over the course of the next five years. The plan includes several concepts previously proposed in the Build Back Better bill that passed in the House but stalled in the Senate. Though the NMHC and NAA have acknowledged that there is no “single magic bullet” that can solve the nation’s housing shortage, they underlined that the current crisis is the result of decades of policy failures to address the growing shortage of housing production. In their reaction, both associations point to research conducted by Hoyt Advisory Services that found that the U.S. will need to build an average of 328,000 apartments every year through 2030 to keep up with national demand. That mark has only been achieved five times since 1989. The NMHC and NAA states they are particularly encouraged by specific aspects of the proposed policy. The NAA recently …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations increased 72 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same period last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). In line with seasonality trends, originations during the first three months of 2022 were 39 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2021. By property type, loan originations for hotels increased by 359 percent year-over-year, followed by industrial (145 percent), retail (88 percent), healthcare (81 percent), multifamily (57 percent) and office (30 percent). Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for depositories (banks) increased by 194 percent year-over-year, followed by life insurance companies (81 percent), investor-driven lenders (77 percent), conduit lenders (56 percent), and government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (1 percent). Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research, says that the year-over-year swing in loan volume is the result of strong demand for the various real estate categories. The veteran economist says rising interest rates could be a fly in the ointment for borrowers for the foreseeable future. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed at 2.93 percent on May 13, up from 1.63 percent at the start of the year. …
ARLINGTON, VA. — Boeing (NYSE: BA) has chosen Arlington as the site for its new global headquarters due to the city’s proximity to Washington, D.C., and strong client and talent base in the region. The aerospace and defense giant is moving its headquarters from Chicago, where the firm plans to maintain a significant office presence. In addition to the corporate relocation, Boeing plans to develop a research and tech hub in Arlington to support and train Boeing employees in the areas of cyber security, autonomous operations, quantum sciences and software and systems engineering. Details about the campus and the construction timeline were not disclosed. Boeing’s stock price closed on Thursday, May 5 at $150.47 per share, down from $229.81 a year ago, a 34.5 percent decline.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 428,000 in April, while the 3.6 percent unemployment rate was unchanged from the prior month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Dow Jones economists had projected job gains of 400,000 in April and were expecting the unemployment rate to drop to 3.5 percent, according to CNBC. Once again, the employment sector with the largest gain was leisure and hospitality, which posted 78,000 new jobs last month. The 4.8 percent unemployment rate in the leisure and hospitality sector was the lowest rate since September 2019, though employment remains down by 8.5 percent from February 2020. The BLS reports that average hourly earnings for leisure and hospitality workers was up 11 percent year-over-year last month. Other employment sectors with notable net gains in April included manufacturing (55,000 jobs), transportation and warehousing (52,000) and professional and business services (41,000). Construction, information and government sectors showed little employment change over the past month. Total nonfarm payroll employment in February was revised downward from 750,000 to 714,000, according to the BLS, and the March figure was revised downward from 431,000 to 428,000. With these revisions, employment in February and March combined was 39,000 lower …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint venture between Akridge, National Real Estate Advisors, Blue Coast Capital and Bridge Investment Group has broken ground on the first phase of The Stacks, a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use project in Washington, D.C. Bank OZK is providing a $367 million construction loan for the first phase of the development. William Collins, Bindi Shah, Marshall Scallan and Shaun Weinberg of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the loan. The construction timeline was not disclosed. The first phase of The Stacks will include three rental residential towers totaling more than 1,100 apartments. At full buildout, the master-planned development will offer 2,000 residential units, as well as two hotels, public parks and gathering spaces and about 80,000 square feet of retail space. The property will also feature a variety of creative working spaces, as well as below-grade parking and loading. Gensler, Morris Adjmi Architects, Eric Colber & Associates, Handel Architects, West 8 and Lee and Associates Inc. are the designers for the first phase of the project.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total amount of commercial and multifamily loans that mortgage bankers closed in 2021 at $683.2 billion was 55 percent higher than the $441.5 billion reported in 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s 2021 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual Origination Volume Summation. Multifamily mortgage lending took the lead last year at $376 billion, followed by loans for office buildings, industrial properties, retail, hotel/motel and healthcare properties. Depositories, such as banks, were the leading capital source for mortgage banker originated loans in 2021, responsible for $157 billion of the total. Private label commercial mortgage backed security (CMBS) saw the second-highest volume at $141 billion, followed by government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, life insurance companies and pension funds and investor-driven lenders. MBA estimates that total commercial real estate mortgage lending — including activity from small and mid-sized lenders not tracked by MBA — totaled $890.6 billion in 2021, a 45 percent increase over 2020 at $614 billion and a 25 percent increase over the previous annual record of $713 billion in 2019. “Improving property fundamentals and strong price appreciation drove borrowing and lending backed by commercial and multifamily properties to new highs in …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 in March, while the unemployment rate decreased from 3.8 percent in February to 3.6 percent last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Dow Jones economists predicted approximately 490,000 jobs with a 3.7 percent unemployment rate, according to CNBC. Total employment remains down by 1.6 million from what it was in February 2020, or 1 percent. The BLS also reports that the average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 13 cents to $31.73 last month. This figure was much higher than what it rose to in February, which only saw an increase of 1 cent in February over the prior month. Over the past 12 months, the average hourly earnings have grown by 5.6 percent. Wages are still being outstripped by inflation as the BLS found that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 7.9 percent in February compared to February 2021. As it was in previous months, the biggest job growth was led by gains in leisure and hospitality (+112,000), including growth in food services and drinking places (+61,000). However, since its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, employment in the sector …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Avanath Capital Management LLC has acquired 2M Street Apartments, a 315-unit multifamily community in Washington, D.C., for $103.5 million. The seller was not disclosed. Built in 2014, 2M Street is an apartment community that offers studio, one- and two-bedroom floorplans. Unit features include fully equipped kitchens, balconies, breakfast nooks, granite countertops and washers and dryers in-unit. Community amenities include a basketball court, onsite maintenance, media center, movie theater, pool and a fitness center. The apartment community was designed to meet LEED Gold standards. Located at 2 M St. NE, the property is situated close to the Capitol Building and is 1.6 miles from downtown.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 678,000 in February, while the unemployment rate decreased from 4 percent in January to 3.8 percent last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Still, the total nonfarm employment is down by 2.1 million, or 1.4 percent, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. The BLS reports that average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 1 cent in February over the prior month, or 0.03 percent. The year-over-year wage increase was 5.13 percent. The biggest job growth was led by gains in leisure and hospitality (+124,000). However, since February 2020, employment in the sector is still down by 1.5 million, or 9 percent. Other notable gains were in professional and business services (+95,000), healthcare (+64,000) and construction (+60,000). Additionally, jobs in transportation and warehousing rose by 48,000 last month and is 584,000 higher than two years ago. Employment changed very little in information and government jobs.
In the District of Columbia, a prudent taxpayer must observe important steps and deadlines to appeal a real property tax assessment. Strict code provisions, government policies and procedures govern the appeal process, so understanding the typical life cycle of an appeal provides a head start in making sure a property is fairly assessed. Here is a look at what to expect as a case advances: Assessment and Notification Assessors reassess all real property in the District each year using a Jan. 1 valuation date that precedes the start of that tax year. For example, Tax Year 2023 runs from Oct. 1, 2022 through Sept. 30, 2023. Thus, corresponding assessed values are as of Jan. 1, 2022. The District typically will mail assessment values and update the MyTaxDC.gov website on or around March 1 each year, sending its estimate of market value to the owners of more than 205,500 parcels. This will be the taxpayer’s first glimpse of the valuation and potential tax liability for the following tax year. These assessed values are released without supporting documentation, however. To determine how an assessor derived the value, the taxpayer or a duly authorized agent must contact the Office of Tax and Revenue …