District of Columbia

Joint Venture Breaks Ground on 2 MSF Stacks Mixed-Use Property in D.C.

by Julia Sanders April 22, 2022

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.

April 22, 2022

District of Columbia Loans Multifamily Southeast

MBA: Commercial, Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Closed 55 Percent More Loans in 2021

by Julia Sanders April 18, 2022

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 …

April 18, 2022

District of Columbia Southeast

US Economy Added 431,000 Jobs in March, Unemployment Rate Dropped to 3.6 Percent

by Julia Sanders April 1, 2022

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 …

April 1, 2022

Acquisitions District of Columbia Multifamily Southeast

Avanath Capital Management Acquires 2M Street Apartments in D.C. for $103.5M

by Julia Sanders March 17, 2022

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.

March 17, 2022

District of Columbia Southeast

US Economy Added 678,000 Jobs in February, Wages Changed Little

by Julia Sanders March 4, 2022

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.

March 4, 2022

District of Columbia Features Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

The Tax Appeal Life Cycle in D.C. Goes Through Three Levels of Review

by John Nelson February 17, 2022

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 …

February 17, 2022

District of Columbia Loans Southeast

MBA: Fourth-Quarter Commercial, Multifamily Originations Increased 79 Percent

by Julia Sanders February 16, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total amount of commercial and multifamily mortgages originated in the fourth quarter of 2021 were up 79 percent compared to a year prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. “The fourth quarter of 2021 was a record end to a record year of borrowing and lending backed by commercial and multifamily properties,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Part of the growth from 2020 was a bounce-back from the worst of the recession. However, rebounding property fundamentals and strong valuations, record sales transaction volumes, and low interest rates all fueled commercial and multifamily borrowing and lending activity that easily outpaced previous periods.” The highest increases in commercial and multifamily lending volumes occurred in hotel, office, industrial and retail properties when compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. There was a 167 percent year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for hotel properties, a 122 percent increase for office properties, a 113 percent increase for industrial properties, a 109 percent increase for retail properties and a 57 percent increase for multifamily properties. On the flipside, however, healthcare property loan originations decreased 17 percent …

February 16, 2022

District of Columbia Loans Southeast

MBA Predicts Commercial, Multifamily Lending to Hit Record $1 Trillion in 2022

by Julia Sanders February 15, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total volume for commercial and multifamily mortgage originations is expected to hit a record of over $1 trillion in 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) forecast released on Monday at the 2022 Commercial/Multifamily Finance Convention and Expo. MBA’s forecast represents a 13 percent increase from 2021’s estimated volume of $900 billion. “2021 was a remarkable year for commercial real estate markets, and we expect 2022 to continue that momentum,” says Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president for commercial real estate research. “Commercial real estate lending volumes are closely tied to the values of the underlying properties. In 2021, those values rose by more than 20 percent, and those increases will fuel further demand for mortgage debt in the coming years. Continued increases in property incomes, and stability in the ways investors value those incomes, should also support solid demand for mortgage capital, even in the face of modest increases in interest rates.” In past years, MBA’s forecast targeted lending by dedicated commercial and multifamily lenders, which excluded mortgages made by many smaller and midsized depositories. The lending volumes in this year’s forecast includes those institutions. Multifamily lending is expected to reach $493 billion in 2022, …

February 15, 2022

Affordable Housing District of Columbia Loans Multifamily Southeast

Merchants Capital Secures $115M in Financing for Two Workforce Housing Developments in D.C.

by Julia Sanders February 9, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Merchants Capital has secured $115 million in total financing for Parkside 8 and Parkside 10, two workforce housing developments located in Washington, D.C. The borrowers, City Interests Development Partners and Ravinia Capital Group, are co-developing the overall project. Bridge Investment Group is managing the Opportunity Zone strategy on behalf of the developers. The construction timeline was not disclosed. Merchants Capital secured $56 million in construction financing through Merchants Bank of Indiana, as well as $59 million in permanent financing through Freddie Mac Non-Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) forward commitments and Freddie Mac permanent loans. Upon completion, Parkside 8 and 10 will feature 230 residential units and approximately 14,000 square feet of retail space. Within the new properties, select units will be reserved for residents earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of area median income (AMI). The multifamily buildings are part of Parkside, a 3.1 million-square-foot master-planned development that will include between 1,500 and 2,000 residential units, up to 50,000 square feet of retail space and 860,000 square feet of office space. Parkside will also feature a one-acre park and a new pedestrian bridge that crosses over Kenilworth Avenue and Interstate 295. Additionally, Parkside offers four neighborhood …

February 9, 2022

District of Columbia Southeast

US Economy Added 467,000 Jobs in January, Much Higher Than Expected

by Julia Sanders February 4, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 467,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate changed little from 3.9 percent in December to 4 percent in last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest job figures released Friday morning by BLS were significantly higher than Dow Jones’ estimate of nonfarm payroll employment of 150,000, according to CNBC. In addition, BLS revised the job gains for November and December upward by a combined 709,000. In January, job gains increased in leisure and hospitality (+151,000), professional and business services (+86,000), retail trade (+61,000) and in transportation and warehousing (+54,000). Additionally, employment in local government education increased by 29,000 last month but is still down by 359,000 from February 2020, a 4.4 percent difference. Jobs in healthcare increased by 18,000, and there was little change in employment for mining, construction, manufacturing, information, financial activities and other services. Additionally, the amount of employed people who worked from home due to the pandemic increased to 15.4 percent. This follows news of the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and a high number of cases during the holidays in December. The labor force participation rate increased to 62.2 percent, …

February 4, 2022

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