The Seattle-Tacoma metro area is one of the top-performing multifamily commercial real estate markets in the nation. Locally, employers are adding jobs at one of the fastest paces in the country, supporting a strong rental market in the region. In Tacoma, State Farm and other companies have energized the area’s economy and strengthened its apartment operations. In Seattle, companies like Amazon, Zillow and Julep Beauty are supporting new job growth, and many of these new job opportunities are attracting young workers who need apartments. There were 8,800 jobs were created in the metro in the beginning of the year. About 130,000 workers were added to payrolls over the past three years. The primary renter cohort of residents between the ages of 20 and 34 years old grew nearly twice as fast as the metro population in 2013, greatly increasing the need for apartments. This year, strong job growth will also support demand for area rentals as the total jobs in the metro will rise nearly 4 percent above the pre-recession high. While there are plenty of new jobs, the median household income needed to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home in the metro is $83,150, assuming a 20 …
VISALIA, CALIF. – Laurel Court at Quail Park, a 40-unit memory care community in Visalia, has received a $9.4-million refinance. The facility is located at 5050 W. Tulare Ave. It is operated by Living Care Lifestyles. The cash-out refinance was arranged by Stuart Oswald of NorthMarq Capital’s Seattle regional office through the firm’s correspondent relationship with a life insurance company.
A blistering cold winter lingered into the late spring and left the commercial real estate market in the Grand Traverse region frozen. Businesses waited for the market and the temperatures to thaw, and a third-quarter surge has activity back on track. From Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, property sales totaled $10.3 million and 221,136 square feet, including 118,515 square feet of industrial/warehouse buildings, 79,463 square feet of professional/medical office space, and 23,158 square feet of retail/restaurant space. That‘s slightly ahead of last year’s pace. During the first three quarters of 2013, property sales totaled $9.9 million and 207,845 square feet, including 121,469 square feet of industrial/warehouse buildings, 44,160 square feet of professional/medical office space, and 42,216 square feet of retail/restaurant space. The office sector posted about a 9 percent increase in the average sales per square foot during the first three quarters of 2014, while the industrial warehouse market recorded an increase of approximately 5 percent. The retail/ restaurant sector saw a 9 percent drop in the average sales per square foot The reduction in the average sales price in the retail/restaurant market sector is mostly due to the lack of quality inventory. This lack of inventory in our market …
This word problem title easily portrays the current state of the New Orleans metropolitan multifamily market. The past decade can be recorded as positive in asset appreciation, sales, rent and occupancy growth. Unlike the majority of multifamily markets in other cities, metro New Orleans has numerous barriers to entry. The market has a trifecta of sorts in that we have an ever-rising demand with a restrained supply due to the city’s geography, socio-economic factors and neighborhood resistance. All of these factors are contributing to the stability and positive outlook for the multifamily market going forward. The proof is in the numbers; overall occupancy for the seven submarkets in the New Orleans Metro is a firm 94 percent, with the majority of these markets reporting 95 to 97 percent occupancy levels. In the past 12 months, the market has experienced 2 to 4 percent rent growth even in submarkets that have seen the introduction of new inventory. The barriers to entry in the market provide owners with a “franchise” of sorts in that the introduction of significant new inventory is highly unlikely. Average rents in metro New Orleans are $1.05 per square foot. Newer suburban developments are averaging rents in the …
SAN DIEGO – The 36-unit Hillcrest Apartments in the San Diego submarket of Hillcrest has received $7.4 million in construction-permanent financing. The community will be located at 4021 Eighth Ave. Financing will be used to develop the property, which is scheduled for completion in early 2016. The construction loan converts to a permanent loan at stabilization. The loan also carries an earn-out feature that allows the borrower to draw additional loan dollars at stabilization. It features a 4.2 percent rate with an interest-only period of up to 27 months. Financing was arranged by HFF’s Aldon Cole and Bryan Clark on behalf of Veritas Urban Properties. The 12-year, fixed-rate loan was arranged through a correspondent life company lender.
SAUSALITO, CALIF. – Greystone’s recently expanded West Coast operations team has funded three Western-based multifamily loans totaling $46.5 million. The loans include a $23.4-million refinance for a 90-unit community in Sausalito, Calif.; a $10.4-million refinance for a Class A multifamily project in Mountain View, Calif.; and a $12.7-million acquisition loan for a Class A multifamily property in Goodyear, Ariz. The Sausalito loan features a 12-year term with five years of interest-only. The other two loans feature 10-year terms. Financing was originated by Tim Thompson of Greystone’s San Francisco office under the Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) program include.
Multifamily remains the most desirable asset class in Orange County due to a steady increase in apartment rental demand, strong sector fundamentals and the county’s emergence as a Southern California leader in the economic recovery. These factors have become a catalyst for a surge in multifamily asset construction. Apartment rental demand continues to grow in Orange County due to the high barriers to entry in the housing market and recent memories of the Great Recession. Median home values, which now exceed $580,000, place home ownership out of reach for many households. Orange County’s population also grew 4.31 percent from 2010 through 2014, according to Census data. This growth pattern is predicted to hold through 2019, with an expected increase in population of 5.17 percent, or an average of 32,478 residents annually. Orange County’s emergence as a leader in Southern California’s economic recovery is evidenced by superior employment rates in comparison to competing markets. Orange County experienced a high unemployment rate of 10.2 percent in January 2012. That rate has now declined 4.89 percent, as of May 2014. Orange County’s employment figures have increased investor confidence in the region, especially when compared to the national average of 6.3 percent, California’s 7.8 …
Today’s Kansas City apartment fundamentals resemble the height of the 2007 market as jobs, deliveries, building permits, occupancy and rents are up. The availability of financing for developers and investors, along with the temperate economic recovery, portends further operational strength and investment activity in the near term. Job growth in the metro area this year has been positive. The end of the first quarter saw a full rebound of the job losses that occurred in late 2013. Through the first half of 2014, total payroll employment expanded by 5,200 jobs, an increase of 0.5 percent compared with the end of 2013. The local unemployment rate at the end of the second quarter of 2014 was 6.3 percent. Some 4,200 additional new jobs are projected for the second half of 2014, which would bring the area nonfarm job count to only 1,800 under its 2007 high of 1,018,300. Supply and Demand Apartment developers are expected to deliver new product in time to meet the demand created by the new jobs. By year’s end, construction is scheduled to be completed on 3,750 new apartments for multifamily properties of 100 or more units. New construction has been ramping up since the first quarter …
We are seeing several trends emerge in the Los Angeles multifamily development sector as we move into the second half of 2014. These trends are influenced by several factors, including job growth, local economy and public infrastructure. The unemployment rate in Los Angeles County has continued to tick downward with true job growth across all sectors, which, in return, has had a direct influence on multifamily project starts. Job growth has been exponential in certain markets, including West Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles and Tri-Cities (Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena), creating natural household formations to accommodate the swell of rental demand. Job growth, along with the creation of a comprehensive public transportation system, will continue to drive multifamily development and construction in a way the City of Los Angeles has never seen before. The construction pipeline has swelled to 14,500 rental units, including 12,200 market-rate units. At the end of the first quarter, nearly 29,000 rentals were planned in the county, which is roughly 50 percent higher than the number of units on the drawing board one year ago. With the subway expansion, areas of town that were once deemed undesirable by developers and residents are now being sought after in …
To say that 2014 has been filled with great excitement for Cleveland would be an understatement. In early July, the Republican National Committee selected Cleveland as the host city for its 2016 convention. That same month, NBA star LeBron James announced his intent to return to his hometown Cavaliers. Beyond those splashy headlines, during the first half of the year several real estate projects were announced. The planned projects combined with those already under construction or completed since 2010 represent $5.5 billion in public and private investment in downtown Cleveland. Apartment Building Boom One of the most significant stories in Cleveland is that the residential boom downtown continues to gain momentum. The overall occupancy rate in the apartment sector within the CBD rose from 94.5 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to just over 98 percent at mid-year, according to a recent study released by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. As a result, new projects continue to pile up in an effort to meet the ever-increasing demand. In addition to the 1,000-plus rental units currently under construction, there are now more than 1,100 units in various planning stages. Projects announced since the first of the year include The Standard Building …