Author: ipgocorp

(RECAP: On April 26, HUD issued Notice CPD-16-07 providing guidance to Housing Trust Fund (HTF) grantees on the submission requirements for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 HTF Allocation Plans. The Notice includes important information on the HTF allocation plan process, including how HUD will notify states of their allocation, required elements of the allocation plan, and guidance on revising state strategic plans and describes changes HUD has made to the consolidated plan regulations to account for the HTF allocation plan process. The Notice also details the process by which HUD will review and approve or disapprove of HTF allocation plans. States will need to review their current strategic plan to determine how the additional HTF resources will impact that plan and amend the strategic plan accordingly even if the state is not due to submit a full five-year consolidated plan in 2016.)

LOS ANGELES, CA – Kermit the Frog was wrong. It really is easy to be green! But it’s important to first understand what being “green” really means.

Most people think of energy efficiency, recycling and drought-tolerant landscaping and believe that LEED Certification, or one of the other rating systems, is the stamp of approval for inclusion of all of those things and more. But, you may not realize that you can be certified without doing any of those things. In California, if you just meet the minimum building code requirements and go through the cost of having a third-party verification, nearly every single new development could be LEED Certified.

Probably the most important step to getting certified is first selecting a site that meets all of the prerequisites of the rating system, but more importantly, this can put you well on your way to getting to one of the higher rating levels.

Primera Terra and Skylar’s location in Playa Vista in Los Angeles County helped the builder, KB Home, achieve a LEED Platinum rating, the highest rating the USGBC has. But even more than that, Primera Terra was named the 2011 LEED for Homes Multifamily Project of the Year and Skylar achieved an astounding 95 points when all that is needed for Platinum is 80.

It takes an experienced design team who understands sustainability and a developer who embraces it like KB. The development and design team also has to be willing to control their construction waste and monitor the carbon footprint of the materials they use, both in the manufacturing and delivery of the products, along with numerous other things.

The first ABC Green Home was designed to demonstrate how the homebuilding industry could build a single-family home that was “Affordable, Buildable and Certifiable”… ABC. The design began with some low-tech ideas like simply using 2×6 studs in the exterior walls. By going to 24” spacing, eliminating the double plate and using drywall clips at the corners, we were able to double the insulation value of the exterior walls while at the same time actually using less wood product than conventional 2×4 construction. That’s just one example of how you can be green and a big part of what allowed the ABC Green Home to attain the highest certification from all six major rating services.

There’s a bit of a difference between what the value of being certified or green means between a rental property and one that’s for sale. The energy and water efficiency mean a lot more to a buyer than a renter. In fact, I believe that a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index is more import there than any LEED or other certification. It’s like looking at the window sticker on a car and knowing what your expected gas mileage will be.

On the rental side, many equity investors, especially the Dutch and Chinese, require LEED Certification; however, my feeling is that the renter really doesn’t care about certifications. If there are two competing properties with similar rents and amenities, then certification may be a differentiator.

One final thought I would like to leave with you is how you can make those Millennials buy into being green. Almost every one of them grew up with a PlayStation, Wii or some other gaming platform, so what you need to do is make energy conservation a video game! In the property lobby you need to place a dedicated video monitor that displays the consumption of electricity, gas and water, or whichever of those you have and can monitor, but in this case low score wins. You would be amazed how green these Super Mario and World of Warcraft veterans can be!

Article By: Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, LEED AP and principal is the senior partner with international award-winning KTGY Architecture + Planning. He is based in Los Angeles and can be reached at (310) 394-2623 or mgonzalez@ktgy.com.

RICHMOND, VA – CAPREIT, a national real estate development and investment company responsible for the ownership and management of more than $5 billion of multifamily assets, announced the acquisition of a five-community portfolio in the Richmond area.

The apartment communities feature a combined 978 apartment homes in the east-central portion of the state, spanning Richmond, Midlothian, Petersburg and Williamsburg. While CAPREIT will initiate a handful of exterior and interior preservations and updates, no large-scale renovations are in the works, allowing the communities to remain affordable for middle-class families.

“Our hope with this acquisition is to help the State of Virginia preserve affordable housing for its police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses and all other members of the middle class,” said Rick Band, a Senior Vice President of CAPREIT. “The apartment industry in Virginia, like many in the nation, is booming, resulting in the renovation of many apartment communities into Class A assets. But middle-class families, who can’t afford luxury rents, still need a reputable home that won’t price them out of the city. These communities do just that, and we intend to keep it that way.”

All five communities feature 2- and 3-bedroom homes notable for an open living space, which includes spacious layouts, an abundance of closet and storage space, large bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Each community is already equipped with a pool and fitness center.

Overlook at Brook Run (282 apartment homes) and The Glenns at Miller Lane (144) are transit-friendly communities based in the Henrico portion of Richmond. Overlook at Brook Run is situated just west of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike and The Glenns at Miller Lane just south of Interstate 64, allowing expedient access for residents of each community to many of the state’s key locales and business centers. Richmond contains six Fortune 500 companies, including medical distributor Owens & Minor Inc.

Creekpointe contains 214 apartment homes in Midlothian and is located just north of Swift Creek Reservoir, a 5.2-billion-gallon, manmade lake that is fed by eight tributary creeks and accounts for 20 percent of the drinking water in Chesterfield County. Lieutenants Run consists of 168 homes and is based in a picturesque wooded neighborhood in Petersburg, only minutes from Fort Lee and Interstate 95. Longhill Grove (170 homes) is located 7 miles from Colonial Williamsburg at the east edge of Freedom Park and is minutes away from Interstate 64, the state’s key east-west corridor.

 With the addition of these five communities, CAPREIT currently owns and operates nearly 14,000 apartment residences across the nation.

(RECAP: Younger adults are finding themselves moving to higher-priced housing markets to be closer to more employment options. The housing market has historically seen younger adults rent and wait to buy a house later in life. One of the biggest reasons they were waiting was that they found job security an integral part of their decision. This “job-centric” approach to home buying demonstrates this group’s affinity for foresight and planning. Many recent graduates have high student loan payments and want to ensure stable and long-term employment is within reach.)

LOS ANGELES, CA – Hanover Company recently opened the doors to its newest LA property, Hanover Olympic. This property is unique to the company as it will lease out 20 apartment homes with Eco-Green finishes.

Olympic’s Eco-Green community is the first of its kind for Hanover who has properties across the country already featuring the environmentally conscious LEED certification. This certification is a symbol that a property has made the conscious decision to make a property more sustainable with energy saving features benefiting water, energy conservation, and more.

While the new Olympic property is LEED registered, the most notable environmentally friendly features are the 20 apartments powered by rooftop solar panels. These living spaces are equipped with Nest thermostats, occupancy sensors, an iPad to monitor energy consumption, and energy efficient finishes. The new eco features are designed for residents wanting to live a more green life without sacrificing the luxuries and comfort that come with living in downtown LA.

This property is on the forefront of buildings being built with the environment in mind. The state of California has consistently led the way towards environmentally friendly commercial and residential buildings. Efficiency standards for new buildings took effect on new construction January 1, 2014 and continues to keep California as the nation’s leader in energy efficient structures. These standards looks to increase energy savings by 25% for homes and 30% for commercial buildings. 

Hanover Olympic is located in Downtown L.A. at 936 South Olive Street, just minutes from the Staples Center and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

SEATTLE, WA – Walk Score, a Redfin company, released its 2016 ranking of the most walkable U.S. cities with populations over 300,000. With a Walk Score of 88.9, New York remains the nation’s most walkable city.

Long Beach, California (69) is the only Southern California city included in the top 10, narrowly beating out Baltimore (68.7). Long Beach also had the largest yearly increase of all 10 cities, up 3.2 points.

“Recognizing Long Beach as the most walkable city in Southern California, and one of the most walkable in the entire country, is a testament to the hard work we’ve been doing to improve and expand pedestrian infrastructure and support safe and convenient travel for everyone,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. “We intend to continue making Long Beach a great place to walk and to live, work and visit.”

Notable Improvements in Walkability:

All of the top 10 cities saw an increase in their respective Walk Score ratings, indicating that the nation’s largest cities are becoming more walkable. Among the top 50 most walkable cities, only two, Honolulu (63.3) and Columbus, Ohio (40.4) had Walk Scores that improved by less than a point.

“Improving a city’s Walk Score takes work. In these communities, construction crews have built an invitation for walking,” said Eric Scharnhorst, livability analyst at Redfin. “Safer sidewalks are now connected to a greater variety of everyday amenities. This creates opportunities for both local businesses and families.”

Omaha, which ranked 32nd, had the largest year-over-year Walk Score increase among the 50 most walkable cities, with an improvement of 4.3 points. With a Walk Score of 45.4, the city is still considered “car dependent,” but many neighborhoods saw big gains in their ratings.

St. Louis, Missouri, Denver, Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, Santa Ana, California as well as Austin and Houston in Texas all saw a Walk Score increase of four points or more.

FORT COLLINS, CO – Core Spaces, a Chicago-based real estate development and management firm known for offering modern, trend-setting student housing with a wide variety of amenities, has acquired a three-year old, 665-bed community at Prospect and College avenues, one block from Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

The purchase, which closed April 19, was the first for Core Spaces since the firm established its acquisitions platform with the hiring of former Harrison Street executive Brian Thompson in September 2015. The firm previously completed six other student housing communities as ground-up developments.

“This community was an ideal fit with our objective of adding complementary assets to our portfolio, including not only on- and off-campus student housing, but also potentially campus-adjacent hotels, infrastructure and other education-related real estate,” says Mr. Thompson, Director of Acquisitions. “This was an exciting opportunity to acquire an attractive, well-located, good-performing asset with even greater upside potential.”

Core Spaces plans to tap that potential by significantly renovating the five-story building before the start of the fall semester, adding a wide variety of sophisticated indoor and outdoor luxuries with all the comforts of home.

“Core Spaces is well known throughout the country for offering exceptional, luxurious housing that fits with today’s college students’ lifestyles,” says Benjamin F. Modleski, Core Spaces’ Chief Operating Officer. “We’re modernizing the State on Campus Fort Collins community to ensure that it meets our high standards and will be a place where college students truly want to live.” The community is currently 100 percent occupied and already 85 percent pre-leased for the 2016-17 school year.

Core Spaces is relocating the fitness center, increasing it to 2,500 square feet, and adding state-of-the-art equipment, free weights, stand-up tanning facilities, a yoga room and a sauna. The company also is improving the three outdoor courtyards with the addition of a hot tub, sand volleyball court, fire pits, barbecue grills, and gaming and gathering areas for relaxing and enjoying the mountain views.

Other areas to be improved include the lobby/reception area and offices and the addition of a 313-space parking garage. Finally, the company is expanding the computer lab with new computers, printers, four group study areas and individual study nooks.

Mr. Modleski noted that the renovation will be well positioned to capitalize on other new developments near Colorado State University that include a new University Hospital and an on-campus football stadium, which is slated for completion in 2017.

“CSU and the City of Fort Collins are thriving and regularly adding expanded services and new, updated facilities,” notes Mr. Modleski. “Then add in the mountains, the vibrant business district, all of the local attractions and beautiful views, and this area is without compare. At Core Spaces, we are very pleased to be part of such a dynamic community.”

MCLEAN, VA – Freddie Mac released its Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi), showing that many of the nation’s housing markets continue to improve with one more state, Michigan, returning to its historical benchmark level of housing activity.

The national MiMi value stands at 83, indicating a housing market that’s on the outer range of its historic benchmark level of housing activity, and little changed with a +0.36 percent improvement from January to February and a three-month improvement of +1.05 percent. However, on a year-over-year basis, the national MiMi value has improved +7.46 percent. Since its all-time low in October 2010, the national MiMi has rebounded 40 percent, but remains significantly off from its high of 121.7. 

News Facts:

Thirty-five of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia have MiMi values within range of their benchmark averages, with the District of Columbia (101.7), North Dakota (95.3), Hawaii (95.2), Montana (94.8) and Utah (94.6) ranking in the top five.

Fifty-nine of the 100 metro areas have MiMi values within range with Austin, TX (100.5), Denver, CO (100.8), Salt Lake City, UT (97.7), Honolulu, HI (97.4), and Los Angeles, CA (97.0) ranking in the top five.

The most improving states month over month were Tennessee (+1.93%), Mississippi (+1.46%), Texas (+1.11%), Oregon (+1.08%) and Nevada (+0.91%). On a year-over-year basis, the most improving states were Colorado (+15.54%), Florida (+15.33%), New Jersey (+14.37%), Oregon (+14.30%), and Nevada (+14.24%).

The most improving metro areas month over month were Youngstown, OH (+3.55%), Memphis, TN (+2.54%), Jackson, MS (+1.82%), Knoxville, TN (+1.58%) and Dallas, TX (+1.43%). On a year-over-year basis, the most improving metro areas were Orlando, FL (+19.88%), Denver, CO (+19.01%), Tampa, FL (+18.36%), Cape Coral, FL (+18.07%), and Portland, OR (+16.85).

In February, 36 of the 50 states and 68 of the top 100 metros were showing an improving three-month trend. The same time last year, 21 of the 50 states, and 69 of the top 100 metro areas were showing an improving three-month trend.

Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer stated, “The U.S. housing market is poised to have its best year in a decade. The National MiMi currently stands at 83, the highest since September of 2008. And the trends are nearly all positive. Home purchase applications are headed higher, with the National MiMi purchase applications indicator increasing nearly 12 percent from one year ago. The mortgage delinquency crisis is not completely behind us, but delinquencies are generally trending down, with the National MiMi current on mortgage indicator at 85.5, the highest reading since August 2008. Robust employment growth has helped drive the National MiMi employment indicator above its historic benchmark, and stands at 106.5, up nearly 6 percent from a year ago. The National MiMi payment-to-income indicator did fall 2.76 percent from the previous month due to lower mortgage interest rates. Lower rates are helping to support homebuyer affordability across the country, for the moment outweighing the impact of higher house prices.”

Kiefer  continued, “The national trends largely hold up across the country. We still see pockets of weakness in the Midwest and South, while the Northeast and West are generally doing better. But most markets in the Midwest and South are improving according to MiMi. For example, Michigan’s MiMi reading increased 7.49 percent year-over-year in February, moving within range of its historic benchmark.”

NEW YORK, NY – Mortgage rates increased for a second consecutive week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbing to 3.83 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.16 discount and origination points.

The larger jumbo 30-year fixed jumped to 3.76 percent, and the average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.05 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates were higher as well, with the 5-year ARM rising to 3.21 percent and the 7-year ARM moving higher to 3.44 percent.   

Mortgage rates moved higher for a second week in a row, rising to a one-month high. The movement occurred in the run-up to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting as investors hedged against the possibility of stronger hints from the Fed about coming interest rate hikes. That didn’t happen, and almost immediately bond yields began to retrace their steps. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds. With the Fed playing it close to the vest about their interest rate intentions, the likelihood is that low rates will be around a while longer. This should keep a lid on mortgage rates, and may push them down further, amid the flurry of economic activity in the week ahead.

At the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.83 percent, the monthly payment for a $200,000 loan is $935.33. 

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 3.83% — up from 3.75% last week (avg. points: 0.16)

15-year fixed: 3.05% — up from 3.00% last week (avg. points: 0.16)

5/1 ARM: 3.21% — up from 3.13% last week (avg. points: 0.18)

Bankrate’s national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in 10 top markets.

For a full analysis of this week’s move in mortgage rates, go to www.bankrate.com

The survey is complemented by Bankrate’s weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. There is no consensus feeling this week with 46 percent predicting mortgage rates will tumble. The remaining respondents are evenly divided, with 27 percent forecasting further increases and 27 percent expecting mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged in the coming week.

PALO ALTO, CA – Consumer awareness of the connected home is growing quickly, according to findings released from connected home studies that were fielded by Kelton Global and Research Now in the U.S. earlier this year. Commissioned by Nest, the studies were designed to uncover consumer sentiment about the connected home market.

Findings include:

Eighty-one percent of Americans either own or are interested in purchasing a connected home product in the next year.

To Americans, the main benefit of having a connected home product is increased convenience (54 percent), followed by increased security (44 percent), a reduced energy bill (38 percent) and boosted home value (21 percent).

Thirty-eight percent of Americans are more interested in connected home products today than they were six months ago.

The increased interest is also reflected in the retail environment.

“Connected home products like the Nest Thermostat are among one of the fastest growing categories in the retail environment,” said Amanda Parrilli, Director of Connected Home, Home Depot. “And considering the connected home is really just starting to take off, the potential for the market is incredibly exciting.”

Family and Home are Top Priorities

The average connected consumer is family- and home-oriented. An overwhelming 89 percent said spending time with family is their first priority, yet approximately half (51 percent) rarely have enough time in the day to do all they need. Perhaps that’s why 63 percent wish that their home could just take care of itself. Fifty-six percent feel it’s more important that their home is comfortable than looks good, and 73 percent love their home and want to live in it for a long time.

Home Safety Top of Mind

Increased safety and security continue to be compelling reasons to integrate connected home technology with 44 percent of Americans indicating this as a key benefit of having connected products. Fifty-four percent value the convenience they offer, such as the ability to monitor and control their home from anywhere.

Reducing monthly bills and environmental benefits are also key motivators for consumers to install connected home products, with 38 percent pointing to reduction in home energy bills as a benefit of connected home products. Fifty-nine percent of Americans also indicated they worry about their energy consumption.

Consumers Remain Cautious, But Are Willing to Spend for Ease of Use

Despite growing awareness of connected home products like thermostats, Americans are concerned about keeping their personal information secure online (82 percent) and worry that the technology in their home will quickly become outdated (43 percent). Understandably, they are willing to pay extra for high quality electronics in their homes (63 percent). Americans just want the technology in their home to work well together (86 percent).

New Technology Disrupting Established Home Brands

When it comes to specific products in the home, Nest is gaining brand awareness in comparison to long-established thermostat companies. Asked which thermostats for the home come to mind, a growing number of Americans are naming Nest over established brands. Nest Thermostat unaided awareness grew from 6 percent in 2013 to 26 percent in 2016.

Awareness of connected home brands gradually increases with household income levels. However, across multiple income levels, more than half of Americans can name at least one connected home brand.

When asked which brands in the “connected or smart home” space came to mind, 21 percent named Nest as the top brand, while Apple takes second place with 12 percent of mentions and Samsung follows with 8 percent of mentions.

“Once viewed as luxury items, connected home products are now reaching mainstream consumers across all ages and incomes,” said Tom Bernthal, founder and CEO, Kelton Global. “What this study tells us is that the connected home space is heating up with a few important brands paving the way and more consumers than ever considering the benefits of embracing the connected lifestyle.”