News
Cost Cutting: Public Apartment Firms Announce Scale Backs
Long considered a bastion of hope in a treacherous real estate climate, the apartment industry is now feeling the pain afflicting the rest of the economy. That’s evident in moves made by three major apartment REITs this week.
Construction Industry Braces for Significant Layoffs
An estimated two-thirds of the country’s nonresidential construction companies are planning to cut their payrolls this year, which will result in a projected 30 percent decline in the number of people working on construction projects, according to employment and business forecast figures released by the Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
Developers see diverse opportunities amid economic crisis
Multifamily developers would do best to spend the downturn finding opportunities that will generate upside sooner than their peers when the market returns. “For distressed real estate investors, this is their time,” says Jamie Woodwell, vice president of multifamily research at the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Blueprint for 2009: Construction & Development Opportunities
TO SUM UP THE multifamily construction and development climate in 2009, Chicago-based Fifield Cos. chairman and CEO Steve Fifield turns to The Bard. “It’s exactly like that famous quote: ‘We run away today to flight again another day.’” After trying to fast track projects in the first half of 2008, Fifield Cos. turned instead to extensions and negotiated with lenders and institutional partners throughout the remainder of the year to push construction schedules out as far as 2011.
Shaun Donovan Tapped as Obama’s HUD Secretary
Here is a brief bio taken from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development. Prior to joining Mayor Bloomberg’s administration back in 2004 Shaun Donovan worked for Prudential Mortgage Capital.
