Industry News | Wk of January 21

HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

Expect the Unexpected
From severe weather, unforeseen power outages and unannounced resident parties that transcend regular volume, onsite teams have to be ready for virtually anything. While some community managers are swift on their feet and can adapt quickly, it’s strongly recommended to have a preparedness plan in place for any imaginable situation. Among the 10 key elements integral to that plan are to establish a clear first step, delegate key personnel for immediate action and establish a comprehensive messaging plan. See all 10 steps in Barbara Hale’s article in UNITS.

Attracting Top Talent to Your CRE Enterprise
With historically low unemployment rates, the pool of potential employees is thin. Finding qualified talent is even more difficult. That has transformed recruiting into something of a marketing campaign, where teams identify the strengths and selling points of their companies. Key facets to highlight in these campaigns include stable leadership, your company’s reputation (if it’s good enough to be a selling point) and an explanation of how your company differs from the competition. Read Bill Whitlow’s article in Multi-Housing News.

NYC Development Will Include Its Own Indoor, Half-Pipe Skate Park
In amenity arms race in which developers always aim to push the envelope, creativity points go to GID Development Group. As part of a five-acre development that will include three residential towers along Riverside Boulevard, the community will include an indoor, multilevel half-pipe skate park. The half-pipe is nearly 42 feet long and four feet tall. Skateboards and helmets will be available and the park will be open for year-round use. Read Symone Garvett’s article in Multifamily Executive.

IN THE NEWS

The Top Multifamily Lenders for
Freddie Mac in 2018
Freddie Mac’s total multifamily production of $78 billion set a record in 2018 and financed approximately 860,000 rental homes. Of those, more than 90 percent were affordable to low- to moderate-income families. The activity, naturally, was made possible by the government-sponsored enterprise’s network of high-profile lenders. CBRE ranked No. 1 by financing $13.69 billion, followed by Berkadia ($9.6B) and HFF ($7.2B). Read the entire list in Erika Morphy’s article on GlobeSt.com. ​Read Joe Banister’s article in Bisnow Washington.

Microsoft Pledges $500 Million to Boost Affordable Housing
In an effort to curb homelessness in Seattle, tech giant Microsoft said it will spend $500 million to develop affordable housing in the area. Half the money will be dedicated to support low-income housing across King’s County. Another $225 million will be invested at lower-than-market rates to subsidize the construction and preservation of middle-income homes. The remaining $25 million will be used to address homelessness in the greater Seattle region. Read the Bloomberg article written by Dina Bass and Noah Buhayar.

Apartment Rents Expected to Rise Faster Than Inflation in 2019
While it’s clear that apartment rents won’t rise at the meteoric pace from earlier in the current cycle, they are still forecasted to outpace inflation this year. Class B apartments will experience the greatest rent growth while Classes C and D won’t receive much of an uptick. That’s because those renters are already paying as much as they can afford. Rent will continue to rise at Class A luxury apartments, as well, although at a more tepid pace than that of Class B. Read Bendix Anderson’s article in National Real Estate Investor.​