Socal Multiunit Real Estate

Survey: The World’s Next Great Cities

Survey: The World’s Next Great Cities

Cities that were not so long ago little more than big fishing villages are rising to global commercial prominence.

Here are the top 10 emerging cities:

1. Shanghai, China
2. Beijing, China
3. Budapest Hungary
4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
5. Santiago, Chile
6. Guangzhou, China
7. Mexico City, Mexico
8. Warsaw, Poland
9. Bangkok Thailand
10. Shenzhen, China

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (10/23/08)

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008102804?OpenDocument

WAYS THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WILL BUILD A GREEN ECONOMIC SECTOR

WAYS THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WILL BUILD A GREEN ECONOMIC SECTOR

Allow us to share with you a collection of green initiatives proposed by President-elect Barack Obama. The quotes come from the President-elect’s website @

www.barackobama.com and information has yet to be offered as to how these initiatives will be implemented and funded. Nonetheless, we like to concept.

BUILDING EFFICIENCY

* Weatherize 1 million homes annually. “Obama will make a national commitment to weatherize at least one million low-income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all.”

* Set building efficiency goals. “Obama will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030. He’ll also establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal.”

* Establish a grant program for early adopters. “Obama will create a competitive grant program to award those states and localities that take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency, and provide a federal match for those states with leading-edge public benefits funds that support energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings.”

* Expand federal efficiency grants. “Obama will also expand federal grant programs to help states and localities build more efficient public buildings, including libraries, schools, and police stations that adopt aggressive green building provisions like those provided by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the U.S. Green Buildings Council.”

UTILITIES AND ELECTRIC GRID

* Flip incentives to energy utilities. “An Obama administration will ‘flip’ incentives to utility companies by requiring states to conduct proceedings to implement incentive changes and offering them targeted technical assistance. These measures will benefit utilities for improving energy efficiency, rather than just from supporting higher energy consumption. This ‘regulatory equity’ starts with the decoupling of profits from increased energy usage, which will incentivize utilities to partner with consumers and the federal and state governments to reduce monthly energy bills for families and businesses.”

APPLIANCE/PRODUCT EFFICIENCY

* Overhaul federal efficiency standards. “The current Department of Energy has missed 34 deadlines for setting updated appliance efficiency standards, which has cost American consumers millions of dollars in unrealized energy savings. Obama will overhaul this process for appliances and provide more resources to his Department of Energy so it implements regular updates for efficiency standards. He will also work with Congress to ensure that it continues to play a key role in improving our national efficiency codes.”

* Phase out incandescents. “Obama supports the effort led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) to update federal lighting efficiency standards to ensure that new lighting technologies are phased into the marketplace. As president, Obama will implement legislation that phases out traditional incandescent light bulbs by 2014.”

RENEWABLE ENERGY

* Increase share of government electricity from renewable sources. “As president, Obama will ensure that at least 30 percent of the federal government’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.”

* Require 25% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025. “Obama will establish a 25 percent federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind, and geothermal by 2025.”

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

* Build neighborhoods around alternative transportation. “Obama believes that we must devote substantial resources to repairing our roads and bridges. He also believes that we must devote significantly more attention to investments that will make it easier for us to walk, bicycle, and access other transportation alternatives. Obama is committed to reforming the federal transportation funding and leveling employer incentives for driving and public transit.”

CARBON EMISSIONS

* Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. “Obama’s cap-and-trade policy will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future, habitat protections, and rebates and other transition relief for families.”

GREEN JOBS

* Invest in clean energy. “The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will help create 5 million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next 10 years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.”

Info courtesy of

http://www.barackobama.com

http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/news/obama-wins-green-movement-wins.aspx

DANCING PRESIDENTS TO DELIGHT U

As a holiday delight, please enjoy these disco dancing presidents courtesy of www.elfyourself.com

Click on

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/9L025guZb3dngeLSREh0

and prepare yourself for some holiday cheer.

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

by Jodi Summers

Allegedly, the first recorded speculative financial bubble occurred in the Netherlands in the 1630s when, according to Wikipedia, tulip contracts sold for 20 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. When tulip prices came crashing down so did the economy, according to reports that have not been sufficiently documented for historians to conclude exactly what occurred.

sources:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/2229214461/

http://www.inman.com/news/2008/10/23/dutch-toughen-downturn

IS THE LOCAL MULTIUNIT MARKET STILL A SAFE INVESTMENT?

IS THE LOCAL MULTIUNIT MARKET STILL A SAFE INVESTMENT?

by Jodi Summers

The Los Angeles apartment building market has always been considered to be a safe area of investment because of the constantly growing segment of Los Angelinos just cannot afford to buy a house. And…studies are showing that it is still a good place to shelter money in a scary economy.

The official dictum from the most recent Marcus & Millichap study notes “Apartment market fundamentals in Los Angeles are expected to soften mildly through year-end 2008, though vacancy will still be one of the lowest rates in the nation.”

“It’s true, my vacancies are up,” confirms Mike, a Santa Monica multiunit property owner.

The study reports on rental trends and investment activity in the third quarter of this year. The study does reveal that a weakening job base has produced “a notable uptick in vacancy over the past year” in 26 of the Los Angeles Metropolitan area’s 37 class A submarkets. Despite these vacancy upticks, “Healthy demand and solid rent growth will fuel investor interest in the quarters ahead,” Marcus & Millichap forecasts, although it expects that “deal flow will remain measured as tightened lending criteria continue to shrink the pool of active buyers.”

The latest U.S. Labor Market Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that in the U.S., total nonfarm employment fell by -159,000 jobs in September. This was worse than the August drop-off of -73,000 jobs and the biggest monthly decline since March 2003.

The report says sales have slowed by 37% on a year-over-year basis, attributed to a drop-off in 1031-exchange activity and “a more diminished role from leverage-dependent investors,”. Apartment properties have traded at cap rates averaging in the mid- to high-5% spectrum over the past year and are expected to stay in that range through the remainder of 2008.

If the Democrats get into office, and the capital gains tax rises to the proposed 28% - multiunit demand should again increase.

Another trend is that apartment owners are asking for smaller rent increases, with asking rents expected to rise 4.4% to $1,489 by year-end 2008, while effective rents will gain 4.3% to $1,440. To the contrary, RealFacts research notes that Los Angeles area rents average of $1,661, but RealFacts focuses more on institutional-grade assets.

The RealFacts figures rank Los Angeles as the fifth-highest rental market in the country. Its $1,661 average rent compares with an average of $2,272 in the Greater New York area, the highest in the nation, followed by Bridgeport-Stamford at $2,179, Greater Boston at 1,905 and San Jose, CA at $1,708.

“I live in Santa Monica, it would be great if the City would, just once, allow us to raise rents to a price equal to the cost of living increase,” concludes Mike. “In 2008 they let us raise rent a whopping 3.7% while my expenses on the unit went up more like 5.8%.”

That’s the Mark Obrinsky, vice president of research and chief economist for the National Multi Housing Council is of the feeling that, “The excess supply of for-sale single-family and condominium residences continues to weigh heavily on the multifamily sector, and a correction isn’t expected until at least 2010.”

Contributing information from:

http://www.globest.com/news/1275_1275/losangeles/174779-1.html

http://laedc.org/eedge/archive/2008/ee081006.html#1

http://www.strongwell.com/news/images/2007_12.jpg

http://flickr.com/photos/48600074651@N01/192579719

http://www.globest.com/news/1268_1268/insider/174611-1.html?sector=multifamily

http://www.you-are-here.com/sunset/sierra_tower.html

http://www.archstoneapartments.com/Apartments/California/Los_Angeles/Archstone_Santa_Monica_on_Main/

http://www.apartments.com/partner/avsummary.aspx?page=avsummary&property=102343.122&p=AptHL&prvpg=8&partner=AptHL&prvpg=8&ahlp=182863&prvpg=8&index=0&type=photo#photosmedia

GREEN CONTRACTOR STATISTICS

GREEN CONTRACTOR STATISTICS

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), more than
1,000 builders, remodelers, and other members of the home building industry
have earned the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, an
educational recognition introduced in 2008 by NAHB. You can locate a CGP at
www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory.

In related news, NAHB surveyed its builder members and found that 89 percent
of respondents reported installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting
in their projects; 64 percent are using recycled and recyclable products;
and 50 percent are using substantially more insulation than required by
building codes (this number increases to 70 percent for West Coast
respondents).

City of Los Angeles Examines Tenant Right of First Refusal for Sale of Buildings

City of Los Angeles Examines Tenant Right of First Refusal for Sale of Buildings

by Jodi Summers

TOPA (Tennant Opportunity to Purchase) was heard at L.A. City Council Housing Community and Economic Committee earlier this year and it was recommended that further study be done “due to the success of Washington D.C.’s TOPA law and similar programs in Maryland.”

The Action Apartment Association points out, “As our industry knows, DC’s program has significant defects in with, including noteworthy delays in the sale process, unmitigatable legal exposure for property owners and vulnerability to fraud and abuse for the tenants.”

TOPA requires owners of rental occupied units to offer tenants the right-of-first-refusal when the owner decides to sell the building. Specifically, owners are required to notify tenants and the Mayor’s Office of the opportunity to purchase, which initiates a process that provides the tenants time to organize, raise funds and solicit outside assistance. (As was done unsuccessfully with Lincoln Place in Venice.)

Additionally, TOPA provides tenants the option to assign their rights to a third-party. In other words, the Action Apartment Association noted, “tenants and tenant organizations have the ability to sell their rights for payment (typically cash) or partner with a developer/ non-profit in the purchase of the building.”

This legal debate will continue throughout the year. We will keep you posted.

For more info on the Action Apartment Association, please visit www.action-wam.com.

BUY? SELL? RECESSION?

BUY? SELL? RECESSION?

We guess they’re going by the “what we don’t know can’t hurt us” philosophy.

–

From: CNN Breaking News 

Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 9:26 AM

– The U.S. entered a recession in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

–

Since we’ve been in a recession for a year, it doesn’t seem to feel so bad.

Surprise + happy holidays.