Obama picks former prosecutor to head SEC
Mary Jo White, former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, has an extensive record of prosecuting white-collar crime, won convictions in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 1998 terrorist attacks on two U.S. embassies...
Demand for apartments rises all over, despite economy
Vacancy rates are shrinking all over, in tight markets such as Minneapolis and loose ones like Phoenix.
It's an unusual situation. Job creation typically drives apartment demand. But this time the tenant top-up is largely...
Ending the American malaise
She was sweet and sovereign, and had the divine ability to cause me to snap into accordance with a single glance. With all her ecclesiastical presence, Sister Timothy bestowed upon me the social power...
The highlight of my career
Interviewing Donald Trump was a highlight of my publishing career. The Trump brand is one of the most luxurious in the world. His multifamily properties are legendary. In the AP interview, we focused on...
Can Biden help housing? White House solution isn’t nearly enough.
At one time or another, every politician—local, state, and federal—promises to help create “affordable housing.” The issue has become especially critical of late with rents and housing prices rising and higher interest rates making...
Safe harbor
The mainly bi-coastal apartment REIT broke ground for two new apartment projects in Q4 2009. The 219-unit, $36 million second phase of Avalon Northborough, in a suburb about 22 miles west of Boston got...
Be Inspired
I know that our cover story, Newark Mayor Cory Booker was never a Girl Scout... but then again, what do I know? At Oxford, after wandering into a meeting of LaChaim, a Jewish student...
Good to great in a crisis
Now, more than ever before, it’s critical for your multifamily property to create a team dynamic that fosters good communication, healthy competition and takes full advantage of technology.
Unaware of the impending quarantine and social...
Best in show
"It's an absolute requirement to have a dog park in a new development if you want to be competitive in the market today," said Camden Chairman and CEO Ric Campo in mid-March.
The apartment company...
Incivility and its discontents
Recently, in a rare moment, the Pennsylvania state party chairs, Democrat Nancy Patton Mills and Republican Val DiGigiorgio, agreed to participate in a student-organized forum on civil discourse and polarization on the campus of...
The Home Act
Maryland's HOME Act is legislation that would prohibit landlords and other property owners from declining Section 8 vouchers, deeming it discrimination based on "source of income." While proponents believe the Act will eliminate high...
A reasonable proposal
Much has been made of the recent proposal by the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform to modify the current, virtually unlimited mortgage interest deductions available to homeowners. The NAHB, The National Association...
Digital weapons in the apartment amenities race
The amenities arms race. That is what the real estate industry loves to call the escalating level of services offered by apartment buildings. For decades in the country’s hottest luxury rental markets, property owners...
Crowd-funding real estate
Oculus raised money on Kickstarter in September 2012 and was purchased this year by Facebook for $2 billion. The prize for the 9,522 Kickstarter investors who ponied up $2.4 million for Oculus in 2012?...
Why competition is healthy for business
It's sometimes comical to find business managers giving all sorts of reasons as to why they cannot do this and the other-because of competition. Is there really any business in this world without competition?...
