Borrowed money
The latest buzz at a recent multifamily conference revolved around interest rates and where they were likely to head in the short term. Will it go up or down? Will the fed hold the...
Market pulse
The latest reports from industry associations and the annual report on the state of the nation's housing from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University all point to a strengthening apartment market...
Multifamily to multi-billions
Donald Trump was born and raised in multifamily. His father, Fred Trump, was the largest middle-income apartment builder and owner in New York state. Today The Donald is the world's most famous multifamily professional. With...
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...
Actions Speak Louder than Words
According to the Department of Labor's 2004 statistics, women comprise approximately 46 percent of the workforce in the Unites States. Additionally, female employees are becoming an increasingly large percentage of today's middle and upper...
Habitat experiments with building multifamily homes
Problem: South Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity in Norfolk, Va. says the region is running out of affordable land. Solution: The charity affiliate, which has traditionally built single-family homes, is venturing into duplexes and townhouses"all...
The best is yet to be…
The survey revealed a number of misconceptions that exist in the industry about senior residents. The results are valuable because they will identify for industry professionals exactly who these active adults are, what they...
What’s on his Mind?
Apartment Professional catches up with Donald Trump: AP: Why real estate? TRUMP: My father was a developer and I learned to love the business by being around it as a child. Going to construction sites always...
The business of birth order
Why did Charles Darwin pursue the radical idea of evolution when other scientists of the 1870s such as Louis Agassiz rejected it? Could it be that Darwin was the fifth of six children, while...
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...
Sell smarter
One look at the apartment industry today quickly tells you this is not your father's business. Aided by widespread adoption of technology and driven by new standards of accountability, performance, and professionalism, the industry...
Trailblazer: Laurie Lustig-Bower
Laurie Lustig-Bower is a driven woman. As a teenager, she submitted 57,000 entry forms to win a horse at a national competition. It took a year to create the submissions, tireless hours working with...
Pillars of the Industry Awards
It's official: the basic box is dead. That holdover from the fifties, the flat-roofed, flat-walled rectangular building that passed for multifamily housing for so long is nowhere to be found among the finalists of...
Diversity factoids
WOMEN MORE COMMITTED TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP Women entrepreneurs, 26.6 percent, are more likely than their male counterparts, 17 percent, to stick with their self-employment plan even if a desirable job opportunity comes along, according to the...
How will the new spending bill impact affordable housing?
As I write this column, the Senate is close to considering the omnibus appropriations bill to fund HUD and other programs for FY 03/04. Passed by the House of Representatives December 8, 2003, the...
