A few tips to consider if you are considering any remodeling or updating of your apartments in 2009 are mentioned in Units magazine (Nov. 2008). In order to cheer up our moods from the dismal economic environment of 2008, fashion and trends watchers are predicting that yellow will be a desired look in interior design [...]

An article I read on GlobeSt.com talks about predictions for the growing population in California that are peaking the interest of both the residential and the commercial real estate industries. Brokerages, builders and property investors are watching to see what the next wave of development and growth will look like and the data is interesting. A [...]

As identified in the article “Can’t-Miss Growth Areas” in Units magazine (Nov. 2008), investors looking at apartment purchases should consider looking for apartments with proximity to the following businesses or locations: 

Colleges/Universities
Transportation Hubs
Ports/Coastal Cities
Biotechnology Enterprises
Government Centers
Entertainment/Lifestyle Locations
Digital/High Tech Enterprises
Medical/Health Care Facilities
Large/Mid-size Airports

The article also includes key features that successful apartment communities should have or be located [...]

According to an article in the November 2008 issue of Multifamily Executive, single women are a key demographic apartment owners should be courting. Of the 14.9 million single women ages 20 to 34, nearly 41% are renters. This Gen Y subgroup has specific tastes and smart apartment owners will look for ways to attract this [...]

As a fan of online document technologies, I am pleased to see the rise of document management software solutions to assist apartment property managers. In an article titled “Virtual Filing Cabinets “in Apartment Finance Today (Nov/Dec 2008) several technologies are mentioned. Yardi, Intuit and Real Page include document management solutions within their property management applications. [...]

In spite of all the news out there about frozen credit markets, lending for apartments is still available. In an article by Bendix Anderson in Apartment Finance Today, (Nov/Dec 2008), sources for these smaller loans (I’m hearing under $5 million) are still lending. These sources include governments-sponsored enterprises, banks, thrifts and private lenders.
Rates continue to [...]

According to the National Real Estate Investor, the recent release of job losses and the unemployment rate point to concern for the commercial real estate industry, especially office and retail space.
With the unemployment rate rising to 6.7%, more companies reducing staff and going out of business and rising costs for doing business, the demand for [...]

According to Multi-Housing News, while overall the real estate market is not doing well, the apartment market is holding up fairly well.
Through September of this year, apartments (five or more units) have hovered at 10.7% vacancy which is only 0.3% higher that that of a year ago and still lower than the tough rates of [...]

Most likely you have heard that a change is coming for American airwaves. The move to fully digital television is just around the corner with an effective date of February 17th, 2009.
According to an article in Multi-Housing News, while our attention has been devoted to the elections, the stock market, a recession, energy and a [...]

According to the 2009 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, released by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers, apartments are a best bet for investments in the coming year.
With 2009 expected to be the bottom of the real estate slump and no considerable movement in 2010, opportunities are presenting themselves in the apartment industry for [...]

Apartment owners would be wise to adopt allowances for roommate situations as another way to increase occupancy. With rents higher in many places, apartment seekers are already struggling with challenges to obtaining a place to rent. Laid-off workers, low income people, growing foreclosures and spotty credit all serve as obstacles for would-be renters to find [...]