Seattle is one of the 10 most expensive places in the world to construct buildings — one of just two markets deemed to be overheating. That’s according to Turner & Townsend, a British professional services firm that specializes in program, project and cost management, which issued a new report this week that, among other things, looks at the per-square-meter cost…
A spike in permitting activity across several major markets helped revitalize national figures. During March 2017, total U.S. multifamily authorization activity rose 33.8% from February 2017 and 17.6% from a year prior, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau. A total of 32,100 multifamily units were approved for construction by local governments across the country in March, bringing…
Carpenters are breaking out the hammers east of Interstate 405 in Bellevue to start building hundreds of homes in and around the 36-acre Spring District development. Construction started this week on a 279-unit apartment project in the district. Nearby work began last week on 12 townhouses, and the developer says he has received purchase offers on a quarter of them.…
US apartment demand remained strong in the third quarter. The multifamily sector continued its historic run of supply as developers brought new units on the market at a record clip. Overall absorption for apartment units on a national basis remained steady in Q3 at nearly 45,000 units, with renters leasing 172,000 units in the 12-month period ending in September, CoStar reports. The…
Seattle-based Unico Properties has acquired an historic downtown Tacoma office tower to turn it into apartments. Unico announced its plans for the 18-story Washington Building Tuesday. It was the tallest building in Tacoma when it was completed 90 years ago and the second-tallest building in the Northwest behind Seattle’s Smith Tower, which Unico also owns. UNICO PROPERTIES Unico paid $9.8…
Over the next two decades, demand for rental apartments will likely continue to be strong, if current homeownership rates remain where they are or improve only modestly. The homeownership rate and how low it will remain going forward is one of the biggest questions hanging over the apartment market. As the rate continues to drop, more households move into rental…
Having represented real estate developers and investors in partnership disputes for 20 years, I’ve recognized certain patterns of behavior that lead to partnership conflicts. An understanding of these patterns can help you avoid disputes, and costly litigation, in your real estate development deals. Here are five sources of conflict that real estate developers and investors must keep in mind. The…