The company, founded and headquartered in Orange County, Calif., has been focused on family home construction since 1965. This latest development, just 10 minutes from the Denver Tech Center, come in an array of styles including; Cottage, Bungalow, Craftsman, Mountain Ranch and Prairie. Colorado President of Standard Homes, Craig Campbell, offered this comment about the grand opening:

“Heirloom is a special community designed for generations to come. With impressive architectural details and a close-knit neighborhood atmosphere, it nurtures an enduring sense of community that families will enjoy.”

The opening event will feature culinary and seasonal food tasting. Located in North Douglas County, Colorado, the new homes range in area from between 2,327 to 3,554 square-feet according to the news from Standard Pacific. Prices for the six bedroom homes begin at just over $300,000. Those interested can see the neighborhood and get more info here, but for even more information, please contact:

Danielle Tocco
Director of Communications Standard Pacific Homes
949.789.1633
dtocco@stanpac.com

Sorouh Gates construction – courtesy Sorouh

Aldar, the company that developed Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Formula One race circuit, has been massively funded by the government there.  With recent EU economic woes increasing, and the price of oil stagnant, its the companies are a bit “on the ropes” as far as potential profitability and liquidity are concerned. Goldman Sachs and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi are leading talks over the proposed merger, while Credit Suisse advises Aldar, and Morgan Stanley works with Sorouh individually. Challenges remain regardless of any talks however, the country being faced with ever increasing suppl-demand concerns regarding their property holdings.

Shares of the two companies jumped a bit on the news of a potential merger Aldar still being up 35.9 percent year-to-date and Sorouh up 36 percent, according to reports. On a final note here, if attention to a corporate website means anything at all, Aldar’s new one, plus the fact that there has been no press release posted on the old one in a year, shows a company focused elsewhere beyond growth for us. Aldar’s last press release spoke of the Abu Dhabi Education Council penning a deal with the property group in October of 2011.

As for the most recent construction project reports, this PDF from the firm shows a bit of where those billions are tied up. Not to be too critical, but throwing money into such projects as YAS Water World Abu Dhabi at a time when most of the world cannot afford lunch, this is not exactly gripping investment potential.

As for Sorouh, the news front is slightly better online visibility wise at least. The company website shows a release having been made for the completion of the world’s tallest bridge structure of a penthouse at ey residential development. We’re not sure exactly who keeps records of such world records, but Richard Amos, the company’s CFO, looks as if he’s lost some sleep in the 2012 report given below. Not to sound too critical, sometimes the little signs add up to a lot in these matter. It remains to be seen if the two companies will merge, and whether or not any such merger can result in black ink for those concerned.

© Sergej Khackimullin – Fotolia.com

However with commercial property you have much more control over creating real value in the property.  Here are some basic things you can do to increase the value of your commercial real estate investment.

1. Raise the Rents.  If your rents are below market average then you are essentially giving away part of your earnings to your tenants.  Do a rent comparable with other similar buildings in your area to see what the average rent per square foot is.  Then as your tenants leases expire raise your rents so you are in line with this value and your NOI will go up accordingly.
2. Lower your Expenses.  This produces the same results as raising rents except you can normally do it immediately and not have to wait for tenant leases to expire.  Again, look at your expenses and compare them to the norm for your type of property.  You may be paying too much in property insurance or maintenance services or cleaning supplies, etc.  Any place you can lower your costs without significantly lowering the quality of the services provided will increase your NOI.
3. Upgrade the Property.  This may not seem to make much sense as property upgrades cost you money but in the long term upgrades will make you money.  They do so by making your property more attractive to future tenants and therefore allowing you to charge these tenants a higher rent.  It also can justify rent hikes to current tenants when their leases expire.  A tenant who is asked to pay more for the same space may decide to shop around but if the building has been upgrading and the tenant is reaping the benefits of these upgrades then they are more likely to agree to the rent increase without shopping around for a new building and incurring the expenses of moving.
4. Change the Use of the Property.  In some instances a property can become obsolete for what it was originally built for.  If a property was originally build as an apartment complex it may be possible to convert it to office space and be able to collect much higher rents.
5. Add more Services.  This is different then upgrading the physical structure.  If you add services like a cleaning company, conference rooms, fitness center, etc, then you can in turn charge higher rents for the building since it is now more attractive to potential tenants.
6. Lower your Property Taxes.  Many times the tax assessor’s office uses incorrect data when updating or calculating a properties tax liability.  By asking for a reassessment of your tax bill and providing the tax collector documentation as to why you feel the tax bill is to high you may be able to lower your taxes, especially if your building is in an area with declining property values and has not been reassessed for several years.  Lowering your property taxes in turn lowers your costs and increases your NOI.
7. Make Tenants Pay for Additional Services.  If your building currently offers garbage pickup, electricity, water, cable or any other service as part of the tenants rent, you can increase your NOI by making the tenants pay all or part of the cost of these services.  This is in essence the same as a rent increase except you are justifying it by making the tenants pay for additional services they are receiving instead of an increase just for the actual space they occupy.  This is especially effective when bringing in new tenants who are not used to having these services “for free”.
8. Renegotiate Leases.  Every time a tenant leaves and a new tenant comes in you incur expenses.  Whether it be advertising costs, painting, carpeting, customization of the space, etc.  It is in your best interest to keep the same tenant in a space as long as possible, even if it means making slightly less on the rent.  See if you can get tenants to sign longer term leases.  This gives the tenant rent security to budget their expenses and gives you the security of knowing you do not need to pay to re-lease the space every two years.
9. Hire new Management.  People tend to get in a rut.  A management team that has worked the same building for years may become complacent and not act aggressively to bring in new tenants at higher rents.  New management can bring in fresh ideas on increasing income and reducing expenses without lowering the operation efficiency of your property.
10. Divide your Vacant Land.  If you own a large parcel of vacant land that is zoned for residential use you can add value to that land by having is sub-divided into individual parcel lots suited for single family homes.  This is attractive to a developer who wished to buy your land since it saves them the time and expense of getting this done and allows you to charge more for the land, per parcel, then you would have received as a whole.

Daniel Doran is a 20+ year veteran in the real estate industry. He is a previous owner of a law firm, mortgage and title company. Daniel has also written several books on mortgage modification, short sales and real estate investing. He currently specializes in Commercial Finance and Real Estate Development and is a graduate of Manhattanville College and Brooklyn Law School. You can contact Dan at Buildings By Owner.

New construction activity is finally starting to pick up in some US cities. © christian42 - Fotolia.com

Housing starts and construction permits for the most part remain well off the level they were at during the early 2000s housing boom, but in many areas that only experienced a mild decline in their housing markets, construction activity appears to be building up some steam. Cities such as Dallas, Houston and San Antonio for example, are approaching what is considered a normal level of construction permit activity.

Stan Humphries, chief economist with Zillow, told US News that many cities which only saw a slight slump in housing are recovering because they had less ground to make up than cities which were harder hit:

“You’re going to start to see is construction activity pick up in parts of the country where, although we have an excess supply of homes nationally, we don’t in that location. The fact that we have vacant inventory is a national phenomenon, (but) we don’t have vacant inventory in certain markets, which means new construction is going to pick up in some of these markets.”

The following data, courtesy of Trulia, ranks the top ten metro areas in the US according to construction activity over the 3^rd quarter:

It’s estimated around 50 influential mom bloggers will attend to listen to guest speaker Alison Lowenstein, author of City Weekends: The Greatest Escapes and Weekend Getaways in and around NYC, speak about her new book.

The Azure in New York. Courtesy of Brachblog

Issues up for discussion include tips for healthy meals on the road and great destination ideas. Genius Organizing and Bellamy Blue will also be on hand to give advice on the best way to take and store photos. Guests at the event are also invited to tour the spacious model homes at the luxury Upper East Side development.

Doug MacLaury, Senior Vice President of the Mattone Group feels this is the perfect moment to host this event. “Guests will learn about great family friendly getaway destinations while also touring what is arguably the most family friendly building on the Upper East Side.”

Azure has 6300 ft.² of amenity spaces which includes a children’s playroom, games room, and residents lounge with private dining room and catering kitchen. The development also has a fitness centre and two landscaped roof terraces.

Model homes at the Azure, New York. Courtesy of Brachblog

Mom bloggers will get a chance to view family sized model homes which include a 1818 ft.² three bedroom and three bathroom home, and a 2952 ft.² four-bedroom and four and a half bathroom home. Nicole Feliciano, founder of MomTrends says “Collaborating with Azure is a natural fit for our moms as they’ll feel right at home in the sophisticated and spacious residences.”

Prices start at $1.2 million to around $5.7 million. Azure was developed by the DeMatteis Organizations and the Mattone Group and was designed by SLCE Architects.

MomTrends was launched in 2007 to provide cool tips and practical information for busy moms. Each month is themed and offers great advice on how to get the most out of parenthood.

In Vermont, a two-bedroom apartment runs about $990 per month (7 percent higher than a year earlier and 58 higher than 2000 prices).  According to industry standards, “affordable housing” means the renter pays no more than 30 percent of his or her income on rent.  For a two-bedroom apartment in Vermont, it would require an income of $39,595 per year.

All of this makes it difficult to build housing people can actually afford.  Developers must pay high land costs, development fees, permitting fees, building material costs, insurance, and maintenance on rental properties.  The developer must then pass on any expenses to the renters, many of whom simply cannot afford it.

“If they could make money out of the deals, there probably would be more of it,” said Maura Collins of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. “There’s not a ton of private rental development happening.

Many developers face debt from all of the additional expenses involved in building, something a non-profit organization called Housing Vermont hopes to alleviate through public funding.  But federal budget cuts could undermine those plans, although state funding may stay steady over the next year.

As the cost of living continues to rise and people continue to make the same amount of money, finding affordable housing can be tricky.  For developers who want to build affordable housing, it becomes a nearly impossible task.  In that arena, Vermont is not alone.

China’s central government intends to foster economic development through the increase of domestic cosumption.  For real estate developers and investors, the promise of more consumer spending is alluring and has prompted them to spend in the commercial sector.  Furthermore, China’s government does not closely control the economics of commercial property the way it does with residential property, something that is also attractive to developers.

The Chinese residential sector is moving from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market, and the real estate industry is now adjusting.  Among they challenges they face are dealing with retail tenants, setting lease rates, landscaping, and other management tasks they may not be accustomed to facilitating.

Among the other differences are that commercial buyers are more rational, coming from companies and businesses, unlike residential customers.  Moreover, commercial businesses must consider investment return, while residential buyers are concerned about home value appreciation.

As the market in China shifts gears, Chinese developers are hoping to make adjustments that bring rewards, even if there is risk involved.  Whether or not those rewards come is something only time will reveal.

Houston's market has been on of the strongest up till now. Courtesy houstonproperties.com

There was a drop in home sales of almost 10% during January and February, according to one report we picked up on Monday. This drop is twice as big as what industry observers had been predicting.

While this might be good news for those looking to buy, it’s certainly anything but for the thousands of developers and private owners wanting a sale.

More and more properties are going under the hammer as developers look for quick sales. Courtesy of pennyauctionshq.com

Take this example. Just ten minutes away from the Texas Medical Center in Houston there are 40 empty condominiums about to go under the hammer in just three weeks. Now why a property developer would be selling off so many units to the highest bidder in what is a prime location? Because prices are continuing to fall, and selling is getting more and more difficult.

Last month in the Houston area, which has up till now had one of the strongest real estate markets in the country, there were just 306 sales of condos, a 5.3% drop from last year.

Meanwhile, not so long ago a poll by Rasmussen showed that 31% of U.S. homeowners currently owe more on their mortgage repayments than what the value of their home is. Values are being dragged down by foreclosures across the United States, with almost 39% of new contracts in February being signed on what were distressed properties.

Just 306 condos sold in Houston last month, a new record low. Image courtesy of trexglobal.com

The problem is that for every month a new condominium stays on the market, not only does the price go down, the seller has to pay property taxes and association fees. This means that long-running sales programs incur quite a big cost, while the profits are steadily being eroded away.

For anyone looking to buy, times are good, but for the rest of us we just have to hope that things will turn around soon.

Aerial view of Benoy's Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, UAE

Aabar Properties is engaged in key developments such as; Al Reem Island, Al Raha Beach, Saraya and Rawdhat, among the many others. Other major payers will also unveil and exhibit at the event. UK architectural firm, Benoy, has been behind the Yas Island Concept Massterplan and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi as well. This unique project will be discussed by Lead Designer and Middle East Director Mike Lewis.

Inside the state of the art ADNEC venue

International companies have also cited the event as a prime platform, including UK architectural firm, Benoy, who was responsible for the design behind the Yas Island Concept Masterplan and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (aerial image top), a thrilling brand experience and multi-sensory celebration of a true design icon. The Lead Designer and Director of Middle East, Mike Lewis, will be available during Cityscape Abu Dhabi to discuss this unique project. Be sure and check out their Ferrari World e-Brochure here.  Interestingly, attendees of the VIP tour of this project get a chance to ride the world’s fastest roller coaster. Lewis had this to say about the upcoming event and Benoy’s role:

“The Middle East is a region which has gone from strength to strength for Benoy and Cityscape Abu Dhabi has frequently provided a very useful platform for us to communicate directly with key industry audiences. This year, we look forward to being able to showcase the first completed development of ours in the region, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, at the event. Aside from presentations on our stand, we will be taking interested parties on a behind the scenes tour of what is considered to be the centerpiece of the 25km2, Yas Island mega scheme.”

And Chris Speller, Group Director of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, which will be held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (below), offered this: “It is fantastic to see that regional and international real estate companies are looking to Abu Dhabi with such a positive and business minded view. Exhibitors are still keeping announcements under their hats but activity levels are high and we are expecting a very vocal four days this year.”

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre just after completion

For those unfamiliar, Benoy is one of the world’s largest and most respected architectural firms. The company, founded by Gordon Benoy as a small architectural company, has grown to prominence with projects around the world, and design studios in design studios in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.

Among the other exhibitors at this years conference; Mubadala Real & Estate & Hospitality, Al Qudra, Aldar, Baniyas, Sorouh, TDIC, ICT, DMA and Burooj, just to name a few. As far as we know, there are still sponsorship opportunites as well as booths and places for the event. For futher information, please consult the official press, or the official website. Alternatively, readers can contact the organizers via:

Susan Parker or Laura Smith
Fifth Ring Integrated Communications: +971 4 372 0100
susanp@fifthring.com / +971 50 101 4403
laura@fifthring.com/ +971 56 799 1642

The Real Estate Development and Investment Commission, an industry regulatory arm there, is reported to be finalizing tender books for 12 projects which will be a major boost for the country’s economy. General Manager Yasser al-Sibai had this to say about the projects:

“We invite more investors to establish companies in Syria and participate in the tendering process, which will be announced in some two months. Newly established companies are advised to merge in order to meet our development plans.”

Syria branches out, a view from the magical mountains - courtesy Taras Kalapun

The first private developer ever granted a license by the commissions was last year, and since then some 24 companies have set up shop in Syria. Before 2010, most of the real estate projects were run by state owned entities.

The need for new housing units inside Syria is actually quite drastic. Over half a million are projected before 2015, according to the reports. There is room for business in all the channels from venture capital flow down to jobs created for workers inside the country. So far foreign investment in Syria has been modest, at or about 35 percent.

With these official calls for developers and investment, this number can only be expected to increase substantially. Still, the trouble in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and other Arab nations can effect this as well.

Moving forward, Syria invites developers

And too, initiatives like this one indicate an overall bending of policy toward more free markets. Syria has not exactly been known for forward thinking, but these announcements make it fairly clear the winds of change are having an effect. The Syrian cabinet has been busy of late mending fences and reaching out to other states like Turkey.

And, Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri just affirmed last week the necessity to shore up the  development process. Bashar al-Assad’s government clearly wants to move forward.

Original Source: Bloomberg