NAA 2008 opened up with a remarkable speaker with a remarkable speech. General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) hardly needs any introduction and we will spare you his career bio. (click here if you are interested to learn more about the former Secretary of State and his endeavors since retirement from public life) Powell spoke about Leadership, specifically taking charge and the managing and leading of people. We found General Powell to be amazingly funny and easy-going, even hilarious at times. It reminded us again that these ‘larger than life’ figures are human too; they laugh at many of the same jokes, have many of the same tastes as we do, and are going through life trying to figure it all out, just like we do. Hearing Colin Powell talk about his corvette that he bough post-retirement made us laugh. Powell likes fast cars too. Sweet.
General Powell led off talking about his childhood in an old tenement in the Bronx and how he has a strong affinity for apartment life, one that grew stronger because of his ‘renting’ housing from the U.S. Army. He understands the facts of life for apartment managing (Colonels and Generals do more than fight wars, they also manage troops, which also means managing troops’ families and where those families live and dwell) as well as some of the economic hardships facing all of us today. It was refreshing to hear him identify with us in the crowd this way because many times we feel a disconnect that seems to be more and more prevalent between the national ‘policy-makers’ and us ‘common folk.’ One gets a sense that General Powell has a lot less time for that nonsense and would rather focus on being a regular guy.
His discussion on leadership was insightful, particularly for those who manage people or a staff of people. To him, leadership is leadership is leadership meaning true leaders should be able to lead and manage anyone, in any industry in any area. Lack of industry experience should hardly ever be a stumbling block as many of the same principles required for leadership apply across the board. He continued to propose that putting people in the best position to succeed and setting goals are what makes leaders the most successful. Without the right people and without the right direction, leaders fail. Empowering every, not just a few, but every one of your employees and staff gives you greater possibilities to be successful. This melds into his philosophy that leaders and followers are human beings, and treating your employees as such is not only right, but is necessary to get the most out of your followers.
One of the last points we’ll recount about the Powell speech was probably the most impactful to us. He admitted that you can never hit you’re best, but that you should just keep striving to get better and better. This makes complete sense to us and is something we think we will remember, at least we hope, for a lifetime. We have to keep giving our all, even if we are losing or not accomplishing our original goal, or better yet, even if we are winning or accomplishing our goal. True leaders give it their all and strive to do better the next time, learning from their previous experiences and building on that which was learned. General Colin Powell, despite arguable faults that any human being possesses, believes in that philosophy and we think embodies that philosophy. Colin Powell defines a true leader and we were honored and privileged to have had the opportunity to have heard him.
June 30, 2008
Blogging about National Apartment Association in Orlando, FL
OK, our hopes for live blogging NAA failed miserably. You can't find wi-fi anywhere without paying for it in that city ($9.99 a day, really?) and we don't have our wi-fi travel card yet so we were out of luck. Brutal. That being said, we will be bringing you several posts today from sessions during NAA that we attended. This will include posts from a guest blogger, our friend Kathryn Albritton, Publisher for Apartment Finder Tallahassee. Together I think we can provide a nice snapshot of some of the latest trends, coolest new marketing tips, and other news from the multi-family housing industry that was showcased at NAA.
Check back soon for updates!
Check back soon for updates!
June 24, 2008
FAA’s Early Lease Termination Bill Enacted Into Law
We were just alerted to the news of the passing of the Early Termination Bill (which, in full disclosure, we helped to promote via the 2007 Legislative Days in Tallahassee, FL) from the Law Offices of Heist, Weisse, and Lucrezi P.A. June 2008 newsletter. If you are not receiving their monthly legal update, do yourself a favor, click here and sign up. Great information pertaining to landlord/tenant law, creditor's rights, discrimination defense as well as other legal issues will come to your inbox directly on a monthly basis. Good, good stuff.
The Governor has signed the Early Termination Bill into law which will allow you some more flexibility in charging liquidated damages or an early termination fee to a tenant who leaves before the end of the lease term. In order to take advantage of the new law, a specific addendum must be entered into at the time of lease signing under which the tenant either chooses to pay a liquidated damage amount or early termination fee upon vacating early, or pay rent until the unit is re-rented.
HB 1489: FAA’s Early Lease Termination Bill Enacted Into Law (EVICT.COM, The Website of the Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Lucrezi, P.A.)
The Governor has signed the Early Termination Bill into law which will allow you some more flexibility in charging liquidated damages or an early termination fee to a tenant who leaves before the end of the lease term. In order to take advantage of the new law, a specific addendum must be entered into at the time of lease signing under which the tenant either chooses to pay a liquidated damage amount or early termination fee upon vacating early, or pay rent until the unit is re-rented.
HB 1489: FAA’s Early Lease Termination Bill Enacted Into Law (EVICT.COM, The Website of the Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Lucrezi, P.A.)
June 23, 2008
Mid-June News and Notes
We are back from vacation, having trekked through the southern United States up to Memphis, TN, where the horseflies are the size of VW Bigs (pun intended). Brutal. However, we are back and ready to bring you more information regarding the multi-family community as well as preparing for our trip to Orlando, FL for the National Apartment Association Conference. In fact, we are hoping to have some things in place to do some live blogging and real-time updates while we are at the conference so stay tuned for those developments.
In the meantime, here are some news items we found to be of use while we were away. Enjoy!
Miscellaneous Tampa Bay area financial news
Former Gateway Honda location in New Port Richey sells for $2M
Another big time office building put on hold, but still moving forward
Rising against the market
Coke still has it and with success comes employees, success, and financial gain
Coca-Cola warehouse upgrades provide industrial market some fizz
Condos still going? Maybe...maybe not
Foreclosure process begins on New Port Tampa Bay as visions of luxury are curtailed
(News and Notes links from Tampa Bay Business Journal)
In the meantime, here are some news items we found to be of use while we were away. Enjoy!
Miscellaneous Tampa Bay area financial news
Former Gateway Honda location in New Port Richey sells for $2M
Another big time office building put on hold, but still moving forward
Rising against the market
Coke still has it and with success comes employees, success, and financial gain
Coca-Cola warehouse upgrades provide industrial market some fizz
Condos still going? Maybe...maybe not
Foreclosure process begins on New Port Tampa Bay as visions of luxury are curtailed
(News and Notes links from Tampa Bay Business Journal)
June 12, 2008
Seems Like a Good Idea
Nothing gets us going like a good budget. You can have your Merlot, or your sunset over the Mediterranean, or your Game 7 at the World Series, you can have all these things. We'll take that spreadsheet please...mmmm, numbers.
Seriously we kid, but budgets are important and they do important things one of which is help to create economic stimulus, assist in employment, etc. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist recently signed the 2008-09 state budget with economic stimulus, job creation and industry development in mind. For more details, click the link below. We promise, no spreadsheets are involved.
Crist signs budget (Tampa Bay Business Journal)
Seriously we kid, but budgets are important and they do important things one of which is help to create economic stimulus, assist in employment, etc. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist recently signed the 2008-09 state budget with economic stimulus, job creation and industry development in mind. For more details, click the link below. We promise, no spreadsheets are involved.
Crist signs budget (Tampa Bay Business Journal)
June 9, 2008
67 Percent of Current Renters Not Likely to Move Says NAA
And we are inclined to believe them. Times are tough in the housing market and this really cool survey put out by NAA gives a lot of data points confirming a lot of info that we have been talking about here for some time now. Perusing Google News and The Earth Times we stumbled upon this press release and thought it pertinent and too important not to share.
The press release for the survey findings (linked to The Earth Times below) has some intriguing findings concerning our industry. Some that stood out are highlighted below:
*Renters not eager to take a chance on home ownership anytime soon: 69 percent of renters said they plan to stay renters for up to five more years. (This stat is simply amazing considering the amount of available housing currently on the market and the ownership mentality that is so prevalent in our culture. We think this will come down by default as more and more houses become cheaper and in some cases, may be even more cost effective as opposed to apartment living.)
*Renting seen as favorable to owning: 71 percent of adults feel that there are advantages to renting vs. owning in the current real estate market, 48 percent citing financial reasons (e.g. not being impacted by unpredictable housing values and mortgage rates) over more traditional reasons such as amenities packages (18 percent) or the flexibility of a short-term lease (32 percent). (This makes sense as people are simply taking advantage of favorable market conditions. This is where the industry has to continue to teach prospective renters about the beauty of renting.)
This survey has some solid stats and some encouraging numbers concerning our industry. This is yet another signpost for us to continue to be innovative and smart on how we approach our business. Yes, we are a business where real business decisions are needed to not only provide a quality product (apartment living) but at quality (not necessarily maximum) profit, maximized for the benefit of developer, owner, manager and renter.
Our main issue that we uncovered was this: renters aren't eager to stop renting but we also have to start getting the news out that multi-family housing is a real lifestyle choice and not just one to bank on when housing suffers. New ideas are still needed and we need to work together to make them happen!
New Survey Finds 69 Percent of Renters Plan to Continue Renting For As Long As Five More Years (The Earth Times)
The press release for the survey findings (linked to The Earth Times below) has some intriguing findings concerning our industry. Some that stood out are highlighted below:
*Renters not eager to take a chance on home ownership anytime soon: 69 percent of renters said they plan to stay renters for up to five more years. (This stat is simply amazing considering the amount of available housing currently on the market and the ownership mentality that is so prevalent in our culture. We think this will come down by default as more and more houses become cheaper and in some cases, may be even more cost effective as opposed to apartment living.)
*Renting seen as favorable to owning: 71 percent of adults feel that there are advantages to renting vs. owning in the current real estate market, 48 percent citing financial reasons (e.g. not being impacted by unpredictable housing values and mortgage rates) over more traditional reasons such as amenities packages (18 percent) or the flexibility of a short-term lease (32 percent). (This makes sense as people are simply taking advantage of favorable market conditions. This is where the industry has to continue to teach prospective renters about the beauty of renting.)
This survey has some solid stats and some encouraging numbers concerning our industry. This is yet another signpost for us to continue to be innovative and smart on how we approach our business. Yes, we are a business where real business decisions are needed to not only provide a quality product (apartment living) but at quality (not necessarily maximum) profit, maximized for the benefit of developer, owner, manager and renter.
Our main issue that we uncovered was this: renters aren't eager to stop renting but we also have to start getting the news out that multi-family housing is a real lifestyle choice and not just one to bank on when housing suffers. New ideas are still needed and we need to work together to make them happen!
New Survey Finds 69 Percent of Renters Plan to Continue Renting For As Long As Five More Years (The Earth Times)
Some Tips on Optimizing On-Site Performance
We like tips. Tips are cool. They are like little fortune cookies, some bringing a smile, some bringing an a-ha moment, others leaving you shaking your head wondering what the author was thinking. And of course, there is that fun little adult game that we play by adding certain phrases after our fortune cookie fortunes but we digress.
Today, we bring you a few tips from Jan Wiesler, senior vice president of operations for Mills Management courtesy of Teresa O'Dea Hein, Managing Editor over at multihousingnews.com. Mills Properties Inc. recently took home a total of seven prizes at this year’s “Rising Star of the Year Awards” banquet, organized by the St. Louis Apartment Association (SLAA), so we think Wiesler is imminently qualified to bring you some multi-family housing tippage.
Tips for Award-Winning Performance (multihousingnews.com)
Today, we bring you a few tips from Jan Wiesler, senior vice president of operations for Mills Management courtesy of Teresa O'Dea Hein, Managing Editor over at multihousingnews.com. Mills Properties Inc. recently took home a total of seven prizes at this year’s “Rising Star of the Year Awards” banquet, organized by the St. Louis Apartment Association (SLAA), so we think Wiesler is imminently qualified to bring you some multi-family housing tippage.
Tips for Award-Winning Performance (multihousingnews.com)
June 5, 2008
It's a Good Time to be Renting Apartments
Cash flow. Liquidity. Income. These are all good words for us in the business world trying to make our Profit and Loss statements appear in the red. Why mention P&L's, cash and other fancy financial terminology? Well, we are sitting on the cusp of another great revival in renting and in some places like Manhattan and San Francisco said revival is in full swing. This bodes well for the rental community as a whole and as a marketing partner to the industry, this bodes well for us too.
That being said, msnbc.com yesterday posted a great article about the renter's boom and how housing has directly influenced the economics of our industry. The first part of the article is pretty obvious stuff, particularly to those in the Florida market where the 'shadow market' (we always think of a sinister man in a cape and tights committing dastardly deeds when we hear this term) has saturated the market with available condos and houses to rent. 'A' product, predictably has been hit the hardest as more and more families rent homes for less than what you could rent a 3 bedroom/2 bath apartment or even a 2/2 at an upscale 'A' community. However, we have talked about the up-tick in traffic and occupancy rates (see our last surveys, here, here and here) that Susan Whitney with property management company Riverstone Residential Group in Boca Raton, Fla. alludes to in the article.
The shadow market battered the rental market in the last two years, Whitney said, as renters opted for investor-owned homes and condos, which helped to drive down rents in the area. But as news spread of tenants getting burned by delinquent landlords, renters returned to the traditional market.
"(They) have become more weary about investor homes and condos, and now concessions in the market have started to decrease," she said.
Ms. Whitney is absolutely correct! More and more foreclosures in our area have left many renters and/or foreclosed homeowners with no option but to rent. Why would these renters rent again from a home or condo when the same act of foreclosure could happen again? The answer is they would not, even if it meant paying more rent per month for an apartment than they would pay for a home or condo for rent.
This trend is only going to increase and to us in our market, this is the real story. Tampa, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale communities need to start preparing their forecasts and budgets for a turnaround in the market that will, admittedly, continue to trend upwards percentage point by percentage point. This trend will be slow, but as more foreclosures trickle into the market, more renters will be created and the renter's pool will expand. Renter's will crave the stability of an apartment community and now is the time to prepare to welcome them with open arms.
Housing downturn is a boon for some renters (msnbc.com)
That being said, msnbc.com yesterday posted a great article about the renter's boom and how housing has directly influenced the economics of our industry. The first part of the article is pretty obvious stuff, particularly to those in the Florida market where the 'shadow market' (we always think of a sinister man in a cape and tights committing dastardly deeds when we hear this term) has saturated the market with available condos and houses to rent. 'A' product, predictably has been hit the hardest as more and more families rent homes for less than what you could rent a 3 bedroom/2 bath apartment or even a 2/2 at an upscale 'A' community. However, we have talked about the up-tick in traffic and occupancy rates (see our last surveys, here, here and here) that Susan Whitney with property management company Riverstone Residential Group in Boca Raton, Fla. alludes to in the article.
The shadow market battered the rental market in the last two years, Whitney said, as renters opted for investor-owned homes and condos, which helped to drive down rents in the area. But as news spread of tenants getting burned by delinquent landlords, renters returned to the traditional market.
"(They) have become more weary about investor homes and condos, and now concessions in the market have started to decrease," she said.
Ms. Whitney is absolutely correct! More and more foreclosures in our area have left many renters and/or foreclosed homeowners with no option but to rent. Why would these renters rent again from a home or condo when the same act of foreclosure could happen again? The answer is they would not, even if it meant paying more rent per month for an apartment than they would pay for a home or condo for rent.
This trend is only going to increase and to us in our market, this is the real story. Tampa, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale communities need to start preparing their forecasts and budgets for a turnaround in the market that will, admittedly, continue to trend upwards percentage point by percentage point. This trend will be slow, but as more foreclosures trickle into the market, more renters will be created and the renter's pool will expand. Renter's will crave the stability of an apartment community and now is the time to prepare to welcome them with open arms.
Housing downturn is a boon for some renters (msnbc.com)
June 3, 2008
Builder Confidence in the Rental Apartment Market Dropped Sharply
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released the Q1 results of their Multifamily Rental Market Index (MRMI), a quarterly nationwide survey of multifamily builders and property owners who are asked a series of questions about current market conditions as well as their expectations for the next six months, and they are not very good.
“The economic downturn affects the rental market as well as home building,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Rental Vacancy Rates are rather high and the demand for rental apartments is being held back by various economic conditions—including a weakening job market and record-high prices of food and energy.” And without both strong demand and more ready access to capital, multifamily builder/developers will cut back production of new rental projects.
It's no secret that builders and owners felt and are feeling the crunch of the current economy. It's pretty simple actually; low demand (in this case resulting in higher vacancies) lessens the demand for more product, in this case the building of new apartments. A product took the biggest hit with a 20 point drop on the index while B product and C product fell 18.3 and 18.6 points respectively.
The bright spot? The number of calls from prospective renters has picked up at 4 points higher than last year. This is great news! The flip side to that however is it seems concessions is driving this traffic. Lower rents and asking prices were the norm. So, as laissez-faire economics has taught us to ask, would that 4 point increase happen in spite of or because of the concessions and lower asking rate? We're not sure we know the answer to that question, however, we will hopefully have some more insight over the coming months, including a very exciting interview that we hope will be happening later this week. Stay tuned!
Confidence In Rental Market Weakens (National Association of Home Builders)
“The economic downturn affects the rental market as well as home building,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Rental Vacancy Rates are rather high and the demand for rental apartments is being held back by various economic conditions—including a weakening job market and record-high prices of food and energy.” And without both strong demand and more ready access to capital, multifamily builder/developers will cut back production of new rental projects.
It's no secret that builders and owners felt and are feeling the crunch of the current economy. It's pretty simple actually; low demand (in this case resulting in higher vacancies) lessens the demand for more product, in this case the building of new apartments. A product took the biggest hit with a 20 point drop on the index while B product and C product fell 18.3 and 18.6 points respectively.
The bright spot? The number of calls from prospective renters has picked up at 4 points higher than last year. This is great news! The flip side to that however is it seems concessions is driving this traffic. Lower rents and asking prices were the norm. So, as laissez-faire economics has taught us to ask, would that 4 point increase happen in spite of or because of the concessions and lower asking rate? We're not sure we know the answer to that question, however, we will hopefully have some more insight over the coming months, including a very exciting interview that we hope will be happening later this week. Stay tuned!
Confidence In Rental Market Weakens (National Association of Home Builders)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
