National Multi Housing Council
Commentary: National Multi Housing Council
Waiting Eagerly for 2010
While apartment owners are experiencing rising demand amid falling home ownership rates, they also face more competition as houses and condos go on sale...
Dispelling the Myths of Density Bonuses
When granted by municipalities to allow developers to build more units on a given site than local zoning laws would normally allow, density bonuses can...
Before You Invest: Index
When you're considering investing millions of dollars in an apartment property, you want to know everything you can about how that property performs compared...
Changing Political Landscape
Last November's election results brought control of Congress into the hands of Democrats. Three critical questions emerge as the 110th Congress gets underway, and the answers will affect federal issues important to the apartment industry...
Student Housing: Recession-Proof?
Unlike the larger rental market, which is subject to economic swings, student housing is recession-resistant, and may well be practically recession-proof....
Electronic Payments Accelerate Cash Flow
Just as in other real estate sectors and competitive industries, apartment firms employ new technologies with the goal of saving money, increasing cash...
Immigration Reform Is A Delicate Issue
When President Bush urged Congress in his State of the Union address in January to approve comprehensive immigration reform legislation, he moved this...
New Sexual Harassment Prevention Measures
The public's growing focus on corporate governance and ethical conduct has resulted in a wave of civil litigation and criminal charges against not only...
Will Rise in Foreclosures Derail the Housing Market?
These days the political consensus seems to be that everyone deserves the American Dream, no matter what the cost. Record-high home ownership rates seem...
Apartment Owners Wary of Tax Reform
One of the top priorities of Congress next year will be restructuring the federal tax code, which is a nightmarish prospect for commercial real estate...
Is your company in compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act?
In May, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it plans to revise the rules implementing the 12-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which...
Why Apartment Owners Should Be Optimistic
American lifestyles and housing preferences are changing in fundamental ways that will make apartment living fashionable once again. For the past 50 years,...
A Second Term for Bush Has Policy Implications
With the drama of the 2004 election behind us, we begin a new year with a new Congress. Usually the re-election of a sitting President whose party retains...
Putting the Interest Rate Myth to Rest
Conventional wisdom tells us that low interest rates and government incentives are driving homeownership rates up, and that those increases are bad news...
Additional Homeownership Incentives Called into Question
As if the federal government doesn't spend enough to promote homeownership, Congress is seriously considering legislation that would depart from precedent...
Mind Your Marketing
Rising vacancy rates have led many real estate firms to turn to new forms of marketing, but new federal Do Not Call and Do Not Fax rules mean firms will...
What is the Right Level of Apartment Construction?
Until recently, the apartment sector was praised for showing remarkable discipline in limiting new construction. Now, with higher vacancy rates and no...
Automation Advantage
Not long ago, in the midst of the dot-com technology revolution, many promises were made about new software technologies that would transform apartment...
How to Fight Indoor Air Pollution
Beginning in the late 1990s, sensational media headlines on toxic mold created an unprecedented public awareness of indoor air quality. Now, public concern...
Higher policy costs spur new risk strategies
Apartment vacancy levels are up and real estate owners' insurance costs are, too. What's an owner to do? Many are increasing their deductibles and retaining...
Measuring Performance from Every Perspective
Apartment management has been transformed over the past two decades. What was once largely a mom and pop business is now a highly professional industry....
THE EXPERTS: New Taxes: Coming to a State Near You?
WITH MANY STATE governments facing a budget crisis, a real possibility exists that commercial real estate operators could be targeted for new taxes. Despite...
