National Market Report

Atlanta

Between 2000 and 2006, Atlanta gained about 890,000 residents, more than any other metro area in the country, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Riverside, California round out the top five. The growing city’s population reached the five million mark, making it No. 9 in national rankings while passing Boston and Detroit. Those migrating to the 28 counties of the Atlanta area are finding relatively inexpensive housing and warmer weather, though the area is seeing overcrowding of schools and slower job growth than in the late 1990s. In comparison, New York has a population of 18.8 million but has seen only half the increase of Atlanta this decade.

Boston

Campanelli Cos. has proposed to build Boston’s largest-ever residential development, a 72-acre complex that would extend into the neighboring town of Dedham, the Boston Globe reported. The builder hopes that Boston will annex 37 acres of Dedham property in order to keep the project within the city’s boundaries. The development would be called Neponset Village and have 1,850 units in low-level buildings, and possibly a small commercial component.

Residential properties on the market in Boston range anywhere from the low extreme of $89,000 all the way up to $16.5 million, according to the Boston Globe. The most affordable property on the market last month was a 428-square-foot, one-bathroom studio with an asking price of $89,000. The one-window unit at 135 Townsend Street in Dorchester is in need of renovations. The most expensive property in the city was a six-story, 9,500-square-foot corner townhouse with an asking price of $16.5 million. The restored 1833 Greek Revival house, at 8 Mt. Vernon Place in Beacon Hill, has six bedrooms and historic details, including a winding staircase and marble fireplaces.

Chicago

The rate of growth in Chicago’s job market is expected to slow this year, indicating the office market may not maintain its current pace for long, the Chicago Tribune reported. Office-based employers are likely to create 14,500 jobs, down from 35,200 a year ago. Chicago fell to 28th place this year among U.S. commercial real estate markets, down from 25th in 2006. Vacancy is expected to rise downtown, where 1.7 million square feet of new construction is planned. Still, rents there are likely to rise 3.7 percent this year because new offices will command higher rates.

Detroit

The real estate market in metropolitan Detroit floundered last year after 350,000 layoffs in the auto industry. The state, whose economic fortunes are closely tied to auto making, led the nation in foreclosures. The percentage of Michigan prime loans overdue by at least 90 days was 0.67 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006. But even homeowners who haven’t fallen behind on their mortgages have been affected by foreclosures. Homes located on blocks with multiple foreclosures have seen 10 to 20 percent decreases in property values. While the median price of a house in the U.S. was $219,300 in the fourth quarter, Detroit lagged behind at $154,600, the Seattle Times reported.

Las Vegas

The number of homes put up for sale in Las Vegas has increased steadily in recent months, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Single-family listings jumped to 21,287 in March, a 22.4 percent increase from a year ago. Condos and townhouses remaining on the market saw a 63.5 percent increase to 6,000. Sales, on the other hand, have dropped off considerably. In March, 1,605 single-family homes were sold, 36.3 percent less than a year ago; 341 condos were sold, a 47.2 percent drop-off. Homes sold in March had a total value of $604.8 million, 37 percent less than a year ago, while dollar value for condo and townhouse sales fell 46 percent to $79.8 million. In January, Nevada had two-and-a-half times the national average in foreclosure filings with 2,397.

Los Angeles

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British developers Candy & Candy acquired the Robinsons-May department store in Beverly Hills for $500 million in a near-record purchase, the Los Angeles Times reported. Beverly Hills-based New Pacific Realty had paid only $33.5 million for the property just three years earlier, though it was planning to spend $500 million to redevelop the site. Architect Richard Meier will design a new condominium and retail complex to replace the existing store at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard. It will consist of 252 condos in two 12-story buildings, a two-story building with townhouses and two four-story loft buildings.

A resurgence in the downtown Los Angeles retail market may be under way, thanks to its growing residential community. The current population is 30,000, but with 7,500 units under construction the number could top 40,000 by next year. Prominent restaurants such as Chaya Brasserie have signed leases in the area, and there has been particular interest in 7th Street locations, the Los Angeles Times reported. Retail sales in the last fiscal year jumped 7 percent from the previous year to $1.7 billion.

Phoenix

A record number of Arizonans want to sell their homes in a slowing market, the Arizona Republic reported. Around 50,000 houses and condominiums were listed in March, most were in the Valley. A healthy market typically has half that number, but new and resale listings have climbed steadily since last year, when totals exceeded 40,000.

The sale of the tallest building in Arizona has set a record price for Phoenix, the Arizona Republic reported. After drawing 16 offers, Brookfield Asset Management of Toronto sold the Chase Tower office building at 201 N. Central Avenue for $166.9 million to Crystal River Capital, a New York REIT. The previous record for a Phoenix office deal had been $155 million for two buildings sold in 2005, while the Hines building at 24th Street and Camelback Road sold for $107 million, the previous record for a single building sale.

San Francisco

National homebuilder Lennar Corp. will control much of the Bay Area’s future development, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The company was selected last month by the Alameda City Council to redevelop the Hunters Point shipyard and Candlestick Point. Lennar, which already controls Mare Island Naval Station and San Francisco’s Treasure Island, supplanted Catellus Development Corp. as the major developer in the Bay Area over the past decade.

Seattle

Microsoft announced it will rent 1.3 million square feet of office space in Bellevue, in the largest office lease deal ever in the Seattle area, the Seattle Times reported. The software giant has agreed to occupy a total of five office buildings currently under construction by Schnitzer Northwest. The company hopes to have 5,000 employees working and living in Bellevue by 2009, while its overcrowded Redmond campus continues its expansion projects. The deal is expected to drive up rents in Bellevue’s expensive office market.

Investors who buy apartment complexes have targeted Seattle, betting on a strong rental market. In the past three months, more than 4,300 apartment units have been sold for a total of about $540 million, according to the Seattle Times. Investing in apartment rentals in the area makes sense as the job market continues to grow and most households can not afford to buy. In 2006, the median price for a single-family home in King’s County was $425,000. Last year, 3,100 new rental units were built in the Seattle area, though overall supply declined because 7,000 rental units were converted to condos.

Washington, D.C.

Real estate developers in Washington, D.C. are abandoning condominiums in favor of rentals, according to the Washington Times. The glut of new and old condos on the market has slowed recent sales. Condo resale prices in the D.C. area fell 6.1 percent last year. Condos had made up 50 percent of the 354,000 homes being built nationally in 2005; this year that number is down to 30 percent. Zom Mid-Atlantic and Monument Realty are among the developers making the switch to building rental apartments.

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