Brad Pitt and Bill Clinton joined hundreds of volunteers in New Orleans in preparing the Lower 9th Ward for a housing project led by Pitt’s foundation, Make It Right.Starting in 2006, Make It Right committed to building 150 environmentally-friendly homes to replace the homes that were destroyed in 2005’s Hurricane Katrina in one of the hardest hit areas, the Lower 9th Ward. The group has put an emphasis on ensuring that the homes they build are replicable, and hope to redevelop other hard-hit areas of the city.Working alongside other experts in the field of development such as the Cherokee Gives Back Foundation, William McDonough + Partners and Graft architecture firms and two advisors to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Pitt hopes to “be a catalyst for the redevelopment of the Lower 9th Ward, by building a neighborhood comprised of safe and healthy homes…”.To learn more about the Make It Right foundation and the Lower 9th Ward project, visit the vision page of the Make It Right website.
Labels: Angelina Jolie, architecture, Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt, Cherokee Gives Back, development, Graft, Hurricane Katrina, Make It Right, New Orleans, rebuilding, The 9th Ward, William McDonough + Partners
I just received a call from my friends’ cousin Mikey, who was planning to move into my basement in the wake of a condo conversion in his apartment building.
Cousin Mikey, I just found out, isn’t moving in after all. His landlord informed him and the other 100 tenants in his downtown pre-war apartment complex that they could, in fact, keep their homes. The developer changed their mind, deciding that condo conversions are just too saturated in this market.
Apparently Mikey isn’t the only one living with the tug of war between tenants and developers.
Seattle’s real estate market has seen condo conversions drop sharply since a peak in 2006 because of changes in our housing market, including demand for rentals, housing costs and developers’ ROI.
This week, the House is considering a bill that proposes three things for Washington state:
- Developers must give tenants 180 days notice prior to development and are not allowed to start construction during the notice period.
- Monetary assistance would be granted to qualified tenants--qualifications would be determined by the tenants' earnings. Developers would have to pay tenants up to three times the monthly rent to cushion moving out and into a new building.
- Local governments would be given the faculty to put a cap on the number of apartment/condo conversions in the city.The city of Seattle is supporting this legislation.
I’d like to make one point clear before discussing this any further. I agree with the first two proposals. It’s the last that I take issue with, and it’s the last that deserves serious discussion.
Seattle is notorious for being one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. in which to buy real estate. It’s also one of the best cities in which to live, in my humble opinion, but still one of the most expensive.
Why, then, would our local government seek to put a cap on how many condominiums the city can build/convert? Because, in their minds, the city needs to stabilize the increase in development and give the market back to renting tenants who cannot afford to buy.
I suppose I see both sides of the argument, but as a single girl living in the city, if the condo shoe fits, I’ll wear it--just as soon as I find that right shoe. Er, condo.
What happens to the person who enjoys the benefit of home ownership but doesn’t want to move to the suburbs? Or can’t afford to buy in the suburbs? They are stuck renting.
There is a huge and stable market here for (semi) affordable homes among gen x and gen y-ers alike– and those (semi) affordable homes? They are condominiums, not single family suburban residences.
Investors should keep a close eye on this legislation because if the local government adopts this cap, it will not only affect landlord/tenant state laws, but limit the amount of properties available to purchase.
But, good for Cousin Mikey. And, good for me. I mean, I’m a Led Zeppelin fan, but...c’mon.
Labels: condo conversions, development, investors, real estate, real estate law, Seattle
I’ve noticed something in my metropolitan Seattle neighborhood recently: red and white signs popping up where John L. Scott, Windermere and Coldwell Banker signs formerly snuggled comfortably into the ground.
With home sales slowing, sellers are trying to find more creative ways to list their properties and save on selling costs. One of those ways? Getting rid of the middleman.
2006 and 2007 brought an onslaught of online real estate companies designed to automate the buying and selling process as a broker, saving both the buyer and the seller money.
Four of the most well-known companies in this category are Trulia, Zillow, Terabitz and Redfin. Despite the slump in the real estate market, all four have received great amounts of funding from large VCs within the last two years.
All of this got me thinking...
The idea that a product could sell even in a market slump is an interesting one. And even though real estate has cooled off in most parts of the world, these companies are still trending upwards, though not as quickly as first anticipated. They provide a cheap alternative to selling and marketing in an otherwise deteriorating market.
The clear benefit that buyers and sellers alike see in these companies is the elimination of the middleman. And some of these sites, specifically Trulia, are becoming more and more user-friendly.
Case in point?
Trulia launched their new Trulia Publisher Platform in January, allowing publishers use their search technology, with listings, under the umbrella of a publisher’s co-branding, all at no cost to the publisher. This is essentially the real estate world’s equivalent of using Google AdSense to advertise properties, but in a much more cost- efficient way.
It’s a win-win. Publishers get real estate-related traffic back from Trulia, and users get the benefit of co-branding with larger publishers. Mark my word, this will change the game of web marketing and advertising for real estate.
Zillow’s answer to Trulia’s Publisher Platform is a new feed format that will work in conjunction with Trulia – but stay tuned -- more on that tomorrow.Labels: development, real estate, technology
I’ve been lucky in the past few years of my life to travel the world. The places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met, and the experiences I've lived all hold a very special place in my life.
I’ve also been lucky enough to spend several years studying French. So, I guess you could say that I am interested in (nay, obsessed with) any proposed perversion of their culture.
Buti Saeed al-Ghandi, a developer with head of Emivest, an investment and development group in Dubai has just returned from a romantic getaway to Lyon, France with his wife. Imagine his memories! The streets, the food, the culture, the…romance. He was sold. He also had an idea: to plant a mini-Lyon inside of Dubai – complete with designs inspired by architecture in modern-day Lyon.
Why does this matter to you?
He has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Lyon’s mayor, Gérard Collomb, and anticipates sealing the deal on his next visit to the city.
I know, right? “Choc! Horreur! Quelle parodie!” Screams my inner Francophile.
Ghandi’s plans include a university, museums, restaurants, shops, pedestrian streets, courtyards, and a town square – all replicating Lyon. His time spent inside the 19th century Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica may even inspire a church – yes, a church – right next to a mosque.
This can’t be so bad, I tell myself. I read on:
Location is still up in the air – discussion has involved placing the ‘little Lyon’ on upwards of 1000 acres of land. Potential spots include an urban area by the tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai Tower; a plot of desert land close to the second international airport, which has not been built yet; and "Dubailand," which is a $10 billion complex including theme parks and entertainment that is currently still under construction.
Any way you toss it, this project is ambitious, at best. And also? A total perversion of French culture. It’s like calling ‘Paris’ in Vegas … well, Paris. The manager of the project insists, however, that it’ll be a far cry from anything Vegas or Disneyland.
What about atmosphere? How does one create a street comfortable enough to stroll down in the middle of the desert heat? I fight visions of massive fans. Somehow I keep thinking about the movie ‘Bio-Dome’ with Pauly Shore.
Naturally, my instinct is to worry first about the wine, and then of course, the food. French culture is known for not only their love of cured meats and delectable cheeses, but their wine, most of all! Muslim countries ban not only meat, but all forms of alcohol. Dubai is a modern city, however, an international hub, even – and tends to be more lenient about those rules. I am still skeptical. I think they still allow cheese.
In any event, my logic has kicked in. What does this mean for the commerce in the city? What does this mean for investors? Particularly investors interested in saturated (yet successful) international markets like Dubai? What it means is a potential boost in the economy of this emirate – and fast. Things are looking up, perhaps.
This project, if it breaks land, will attempt to bring not only the charm, but also the economic successes of Lyon to Dubai. Lyon is currently one of the world’s most popular (top 30) convention sites. Readers Digest named the city the 7th most livable in the world last year. It is for good reason that Ghandi would like to replicate it.
Any way you flip it, this project is interesting. Skeptics are concerned about any attempts to recreate French culture in the middle of the desert – and rightly so. I recall from my days in art history class learning that Lyon was second only to Venice in its light origin – some of the world’s most important pieces of art were painted there. How can that same light be recreated in the middle of the desert?
Again, I digress.
Clearly this project represents great opportunity for investors interested in overseas markets. It also represents great opportunity for further economic development in (the seemingly few) areas of Dubai that are suffering.
My inner Francophile is still screaming.
Labels: development, international, investments, real estate
