Greystone has provided $29,500,000 in bridge financing for the acquisition of 783 residential rental units in Baton Rouge, LA. The acquisition financing was originated by Leor Dimant of Greystone’s New York office.

Greystone provided two separate non-recourse bridge loans for the borrower to acquire and rehabilitate four total properties. The first two-year bridge loan was for $16,880,000, and the second two-year bridge loan was for $12,620,000. During the acquisitions phase, Greystone initiated the process to secure long-term, low and fixed-rate permanent Housing and Urban Development insured financing.

“Now more than ever before, our expanded bridge lending platform gives us the flexibility to present custom-tailored finance solutions for our clients,” said Dimant. “Our clients can move quickly on their multifamily portfolio acquisition targets across the nation, while they seek out long-term agency financing with our proprietary bridge-to-HUD lending process.”

Rents decreased $1 to $1,420 in October 2018, a second straight month of decline. The 3.3% year-over-year rent growth for the month was unchanged from September, according to a survey of 127 markets from Yardi Matrix.

The overall slowdown follows an anticipated seasonal trend.

Rent gains have accelerated in warm-weather markets such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Atlanta. According to the report, the strength of the national market is demonstrated by the fact that rent growth is less than 2% in only a handful of metros, and the lowest is Houston at 1.6%. No market is even remotely in trouble," the report says. "The market's groove will be hard to knock off course as long as employment and wage growth maintain their current path.

In fact, several metros have had recent rent decreases concentrated in the high-end segment. Boston (-0.7%), Seattle and San Jose (-0.6%), Chicago (-0.5%). Moreover, Portland and Washington, D.C. (-0.4%) experienced decreases in Lifestyle rents on a trailing-three-month basis. Those losses can be primarily attributed to an increase in deliveries of luxury units.

The strong gains are led by Southwest markets Las Vegas and Phoenix, both of which have seen strong acceleration since the beginning of the year. Las Vegas leads U.S. metros with 7.4% year over-year growth through October, up from 5.8% in January. Phoenix rose to 7.0% in October from 4.0% in January

Both markets benefit from their long-term population shifts and healthy job growth. Affordability and effects of 2017 tax reform have positioned Las Vegas to benefit from the outmigration of people and businesses from California and other high-cost regions. Phoenix is attractive due to its weather, while its economy increasingly attracting a diverse set of businesses.

Year-over-year rent growth leaders for October were Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, Fla., and the Inland Empire and San Jose metros in California.

Walker & Dunlop Inc. provided a $74,746,000 Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Fairways Country Club, an Orlando-based five-star manufactured housing community for seniors aged 55 and above.

Walker & Dunlop's Will Baker, William Shell and Doug McDaniel led the team in arranging a 10-year, fixed-rate loan for their longstanding client, Hometown America LLC. Drawing on their deep understanding of Fannie Mae's programs, they leveraged the enterprise’s Fannie Mae's Streamlined Rate Lock option to lock the rate shortly after receiving the application and close within 23 days.

[caption id="attachment_7685" align="alignleft" width="150"] Fairways of Orlando[/caption]

In addition to its top-notch amenities, the property has a strong operating history, with occupancy levels above 97.2 percent since 2008. The senior housing community has experienced rent growth of at least 3.5 percent annually, and it is positioned in an area where demographics continue to strengthen demand for high-quality MHC properties.

"Will Baker and the Walker & Dunlop team have been a trusted partner of Hometown America for more than 10 years due to their strong relationship with Fannie and Freddie and their expertise in the MHC asset class," said Doug Minahan, vice president of Hometown America. "Similar to our experience when they refinanced the existing loan on Fairways Country Club in 2008, Will and his team once again delivered terms as promised in an expedited fashion, going from signed application to closing in less than 30 days."

"Manufactured housing communities are consistently some of the best performing assets in our portfolio, and Fairways is no exception," said Mr. Baker.

Liquid Capital Real Estate Partners and Wilson Investment Properties have acquired a $51.2M, 45-acre multifamily complex in Norcross, Ga.

The Fields at Peachtree Corners is a garden-style apartment community comprised of 41 residential buildings offering a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, totaling just under 500,000 square feet. The strategy is to drive rent growth through upgrading existing unit interiors, as well as improving and adding to the amenities and common areas.

Liquid Capital and Wilson Investment Properties selected the Atlanta metro due to afavorable tax benefits, low cost of living, and access to transportation, infrastructure and education. Rapid population and economic growth, a flourishing job hub, and a wealth of new development in and around Atlanta's major business districts make the Fields at Peachtree Corners highly attractive for the multifamily investor's portfolio.

"These offerings allow our investors to diversify their investment portfolios outside of stocks and Wall Street," said Tom Wilson, principal at Wilson Investment Properties. "Many of our clients love that they can invest in an institutional grade product for a fraction of the cost using the expertise of an experienced syndicator." Investors will be receiving attractive yields and immediate cash flow distributions.

Liquid Capital is a multifamily investment company based in New Jersey that specializes in repositioning underperforming apartment communities in strong markets. Wilson Investment Properties, founded in 2003 in Silicon Valley, is a provider of commercial real estate syndications in industrial, office, retail, land development multifamily, and assisted living.