The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index, gauge of U.S. home prices, continued declines in April

Home prices eased their slide in April, but rising unemployment and shaky consumer confidence weigh on prospects for a recovery in the housing market and broader U.S. economy.

Home prices in 20 major cities fell an average 0.6% in April, an improvement over the 2.2% decline the prior month, according to the Case-Shiller index produced by Standard & Poor's and released today.

Eight metropolitan areas actually had price gains in April, led by Dallas, Denver and Cleveland, where prices rose 1% or more from the previous month.

It has been 13 months since any area experienced year-over-year price gains, but nine cities avoided month-to-month declines, up from just three last month. Dallas, Denver and Cleveland posted increases greater than 1%, while Washington, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta and Seattle posted moderate rises.

In the Portland market, home prices averaged 146.85% of what they were in January of 2000. This is a decrease of 16% from one year ago. The worst performing is Phoenix where home values have decreased over 35%.

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Help us plan for our next Apartment Investor Roundtable coming in September!

Investors and apartment owners in Oregon and SW Washington are invited to help us plan for our next Investor Roundtable this fall.  To complete a quick survey to help us know what information you are looking for in this quickly changing investment environment, please click here. Our Roundtable is co-sponsored by Banker's Mutual.

Apartment Executives Discuss U.S. Capital Markets and Trends

This week on the on the Multifamily Housing Video Channel, apartment finance executives discuss the U.S. capital markets and the state of the apartment market's metrics and fundamentals. View this video > > >

$200k Price Reduction on the desirable Teasdale Apts in NW Portland

The Teasdale Apartments were built in 1910. With 19 units, this complex is in NW Portland within walking distance of dozens of boutiques, grocery stores, cafes and fine dining.  Easy access to shopping, downtown, freeways, transit, parks and major employers. This building is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a vintage complex in one of Portland's most popular neighborhoods. Click here to download the updated marketing package.

HFO Apartment Brokers on Twitter!

You can keep track of all the latest apartment listings, listing status changes, sales and related news from your PDA or Twitterfeed. Just friend HFO_APT_BROKERS.

Stable Fundamentals Key to Portland Market's Strong Performance

The Portland/Vancouver marketplace occupies a fairly safe space because of its annual population increases of approximately 35,000 people, much of it coming from the highly coveted 25- to 35-year-old demographic that wants to rent. Rents in class A apartment properties are expected to fall slightly through 2009, but other fundamentals are positive.

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Apartment owners: new federal law on lead-based paint takes effect April 22, 2010

Beginning in April of next year, the EPA will require owners of market-rate properties built before 1978 to comply with lead safety requirements that until now have only been required for properties receiving federal assistance. The new law governs renovation activities such as cutting, demolition and sanding which can cause hazardous lead chips and dust by disturbing underlying lead paint. The law is the result of studies showing that 75% of all housing built before 1978 has lead-based paint. Higher levels of lead-based paint in the blood have now been linked to an increase in violent behavior. The EPA will not be notifying owners directly but is providing educational outreach through trade associations. Learn More > > >

HFO Investment Real Estate Named one of Portland's Top Brokerage Firms by CoStar Group

PORTLAND, OR – June 9, 2009 – HFO Investment Real Estate (HFO) is pleased to announce that CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) has selected HFO as a CoStar Power Broker Award-Winner for the fourth straight year.  CoStar’s Power Broker is an annual award recognizing the "best of the best" in commercial real estate brokerage by spotlighting the U.S. firms and individual brokers who closed the highest transaction volume in commercial property sales or leases for the entire year in 2008.

HFO qualified as one of the top brokerage firms in Portland based on its total sale transactions closed during the year.  In order to be selected for this honor, HFO was measured against commercial real estate brokerage firms active in its region by CoStar Group, the largest, independent research organization in commercial real estate, and subsequently ranked among the top firms in the market.

According to HFO partner Greg Frick: “We’re delighted to once again be recognized again as a leader in the commercial real estate industry. Our strength is our exclusive focus on the apartment marketplace. Our focus on building long-term relationships with our clients makes each of our transactions significant.”

"CoStar Group is very proud to recognize the commercial real estate brokerage firms who truly excelled and achieved remarkable sales success in 2008 despite the difficult economic circumstances,” said CoStar Group President and CEO Andrew C. Florance. “We congratulate HFO on its impressive professional accomplishment.”

About HFO Investment Real Estate
HFO specializes in apartments for sale in Oregon and Washington. Using cutting edge resources, HFO helps clients find dynamic multifamily investment properties and offers an insider's knowledge of the local market. It is HFO's mission to create wealth for its clients by providing extraordinary commerical real estate sales and investment services. Learn more about HFO at http://www.hfore.com .


About CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) is the number one provider of information/marketing services to commercial real estate professionals in the United States as well as the United Kingdom. CoStar's suite of services offers customers access via the Internet to the most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information throughout the U.S. as well as in the United Kingdom and France. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, CoStar has approximately 1,300 people working for the company worldwide, including the largest professional research organization in the industry. For more information, visit http://www.costar.com .

Survey reveals pet-friendly apartments may be easier to rent

Apartment owners may want to consider pet-friendly policies if they are having problems filling vacancies according to a new survey by Apartments.com. The survey of 1,000 renters nationwide revealed that 80% of respondents said a pet-friendly policy played a major role in where they chose to live, with 30 percent of owners seeking units close to parks, trails, and veterinary offices.  More than 50 percent of renters said they paid more than $200 for a pet deposit.

Oregon, Washington and Idaho predicted to be among first out of recession

MSNBC's investigative newsman Bill Dedman provides an analysis of a new report predicting Oregon, Washington and Idaho will be among the first states to recover from the current economic downturn.  Read more > > >

HFO brokers sale of 16-unit complex in Westmoreland for $1.725 million

The Westmoreland 16 Apartments, built in 1947, have sold for $1.725 million or $107,813 per unit. This complex of cottage-style apartments is made up of two seperate tax lots with eight units in each tax lot, making it a total of (12) 1-bed 1-bath apartments and (4) 2-bed 1-bath units. This complex includes eleven garages in addition to individual basements, some with washer/dryer hookups.