Rental Houses & Apartments

Avison Young, the largest independently owned commercial real estate services firm in Canada, continues its rapid expansion south of its border with the purchases of Bethesda, Md.-based Realty Management Co., and the opening of an office in Reno, Nev.

Avison Young has been undergoing quite a growth spurt, and it has been talking the best and the brightest along for the ride. We started this whole expansion a couple of years ago, and what we have found is that our business model which is a high-value add, principal-led business model is different from the vast majority of commercial real estate services companies out there, Earl Webb, president, U.S. Operations with Avison Young, told Commercial Property Executive. As a result of that we have appealed to a lot of experienced real estate professionals who are looking at how theyre going to spend the next 10 to 15 years of their careers.

Stepping up its presence in metropolitan Washington, D.C., Avison Young acquired Realty Management Co., a fixture in the region since 1976.

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At the heart of the Fontvieille Marina, set in a nice “Neo Provencal” building with pool, this four-room apartment in mint conditions boasts a beautiful sea view. High quality appointments and finishing. All room open onto a large wrap-around terrace.

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Thousands of Halifax customers could see their mortgage payments rise after the high street lender said it is to increase the cap on its standard variable mortgage (SVR) rate from 3% above bank base rate to 3.75% from 31 March 2012.

The bank, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, which also includes Lloyds, and Cheltenham & Gloucester, has written to 40,000 borrowers who took out a mortgage before September 2007 and have some of their borrowing on the SVR and some on another product with an early repayment charge on it, to inform them of the move.

It said the change would not affect the amount customers paid – currently 3.5% – but the last time it raised the cap it increased its SVR just three months later. In February 2011, the bank was forced to write to 600,000 customers – and repay up to 300,000 of them – after it failed to properly notify customers of a change in the SVR cap from 2% above base rate to 3%. It said

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The Florida Realtors says January housing figures it released for Palm Beach County on Wednesday were inaccurate, but the state trade group insists it will fix the problem in time for February’s report.

Florida Realtors Chief Economist John Tuccillo said Thursday that the sales and median price distributed Wednesday by the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches were “definitive.”

Palm Beach County had 1,003 sales of existing homes, down 7 percent from a year ago, with a median price of $150,000, a 2 percent decline, according to the local Realtor board.

Data gathered for the Florida Realtors showed that Palm Beach County had 794 existing home sales, and a median price of $175,000.

Tuccillo said he doesn’t understand why his group’s January numbers didn’t match those of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches.

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Which state is the most small-business friendly?

Factors such as taxes, regulatory costs, government spending, property rights, gas and diesel taxes, health care policies and energy costs play a large part in whether a business should locate in a certain state. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council takes these measures and ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia annually based on their public policy climates for entrepreneurship.

“Low corporate and individual tax rates can make all the difference, especially for a small business that is just getting started,” says Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation, an online document preparation service for small businesses.

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No. 1 Hagley Road, the 140,000 ft (12,970 m)19 story landmark office tower, is the latest building to benefit from regeneration plans for the Five Ways area, in Birmingham. The buildings owners, Henderson Global Investors, have submitted a planning application to ensure the buildings viable future and to develop an underutilized car parking area. Local architecture practice, Associated Architects, who masterminded the Mailbox, has developed plans to ensure the building will be an icon for a future generation. The 1970s tower will be transformed into a bright and modern apartment block, providing up to 182 well proportioned city center homes. Four new penthouse floors with spectacular views will add a new skyline feature at the top.

The plans also propose the development of the extensive car parking area, which at present provides a lifeless frontage to the busy Hagley Road. Full Post…