Multi-Housing News - September 2009 - (Page 4)

The Walkability Factor Driving though Pennsylvania’s scenic Susquehanna Valley last weekend, I was reminded that many Americans choose to live far from urban centers and well beyond suburban sprawl. But even in the smallest of country towns, you’ll find some multi-housing living options—a large house transformed into rental apartments or mixed-use development comprised of apartments over retail along Main Street. Within the context of small-town living in rural areas, there are those who demand or require walkability for a variety of reasons. These images of vast stretches of countryside, broken by an occasional small town, were on my mind when a colleague recently shared an interesting article from Money Magazine. “Putting a Price on Walkability” describes a new study conducted by CEOs for Cities, a self-described “national network of urban leaders dedicated to building and sustaining the next generation of great American cities.” The report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities,” by Joseph Cortright, analyzed data from 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 major markets provided by ZipRealty and found that, in 13 of the 15 markets, including Chicago, Tucson and Jacksonville, homes in highly walkable neighborhoods (where you can get to stores, schools and parks without having to get in the car) sold, on average, for $4,000 to $34,000 more than homes in neighborhoods of average walkability. Interestingly, only in Las Vegas were more-walkable neighborhoods less desirable. The allure of walkability is no surprise to multi-housing professionals—from urban planners to leasing agents—but how does the average multi-housing developer commit to providing residents walkability in areas that don’t already have retail, schools and parks—or public transit options? This dilemma is addressed in “The New Urbanism Kool Aid,” (Readers Reply, page 6). This month we also share MHN readers’ tips for reducing water bills (“The Water War”) and strategies for conserving energy (“Time for an Energy Tax”). Join us at our LinkedIn Multi-Housing News Forum to share your own views on these topics and others. And don’t miss “Drive More Efficiency in your Operations by Automating Supply Chain and Payment Processing,” presented by MHN with SiteStuff/Yardi on September 10 at 2:00 pm EST/11:00 am PST. Register at www.multi-housingnews.com/webinar. GROUP PUBLISHER & SHOW DIRECTOR Daniel J. Corcoran daniel.corcoran@nielsen.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Diana Mosher diana.mosher@nielsen.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Keat Foong keat.foong@nielsen.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jonathan Marsland jonathan.marsland@nielsen.com ART DIRECTOR Michelle Matteson michelle.matteson@nielsen.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Erika Schnitzer erika.schnitzer@nielsen.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Christopher Hosford Jeffrey Steele ONLINE NEWS EDITOR Anuradha Kher anuradha.kher@nielsen.com MHN BLOG Jack Kern Daniel Gehman PRODUCTION MANAGER Barbara W. Lau barbara.lau@nielsen.com 646-654-7308 CIRCULATION Omeda nmhn@omeda.com 800-697-8859/fax: 847-291-4816 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Natasha Selhi natasha.selhi@nielsen.com 516-682-6041 ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Associate Publisher: Natasha Selhi natasha.selhi@nielsen.com 516-682-6041 Director of Digital & Live Events: Jason J. Wafalosky Multi-Housing World/Multi-Housing News jason.wafalosky@nielsen.com 484-228-8481 MARKETING DIRECTOR Kevin Marty kevin.marty@nielsen.com 516-682-6149/fax: 516-682-6166 ONLINE PUBLICATIONS www.multi-housingnews.com MHN Daily Newsletter MHN Property Management MHN Green Building & Design MHN Finance & Investment REPRINTS The YGS Group Angie VanGorder 800-501-9571 ext. 176 MHN@theYGSgroup.com LIST RENTALS Nikki Miller 646-654-7261 nikki.miller@nielsen.com MHN EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Sharon Dworkin Bell Senior Staff Vice President, Multifamily National Association of Home Builders Tom Bozzuto, CEO The Bozzuto Group Doug Bibby, President National Multi Housing Council Dr. Sam Chandan President, Chief Economist Real Estate Econometrics Doris W. Koo, President, CEO Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. M. Leanne Lachman Principal Lachman Associates Clark D. Manus, FAIA, CEO Heller Manus Architects AIA VP/2011 President Steve Patterson, CEO ZOM USA Katherine Perez, Executive Director ULI Los Angeles David Picerne, CEO, President Picerne Real Estate Group Lori Reeves Vice President, Chief Information Officer Forest City Residential Group Linwood Thompson Senior Vice President/Managing Director Marcus & Millichap Diana Mosher Editor-in-Chief Terry Danner, CEO Riverstone Residential Leo S. Horey Executive Vice President Operations AvalonBay Communities, Inc. www.facebook.com/MHNonFB Mark Humphreys, AIA, CEO Humphreys & Partners Architects, L.P. Jack Kern Managing Director Kern Investment Research, LLC Robert Koch, AIA Principal, Fugleberg Koch twitter.com/mhnonline MHN ONLINE To share your comments with our readers, email diana.mosher@nielsen.com Multi-Housing News Forum President: Greg Farrar • Senior VP, Human Resources: Michael Alicea • Senior VP, Brand Media: Andrew Bilbao • Senior VP, Media & Entertainment: Gerry Byrne • Senior VP, Finance: Sloane Googin • Senior VP, Retail: David Loechner • Senior VP, Content: Scott McKenzie • Senior VP, Building & Design: Joe Randall • Senior VP, Central Services: Mary Kay Sustek • COO, Entertainment: Howard Appelbaum • VP, Manufacturing & Distribution: Jennifer Grego • VP, Licensing: Andrew Min • VP, Client Marketing: Sue Tremblay • VP, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley 4 September 2009 | Multi-Housing News http://www.multi-housingnews.com http://www.multi-housingnews.com/webinar http://www.facebook.com/MHNonFB http://www.twitter.com/mhnonline

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - September 2009

Multi-Housing News - September 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Executive Insight: Jack Kern
Market Pulse
Conversation with Shaun Donovan
Property Management
Global Market Report
Development & Design: Low-Rise
Directory: Top Architects
Kitchen & Bath: Cabinets
Products: Leasing Tools
Technology: Lead Management
NMHC Notebook

Multi-Housing News - September 2009