May 2016 E-Newsletter
What's New in the FAA
Board of Directors Approves Changes to Bylaws
Registration Now Open for 2016 FAA Annual Conference & Trade Show
Product/Service Council Changes Approved
APAC Contributions Support Legislative Victories
Nearly 2 Dozen Communities Certified as Smoke-Free
Nominations for Region 9 RVP Open Until June 1
Occupancy and Rents Continue to Grow, According to MyRentComps Data
Tampa-St. Pete, Orlando, Jacksonville Emerge as Rent Growth Leaders
What's New Around the State
What's New Nationally
Labor Department Issues Final Overtime Rule Impacting Multifamily
NAA/NMHC White Paper on Resident Screening Policies for Ex-Offenders Now Available
NAA Connect: Three Powerful General Sessions. Endless Takeaways
APTly Spoken Blog — A Conversation We'll Be Revisiting
Supplier Updates
Product/Service Council Changes Approved
What's New in the FAA
Board of Directors Approves Changes to Bylaws
The FAA board of directors accepted the recommendation of the Executive Committee and reduced the number of Executive Committee positions from eight to five by asking past presidents to serve only one additional year instead of three, and by removing the position of president-elect.
In addition, the board agreed to cut in half the total number of board seats — from 60 to 30 — and to base the representation from each local affiliate on the number of units the affiliate membership accounts for as a percentage of the state total. Because the representation will always total 100 percent, the total size of the board will not creep up as it did in the past.
Read more about this in the second quarter issue of Multifamily Florida, mailing to members in late June.
Registration Now Open for 2016 FAA Annual Conference & Trade Show
Registration is now open for the 2016 FAA Annual Conference & Trade Show on October 5-7 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton. The theme of the 2016 Annual Conference & Trade Show is "People, Purpose, Passion" — the three elements every business needs to succeed. To view the full conference brochure click here.
Tickets are also on sale for the APAC All Hands on Deck Yacht Party, which will raise funds to support FAA's legislative advocacy efforts, and for a wine tasting to raise money for the Nan Cavarretta Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Alex Sheen, founder of "because I said I would," an international social movement and non-profit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept, will be the opening keynote speaker on October 6.
Sparked by the loss of his father, Sheen began sending promise cards to anyone who requested them at no cost. Since his father’s passing on September 4, 2012, "because I said I would" has sent more than 3.1 million promise cards to over 150 countries. Sheen's commitment to the betterment of humanity has inspired millions around the world. Stories of his promises have gone viral throughout social media and international news.
Chris Heeter, wilderness guide and dogsled musher, will be the closing speaker on October 7 at FAA's 2016 Annual Conference & Trade Show.
Heeter, founder of The Wild Institute, teaches audience members how to bring the "Wild" to work. She freely admits that much of what she’s learned about humanity comes from dogs and rivers — from her team of 16 sled dogs, whom she helped breed, raise, and train, to her decades of guiding whitewater canoe trips. Combined, they create the perfect back-drop for memorable, easy to apply, lasting, and life-changing tools for individuals, teams, leaders, and organizations.
Product/Service Council Changes Approved
Members of the FAA Product/Service Council have approved a new structure that will expand opportunities for all suppliers as well as more effectively connect multifamily communities and management companies with their suppliers.
PSC past chairs and current officers met late last year and developed the plan that PSC members voted to approve May 5 at the Casa Monica Hotel. The vote was ratified by the FAA Board of Directors the following day.
Here are details of the plan, which goes into effect January 1, 2017:
- The PSC membership fee will be eliminated.Any supplier who is a member of any FAA local affiliate will be part of the new Product/Service Council. The PSC will still have officers, and the chair of the PSC will continue to have a seat on the FAA Executive Committee.
- Suppliers will have opportunities to "stand out" by serving in leadership roles on the council, on current and future FAA committees (including the Conference Committee, APAC Board of Directors, Leadership Lyceum Committee, Editorial Advisory Committee, and Government Affairs Committee), or as a liaison to a local affiliates.
- Education programs, such as the May seminar with memory expert Paul Mellor, will be open to all suppliers who are members of any FAA local affiliate.
- While in the past early exhibit booth sales were limited to PSC members, under the new plan booth purchase priority will be granted to exhibitors from the previous year's exhibition, as a show of appreciation for their continued support of the FAA’s Annual Conference & Trade Show.No discount on exhibit fees will be extended to PSC members.
- A more robust and comprehensive supplier directory will replace the current PSC Buyers Guide, a guide that, in many cases, includes only one company under a specific category. Every supplier will be offered a "basic" listing with contact information in one category, and will have the opportunity to pay additional fees for an enhanced listing or for listings in more than one category. Revenue generated from the supplier directory will supplant the lost PSC membership dues revenue.
APAC Contributions Support Legislative Victories
Did you know that FAA's advocacy efforts are funded through APAC? APAC is a political action committee that helps elect multifamily friendly political candidates. Your contribution to the Apartment Political Action Committee helps FAA promote legislation that benefits the multifamily industry and fight to keep bad bills from becoming law. Invoices for recommended contribution levels have been mailed, along with a letter describing some of FAA's legislative accomplishments this year. When you receive your APAC letter, know that the amount requested matches your giving level from 2015. We hope you will renew your contribution form 2015 and help us have continued legislative success.
Two major pieces of legislation that may positively affect the multifamily industry passed during the session that ended on March 11, including a bill drafted by FAA to allow Certified Apartment Maintenance Technicians (CAMTs) to repair HVAC, water heater, and AC units. Additionally, as part of the Sadowski Coalition, FAA helped to secure $200 million in funding for affordable housing.
2016 proved to be an incredibly successful legislative year for the multifamily industry. Our continued success depends on the financial strength of APAC. Consider your APAC contribution as a form of business insurance. You are making an investment to ensure the election of candidates who will help protect our industry. Remember, your freedom to do business depends on our continued ability to advocate for your issues!
In addition to giving online, you can contribute to APAC in a variety of fun and exciting ways. You can support APAC by attending the All Hands on Deck for APAC yacht party supported by RethPath and CORT on October 5 at the FAA Annual Conference and Trade Show. Your ticket includes an evening cruise around Boca Harbor aboard a luxury super yacht, with an open bar and heavy hors d'oeuvres. The evening will also include music, dancing, and an auction. Tickets can be purchased with full registration to the FAA Annual Conference & Trade Show or separately for $160.
Nearly 2 Dozen Communities Certified as Smoke-Free
Since the launch of FAA's Smoke-Free Multifamily Housing Certification late last year, nearly two dozen communities across Florida and representing several management companies have been certified as smoke-free. Seven of the certified communities are from Greystar and six are from Pinnacle.
FAA is working in partnership with the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida to assist communities that would like to reap the many benefits of offering smoke-free living.
Occupancy and Rents Continue to Grow, According to MyRentComps Data
Data collected through the local Association Online Market Survey are aggregated and reported in the Apartment Market Survey and Trend Report (AMSTR) twice a year — in the first and third quarters. Below are current numbers and some trends of the overall association areas are provided below. Contact your local association or Support@MyRentComps.com to purchase and AMSTR for the area(s) you work in.
Association Areas
For AMSTR reporting purposes, these are the counties within each association area that make up the statistics in this piece:
Apartment Association of Greater Orlando (AAGO) — Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia
Bay Area Apartment Association (BAAA) — Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk
Capital City Apartment Association (CCAA) — Leon
Emerald Coast Apartment Association (ECAA) — Escambia
First Coast Apartment Association (FCAA) — Clay, Duval
North Central Florida Apartment Association (NCFAA) — Alachua, Marion
Space Coast Apartment Association (SCAA) — Brevard
Tri-City Apartment Association (TCAA) — Manatee, Sarasota
Occupancy Trends
All markets have witnessed upward occupancy movement over the past five years, with FCAA and SCAA seeing the highest percentage point change and TCAA seeing the lowest. That said, these trends show TCAA above 96 percent for the past three years and holding steady, even with all the development going on in that area. CCAA has seen the biggest one-year increase and its occupancy is just under 95 percent. The highest occupancy in the first quarter AMSTR was in SCAA at 97.1 percent.
Average Rent Trends
Consensus on the street is that rents have been on the rise in the past few years and the trends in the AMSTR corroborate that sentiment. Since the first quarter of 2011, there has been double-digit percent growth for rent in all markets except CCAA, which is just under 9 percent rent growth for the five-year period, or 1.78 percent annualized. AAGO, BAAA, and SCAA are all right at 20 percent rent growth since 2011. TCAA has had the highest percentage of growth in the five-year period at 32.3 percent and currently has the highest average rent at $1,082.
Annual rent growth for the first quarter of 2016 compared to 2015 ranged from 2.6 percent in CCAA to 9.0 percent in BAAA, despite some national trends and economic indicators suggesting there might be some easing on rent growth and stabilization of rents in various markets.
What's New Around the State
Market Report
NORTHEAST
5/11 LandSouth Construction to build $25 million apartment complex on Southside Jacksonville
LandSouth Construction has begun construction on Portiva, a $25 million luxury apartment community on Jacksonville’s Southside. It will have 260 units in eight four-story buildings. Read more here and here.
5/10 Jacksonville Beach apartment complex bought for $46.3M
The 228-unit Broadstone Beach House Apartments sold to a New York real estate investment trust last week for $46.3 million. Read more.
CENTRAL
5/9 288 new apartments proposed for southeast Orlando
BMR Immobilien 1 LLC has submitted a master plan to build 288 independent-living apartments on nearly 9 acres at 6440 Narcoossee Road. The seven-story community would be called Madison Plaza. Read more.
5/6 Disney's Flamingo Crossings seeks rezoning for multifamily, commercial space
The property is seeking approval from Orange County's development review committee to build up to 1,300 multifamily residential units and 150,000 square feet of commercial space. The property is four parcels that make up more than 154 acres and would be built in multiple phases. Read more.
5/6 McKinley buys Universal-area apartments
McKinley, one of the largest U.S. apartment managers, bought the 252-unit Amalfi Apartments on Conroy Road just a few blocks from Universal Orlando for an undisclosed price. Read more.
5/5 Passco Spends $54M on New Orlando Transit-Oriented Community
Newly constructed multifamily community The Ivy is already getting a new owner thanks to its strategic location in the Florida Hospital Health Village, home to the country’s second largest hospital. Passco Cos. LLC has acquired the 248-unit, Class A+ community, pointing to the strong job growth and transit-oriented aspects of the area as attractive features. Read more here.
5/5 Allegro Senior Living Breaks Ground on Winter Park Area Community
St. Louis-based Allegro Senior Living LLC recently hosted an official groundbreaking ceremony for its 10th community, located in the Casselberry/Winter Park area north of Orlando.The luxury rental community sits on a 17.3-acre site at the intersection of 436 and Howell Branch Road. To read more, click here and scroll down.
5/5 New Owner Emerges for Spanish Villas in Daytona Beach
Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of Spanish Villas, a mid-size community in Daytona Beach. The eight two-story buildings consisting in 56 one- and two-bedroom apartments were sold for $2.7 million. Read more.
5/2 Beachwold Residential Acquires 482-Unit Multifamily Portfolio with Help from HFF
HFF has secured $37.6 million in financing on behalf of Beachwold Residential for the acquisition of two communities, including Verandahs at Hunt Club in Apopka. Read more.
4/26 Altís Sand Lake Luxury Apartments Becomes Largest Green Certified Multifamily Community in Orlando
The Altman Companies finished up construction on the 315-unit Altís Sand Lake in the Dr. Phillips neighborhood and was awarded the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) Green Certification. Read more.
BAY AREA
5/17 Marcus & Millichap Sells Belara Lakes Community for $22M
Marcus & Millichap recently arranged the sale of Belara Lakes, a 324-unit apartment community located in Tampa. Federal Capital Partners represented the buyer, while Cagan Management Group represented the seller in the $22.43 million transaction. Read more.
5/11 Chicago-Based Habitat Adds Units in Tampa to Portfolio
Habitat added 5,000 more units to its national management portfolio after it secured assignments for 12 rental communities in Tampa and in Birmingham, Ala. Read more.
5/12 AER Opens in St. Pete with 358 Units in 18 Stories
Two years after construction began, downtown St. Petersburg's newest apartment tower is finished, offering such amenities as a yoga studio, glass-tiled sauna and rooftop pool with sweeping views of Tampa Bay. Read more.
4/29 Affordable apartments for seniors in Ybor City sold to Miami company
Real estate investor Ben Mallah II has sold the Hacienda De Ybor apartments in Ybor City for $5 million. The property, consisting of 99 studios and one-bedroom units, has provided affordable housing for senior citizens for more than 40 years. It will continue as a seniors-only complex, Mallah said. Read more.
4/28 735-Unit Tampa Area Multifamily Portfolio Changes Hands
Marcus &Millichap announced the sale of a five-property multifamily portfolio in Florida for $41 million. Asia Capital Real Estate bought Palms at Cedar Trace (176 units), Palms at Sand Lakes (212 units), Palms at Ashley Oaks (130 units), Palms at Palisades (125 units), and Palms at Cortez (92 units). Read more.
TRI-CITY
5/4 Sarasota Apartment Community Sells for $1.3 Million
Real estate developer Henry Rodriguez just bought the 15-unit Arlington Antigua Apartments in Sarasota for $1.3 million.The property, formerly owned by 8989 Carlyle Group Corp., sold after being on the market at $1.43 million for only two weeks, according to agent Phil Ginexi. Read more.
SOUTHWEST
4/28 Channelside in South Fort Myers Sells for $55 Million
The price of close to $170,000 per apartment unit is a high-water mark in Lee County. Read more.
4/26 Thrive Senior Living, Fortress Ventures Break Ground on Fort Myers Community
Estero, Fla.-based Fortress Ventures broke ground on Thrive at Beachwalk, a new senior living community in Fort Myers. Atlanta-based Thrive Senior Living will operate the 125-unit community, which will feature a salon, meeting and entertainment spaces, multiple dining venues, and scenic water views. To read more, click here and scroll down.
SOUTHEAST
5/20 Melody Towers Luxury Apartments Opens in Miami
South Florida-based developer Melo Group has opened its newly developed Melody Tower, tapping into pent-up demand for downtown Miami rental living.The new 38-story, 497-unit luxury rental tower is located at 245 NW 14th Street in the downtown Arts & Entertainment District. Read more.
5/16 Miami-Dade Expects Unprecedented 2,000 Units This Year
A total of 12,500 new rental units are in the pipeline as developers shift focus from condos to apartments. Read more.
5/12 JV Lands $41M to Develop Class A Community in South Florida
joint venture between Giles Capital Group,Rosemurgy Properties and FSG Holdings is set to bring luxury apartments to Davie, Fla., thanks to a $41 million construction loan secured by HFF. The partnership will develop Parc3400, a 259-unit Class A community set for completion in summer 2017. Read more.