Weekly News (April 19, 2017)

1. Building Boom : NJ becomes an apartment heaven  

• 20 Years ago → Single home in growth sector
• Now national phenomenon → Multi-family housing
• 5 Key residential construction projects:
  Hackensack – Main Sat (382 units), Franklin Lakes – Ewing Ave (275 units)
  Park Ridge – Kinderkamack Rd (240 units), Wayne – Route 23 South (223 units)
  Fort Lee – Park Ave (450 units)
• Millennials are rental generation (1. Late start of their career due to recession, 2. Huge student loan, 3. Having good time being single)
• Another large group: potential buyers and renters for townhouses / condos / apartment
  → Baby boomers  (Two groups are called ‘Bookends’)
• Jersey City has 4 multi-family development projects → $900 Million
• Fort Lee, Modern II (47 stories) → Largest project in Bergen County
• Possibly to follow European trends → More rent than own home / don’t have cars
• American phenomenon (House ownership) is impacted by slow income growth & high living cost

2. Dodd-Frank Law will be modified, not cancelled entirely  

• According to CNBC, Trump said partial items (Dodd-Frank) will be remained
• Possibly 1. de-regulate stress test rules → bank will utilize more funds,
  2. reduce power of CFPB (Consumer Financial Protect Bureau)
• New name → ‘Financial Choice Act’

3. Number of Gas Station in Manhattan, NY reduced as time goes  

• 52 Statins in 2008 → Currently only 31 (21 disappeared in 8 years)
• Car traffic increased every year, but less Gas stations → makes long waiting line
• Almost no Gas station below mid-town and down-town → more stations in Manhattan will close out in the near future à Need some political action
• Reason: High-rise Luxury condo / Apartment developers buy out
• Drivers (Taxi) are under stress to find Gas station

4. Closter, NJ will ban short term rent (less than 30 days) 

• Passed unanimously in the town council meeting
• Fine will be $1,250
• Other towns, Paramus, Palisades Park, East Rutherford, Fort Lee, Fairview prohibit a short term rent

5. ‘The Palisades’ in Fort Lee was requested to present maintenance fee audit 

• At 100 Old Palisade Ave, Fort Lee, NJ
• Korean residents has requested maintenance fee accounting records to the management company ‘First Service’, claiming maintenance fee accounts is not clear / no report
• Total 538 units and about a half are Korean owners → about 200 owners will participate the next board meeting

6. Town Center at Cliffside Park, NJ readies for occupancy on Anderson Ave  

• Opens this Summer → pre leasing 13 story, 277 unit luxury apartments and 50,000 SF retail and offices will start May 1^st, occupancy in July
• Approved in 2002 and halted by recession in 2007, struggled in financing in 2012
• One of major developers: James Demetrakis: they got $75 Million loan from the bank and started digging 3.3 Ac lot in 2012 (Had tough time to dig out the rocks underneath)

7. IMF forecasts world economy optimistic in 2017 

• World growth is expected to rise to 3.5% in 2017, to 3.6% in 2018 (CMT 3.1% in 2016)
• In Jan. forecast was lower
• Financial markets are buoyant and expect continued  policy support in China
• Fiscal expansion and deregulation in US
• Stronger activities / expectation on robust global demands/agreed restrictions on oil supply helped commodities prices recovery
• Growth in US forecast → 2.3% unchanged since Jan (1.6% last year)
• Growth in China forecast → 6.6% from 6.5% In Jan