A report from Finance & Commerce on Minnesota. "J.P. Morgan is taking a steep haircut as it sells an Uptown Minneapolis apartment building. The Walkway, a 92-unit mixed-use luxury building at 1320 W. Lake St., was sold Sept. 26 for $33.6 million in cash. The apartment portion sold for $28.82 million and the 23,000 square feet of ground-floor retail for $4.77 million, according to certificates of real estate value made public Monday."

"The transaction appears to represent a heavy loss for New York-based J.P. Morgan, which paid $53.75 million for the property in 2015. There’s no obvious reason the price of the property should have declined $20 million in three years, said Gina Dingman, president of Minneapolis-based Everest Real Estate Advisors. The building is fairly new, and Uptown remains a desirable area for developers and renters."

"'It seems like rental rates are still where they were, roughly,' Dingman said. While the property does face competition from other recent apartment developments nearby, 'it’s obviously a big hit on [J.P. Morgan’s] part.'"

The Portland Tribune in Oregon. "A recent wave of development resulted in a glut of higher-end apartments downtown and in the Pearl District. Some landlords are offering two or three months' free rent to sign up new tenants."

"But other landlords are turning to Airbnb to fill their empty units. And some fear that's taking hundreds of units off the long-term rental market, reducing the housing supply. 'We have to figure out what really is Airbnb in our city,' says Felisa Hagins, the political director for SEIU Local 49, a union that has lobbied in Salem for renter protections."

"Landlord interests at the Capitol have fended off such bills, Hagins said, by arguing that a larger housing supply will let market forces take over and ease rental rates. 'They say the way we deal with the housing crisis in Portland is we build our way out of it,' Hagins says. 'I don't think it's as simple as that.'"

From Atlanta Intown Paper in Georgia. "It’s not hard to imagine where things are headed. Anne Schwall, VP Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty Developer Services Division said that Intown’s real estate market is likely to see a continuation of higher prices and tighter inventory. 'As construction costs continue to rise, new condos with pricing below $600,000 are becoming a thing of the past,' Schwall said."

"She predicted that as the glut of the apartment market begins to stall out, apartment rentals and apartment projects will likely begin to convert to condominiums. As a result, condo conversions will present a new opportunity for more attainable pricing to come to the market."

From Curbed Washington DC. "The median rent on both one- and two-bedroom apartments in Washington, D.C., declined year over year in September, according to Zumper. The analysis tracks vacant and available apartments, so it’s a pretty good indicator of where the market is at."

"The median one-bedroom rent was down 4.4 percent yearly to $2,160 a month; and the median two-bedroom rent was down a whopping 14.8 percent to $2,710."

From Bisnow on Texas. "Houston's senior housing construction rush came too soon. 'We are at the doldrums of the market right now,' Silverado Development Senior Vice President Paul Mullin said. While there may not be a tremendous need for new product, the opportunity lies with the acquisition of distressed properties in Houston and throughout Texas, Mullin said."

"He suggested investors should look for opportunities where the developers lack senior living operational experience or an operator behind them running the day-to-day business of the community."

The Buffalo News in New York. "The owners of the troubled Monarch 716 student-housing complex near SUNY Buffalo State are trying to stave off an imminent foreclosure on their project, asking a judge in Buffalo to give them more time to negotiate 'alternative financing' that would pay off their loans and liens on the property."

"Thomas Masaschi, one of the principals behind Rochester-based developer DHD Ventures, submitted an affidavit to State Supreme Court in Erie County last month, opposing the $38 million foreclosure filing by Acres Capital and requesting a month's delay for 'a final opportunity' to finish talks with potential buyers or lenders. That would push back any ruling until at least Oct. 24."

"If not, Masaschi said, 'the defendants would consent to entry of summary judgment against them.' That means they'd lose ownership of the complex, which has already been under the control of court-appointed receiver Timothy P. Foster since May 22."

"But the filing –and their attempt to blame the management company they hired – also demonstrates the challenges they face in doing so, even as two other DHD student-housing complexes in other states also face problems."

"To fill up the complex and demonstrate financial stability, DHD and its first management firm, King Residential Group, lured tenants by offering special discounts and perks, like two months of free rent. But they ended up bringing in many non-students as well, only to evict them later for not paying. One local attorney said more than 100 people have been evicted, and local real estate sources say the occupancy is now down to 60 percent, though only 35 percent are paying full rent."

"Masaschi said DHD has also hired 'multiple real estate brokers throughout the country' – including CBRE Buffalo, which was marketing the property for as much as $60 million at one point before the price dropped to about $45 million."