A report from the Wall Street Journal on New York. "Stock investors are dumping shares of community banks with big real-estate lending businesses that could suffer from New York’s stricter apartment-rent regulations. Since property values are often based on the ability to raise rents, valuations for some buildings could fall, said William Wallace, an analyst at Raymond James & Associates Inc. The question, he said, is 'does a landlord want to keep paying a $10 million loan on a property that’s worth $6 million?'"

"At an investor conference last Wednesday, Community Bank Chief Executive Joseph Ficalora chose to put a positive spin on the new rent law. 'This event will cause foreclosures, which will devalue properties,' he said. That, he argued, will allow the bank’s borrowers to buy more properties at a discount. 'So that actually is a good thing for us,' he said."

From National Real Estate Investor on Washington. "Construction cranes are looming over Seattle, casting a thicket of shadows over the apartment sector in the city. These construction cranes are building more new apartments than Seattle is likely to be able to absorb at one time, according to researchers."

"Developers are planning their biggest year yet for 2019, on track to open 13,000 new apartments in the Seattle metropolitan area, according to CoStar (not including communities built for seniors, students or low-income renters). That’s more than the 10,880 new apartments they opened in 2018. It even breaks the record of the peak year in 2015, when 11,010 new units hit the market."

"Seattle’s apartment market is already showing the strain from overbuilding. Even highly successful buildings like Stratus have had to offer significant discounts to attract enough residents. Concessions like these are common in the Seattle metro area."

"'Unfortunately, there is no sign that developers are slowing down,' says CoStar. 'The headlines always read 'no end in sight.'"

The Morning Call in Pennsylvania. "Brothers Al and Alex Ruozzi have made their living in the details. Now the brothers are banking on that attention to detail for success in the rental market. The Ruozzis recently renovated the historic Klein building in Allentown into an auto restoration shop. The building also includes the Palazzo Reale luxury apartments on the upper floors."

"But that attention to detail comes at a price, and it’s a hefty one compared with many apartments in the Lehigh Valley. Rents for the units, all two bedrooms, start at $1,700 per month. Some are priced as high as $2,200."

"The developers have already reduced the asking price once. The apartments — which run from 1,300 to 1,800 square feet — originally were listed at $2,200 to $3,000 a month. While still expensive, the apartments are priced to move, local Realtors say."

The South Florida Business Journal. "A site in Miami’s Edgewater that was previously planned as a condo hotel is now envisioned as a hotel. On June 19, the Urban Development Review Board will consider the new design for the project at 410 N.E. 35th Terrace. The 30,045-square-foot site is owned by Satori Land, an affiliate of Heafey Group."

"In 2016, the Bentley Edgewater was approved at the site with 207 hotel-condo units in 36 stories and 191,756 square feet. The developer launched sales, but canceled the project before breaking ground. The new plans call the project the Edgewater Hotel. The developer acquired the property for $2.73 million in 2015."

From Fox 17 Nashville in Tennessee. "They say you get what you pay for, but a group of renters at a luxury apartment complex in Bellevue would strongly disagree. Wyndchase residents reported mounds of trash and a pool neon green with algae to FOX 17 News. We went out to the property and saw it ourselves before management asked us to leave, even threatening to call police."

"But you don’t need to be on the property to see what these renters are so upset about. The overflowing trash problem is right by the entrance. Renters tell us it’s been like this for weeks and they’ve had enough of what they say is both an eyesore and a safety hazard. 'Luxury oasis in a gated community… it’s not a ‘luxury oasis,’ says Jennifer Garrett- Callaghan, who lives right next door to the broken trash compactor. 'It’s the odor on hot days, you smell it, it’s just not healthy.'"

"That’s not the only problem. Both pools are closed right now and if you look at the water it’s easy to see why. 'It’s completely green, it’s algae ridden, nobody belongs in that pool,' says Garrett-Callaghan."

"The pool and trash service are among the amenities renters here pay for each month when they write a check for more than a grand. They say they’ve complained constantly, and nothing’s been done. Jennifer told her story to FOX 17 because she doesn’t know what else to do. 'I just want it fixed without repercussions, I’d like to live here peacefully but who knows if that can happen at this point.'"

"But when we tried to ask the Wyndchase what’s going on, they responded with the following: 'This has been a stressful day for our residents, please respect our privacy and remove reporters and their equipment from the property.'"