VA hospital to receive energy-saving upgrades
The Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque and the El Paso VA Health Care System will receive almost $22 million in upgrades through an energy savings performance contract with NORESCO, which is part of a United Technologies Corp. unit. The Albuquerque portion of the project is $6.3 million, and addresses deficiencies in air handling units, chiller plant and chilled water systems, as well as building automation controls, according to NORESCO.
The contract will result in more than $33.8 million in savings and lead to as much as a 70 percent reduction in heating costs between the two sites.
Hospitality empire
Got a hankering to invest in the lodging industry?
LoopNet currently has an offering on its website consisting of six economy-limited service hotels and motels in Albuquerque for sale. The price tag: $17.5 million. The six establishments have a total of 700 rooms. The brands include Super 8, Days Inn, TraveLodge and EconoLodge. The owners, who were not named, are asking $25,107 per key. The LoopNet listing said the portfolio can be separated for sale.
The listing says all the properties are well-maintained and well-managed, close to Downtown Albuquerque, and visible from the I-25 and I-40 freeways.
RANM names new leader
Victoria Murphy, associate broker of Sotheby’s International Realty in Santa Fe, has begun her term as 2017 president of the Realtors Association of New Mexico.
Murphy attended New Mexico State University and was the operations director for several retail companies prior to earning her real estate license in 2005. As RANM president in 2017, she will represent New Mexico on the National Association of Realtors board of directors.
The 2017 RANM executive committee members include President-elect Connie Hettinga, Las Cruces; Treasurer Paul Wilson, Albuquerque; Immediate Past President Patricia Fell, Silver City; Central District Vice President Todd Clarke, Albuquerque; Northeast District Vice President Paul Romero, Taos; Northwest District Vice President Ben Lyons, Farmington; Southwest District Vice President James Russ II, Ruidoso; Southeast District Vice President Bill Davis, Roswell; and Secretary/CEO M. Steven Anaya, RANM in Santa Fe.
RANM is one of the state’s largest trade associations, representing over 6,000 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate market.
Trulia’s top ten
Trulia has compiled a list of the top 10 real estate markets poised for growth in 2017 based on five key metrics, including high affordability, strong job growth, low vacancy rates, home searches on Trulia and, because of the 2016 election outcome, a big population of Republicans. Not too surprisingly, Florida dominated the list.
The online residential real estate site for home buyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals in the U.S. says these are the hot markets: 1. Jacksonville, Fla. 2. Cape Coral-Fort Meyers, Fla. 3. Deltona-Daytona-Ormond Beach, Fla. 4. Grand Rapids, Mich. 5. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. 6. Colorado Springs, Colo. 7. Charleston, S.C. 8. San Antonio, Texas 9. Phoenix, Ariz. 10. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
Parental palace
In 2015, the percentage of those 18 to 34 living with their parents was 39.5 percent, the highest level since 1940, when it was 40.9 percent, according to Elliott Eisenberg, the “laughs and graphs” economist, who recently keynoted a real estate outlook program in Albuquerque. Of course, 1940 was one year removed from the end of the Depression. The rate then fell to an all-time low of 24.1 percent in 1960 and has slowly risen since, with a recent big run-up. The rise is probably due to rising rents and limited credit, Eisenberg said.