http://www.irem.org/ What's Happening articles provide updates on the latest trends and developments in the real estate management industry. en-us Copyright 2010 Institute of Real Estate Management 16-May-2012 16-May-2012 http://www.irem.org/images/templates/IREMLogoTop-363.gif http://www.irem.org http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Senior Living Industry http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Senior Living Industry Boomers across the nation are facing a harsh reality of declining home value, rising debt, and depleted savings as they approach retirement age with little... 2012-05-08 10:29:09 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Fair Housing Month http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Fair Housing Month April is Fair Housing MonthHistory of Fair HousingOn April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which was meant as... 2012-04-11 13:38:49 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Apartment Vacancy http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Apartment Vacancy The Apartment vacancy rate in the first quarter fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, and rents posted their biggest jump in... 2012-04-04 08:54:39 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Bifurcation in 2012 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Bifurcation in 2012 There is certainly a bifurcated real estate market. So said Andrew Kirsh, a partner at law firm Raines Feldman LLC. If you are buying multifamily... 2012-03-26 10:03:30 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Essential CRE Tech http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Essential CRE Tech Cloud computing, data centers, petabytes, outsourcing... sure, it sounds like the beginning of new verse in Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire, but these... 2012-03-02 15:30:38 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Reworking the Workplace http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Reworking the Workplace At BBVA Compass’ newest Houston office, employees don’t have trash cans at their desks, and eating next to their computers is a no-no. Workers at... 2012-02-13 11:36:47 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Property Managers Play Role http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Property Managers Play Role The cost of electricity which continues to spiral has pushed the demand for facility and building managers who guarantee energy savings. Berna Santiago, head of... 2012-02-09 12:15:34 http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Building Efficiency http://www.iremfirst.org/if/whatsHappening/Building Efficiency It’s a double-edged sword: Buildings continue to age, but maintenance dollars from overtaxed owners are hard to come by, and managers are forced to triage... 2012-02-02 13:37:15 http://www.irem.org/publicpolicy/legnews.cfm#ptc http://www.irem.org/publicpolicy/legnews.cfm#ptc At the end of February, 2012 the payroll tax cut which moved the tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent is set to expire. In addition to the payroll tax, at stake are unemployment benefits and Medicare reimbursements. A combined group of twenty U.S Representatives and Senators on a conference committee are negotiating a proposal to put forth for Congress to vote on.. 2012-02-14 10:35:37 http://www.irem.org/publicpolicy/legnews.cfm#reo http://www.irem.org/publicpolicy/legnews.cfm#reo On Wednesday, February 1 the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced preliminary plans for the Real Estate Owned (REO) Initiative that President Obama mentioned in late 2011 and that was addressed in a Request for Information (RFI) on August 10, 2011. 2012-02-07 09:26:37 http://www.irem.org/publicpolicy/legnews.cfm#ist http://www.irem.org/publicpolicy/legnews.cfm#ist Recently, there has been much attention paid to the issue of internet sales taxes. On the federal level, several pieces of legislation have been introduced as a way to enforce the collection of these remote sales taxes. To give a brief timeline and overview of the legislation 2011-10-28 10:45:37 http://www.irem.org/mediacenter/news.cfm http://www.irem.org/mediacenter/news.cfm Every day, IREM works with the media to stimulate news coverage about the organization, its programs and services, its legislative and issues advocacies, and its members expertise. Following are highlights of the outstanding coverage that appeared recently in national, regional, and local media outlets. 2010-06-14 16:35:37