-
Why Insurance Rates for New York Property Owners are Soaring
Oct 16, 2024In recent years, boards and building owners have seen steep increases in their annual insurance premium costs. Sean Kent, senior vice president of insurance at FirstService Financial, spoke with THE CITY to explain why premiums are rising and how this affects our clients.Read more
"Outside influences are coming together and forcing insurance carriers to be much more selective on who they’re going to insure. We manage a handful of buildings that have really struggled to make ends meet because of the premiums that they’re being forced to pay just to insure their buildings."
— Sean Kent, Senior Vice President, Insurance | FirstService Financial
-
Jaime Sanmiguel Speaks at Bisnow's 2024 Multifamily Conference
Oct 14, 2024Jaime Sanmiguel, vice president of FirstService Residential's Multifamily Rental Division, recently spoke at Bisnow’s 2024 Multifamily Development, Asset Management, & Operations conference. For his panel, “Technologies & Amenities Defining Class-A Residential Buildings,” Jaime was joined by industry thought leaders to discuss how emergent prop-tech and amenities are redefining the meaning of luxury for multifamily rental developments.Read more
"There’s often a ‘push and pull’ between tenants who love the convenience of new technology — think virtual doormen and amenity reservations — versus tenants who prefer more traditional services — the in-person doorman, the package attendant, or the concierge staff. It’s important to consider everyone’s needs and strike a balance for who you’re catering to."
— Jaime Sanmiguel, Vice President | Multifamily Rental Division
-
Seminole Owners Corp. Saves $42,000 in Energy Costs
Jun 27, 2024FirstService Residential helped Seminole Owners Corp., a 349-unit co-op complex in Queens, save an anticipated $42,000 in annual energy costs by integrating Runwise technology throughout the property. This low-cost solution has improved the efficiency of the gas-fired boiler by automatically adjusting its output based on real-time indoor temperature data.Read more
Get the full story in Habitat Magazine.
"I just saw the dollars being thrown out of the window and I knew we had to do something about it."
— Amanda Mercado, Senior Property Manager | FirstService Residential
"The system makes predictions about what the optimal indoor temperature should be every 15 minutes, and then runs the heating system precisely to deliver that temperature. When the weather is mild you can see 60–70% reductions in energy use."
— Lee Hoffman, President | Runwise
-
FirstService Residential Selected to Participate in NYSERDA's Empire Building Challenge
May 23, 2024FirstService Residential, New York’s leading residential property management company, has joined the Empire Building Challenge, a $50 million initiative administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to decarbonize existing multifamily residential and commercial high-rise buildings.Read more
"Investing in new, clean, resilient technologies is just one way that New York is advancing progress toward our ambitious Climate Act goals, and the Empire Building Challenge is one of the most successful programs in decarbonizing high-rise buildings. This program continues to demonstrate how collaborative partnerships can develop solutions that lower harmful emissions from buildings, creating healthier spaces for all New Yorkers to live and work, and I look forward to what this new round will bring."
— Kathy Hochul, Governor | New York State
As an Empire Building Challenge Partner, FirstService Residential is committed to advancing New York’s goal to achieve carbon-neutrality through sophisticated energy retrofit projects and facility upgrades that reduce carbon emissions across the company’s portfolio of managed properties.
"New York’s groundbreaking Empire Building Challenge demonstrates the value of public-private partnerships and how large buildings are an important part of the solution to tackle climate change through planned capital investments. The Retrofit Playbook for Large Buildings in conjunction with this new round of partners will serve as inspiration to other building owners as they modernize their buildings."
— Doreen M. Harris, CEO and President | NYSERDA
-
Keys to Effective Pre-Leasing and Lease-Up in New York City
May 22, 2024What are the keys to attracting residents in one of the most competitive markets in the world? Ashlee Friedmann, a managing director in our Multifamily Rental Division, shares her insights with Multifamily Executive.Read more
"There needs to be an understanding of the area, what is needed, what people expect, and what the competition offers. Lacking an understanding of why people are drawn to a property can also undermine a marketing campaign, as you may be advertising to the wrong renters."
— Ashlee Friedmann | Managing Director, Multifamily Rental Division
-
Lincoln Square Condominium Secures Nearly $16,000 in Energy Credits from Con Edison
Apr 01, 2024FirstService Residential helped Lincoln Square Condominium, a 281-unit condo in Lincoln Square, Manhattan, secure nearly $16,000 in energy credits for lowering whole-building consumption during peak demand events last year. This was enabled through our partnership with Logical Buildings, a climate technology firm that provides energy data tracking through a program called SmartKit AI.Read more
Get the full story in Habitat Magazine.
"We are helping the environment and putting money back in the building’s pocket"
— Mickey McCreesh | Resident Manager, Lincoln Square Condominium
-
The Housing Market: 2024 Outlook
Feb 10, 2024Will 2024 be another challenging year for co-op and condo boards? In CooperatorNews' 2024 housing market projections, FirstService Energy president Kelly Dougherty shares efficiency projects and facility upgrades that can help boards lower costs and comply with new local laws.Read more
"We’re seeing communities come together to invest in sustainability programs, from installing EV chargers to investing in water conservation measures, but these low-hanging-fruit projects will not be enough to meet their climate goals, and larger, more expansive projects like the conversion to electricity of heating and domestic hot water production will have to be planned."
— Kelly Dougherty | President, FirstService Energy
-
FirstService Residential Remains Optimistic in 2024 Market Outlook
Jan 26, 2024There is no rental market in the country quite like New York City, where the cost of development, emergent housing laws, and the number of rent-controlled apartments far outpace other states. Despite these challenges, Marc Pollack, Managing Director of Asset Management, shares a positive outlook on tenant demand and pricing as we barrel into the second quarter.Read more
Get the full story in Multifamily Dive.
"After an initial hit, where occupancy dropped to historical lows from what we’re used to, we came back pretty strong and experienced two summers of historically strong rents and rent growth. The market has softened a bit, but folks like me really need to see various data points before we’re in a position to concede the point."
— Marc Pollack | Managing Director of Asset Management
-
Supply, Concessions, and Demand: 2024 Outlook
Jan 17, 2024Will an emerging glut in apartment supply and the return of concessions yield sluggish rent growth in 2024? Our own Marc Pollack, Managing Director of Asset Management, offered his outlook in Multifamily Dive.Read more
"The people who were happy to be able to lease any apartment in New York City in 2022 and early 2023 can now be choosier as they approach renewal. Things they didn’t care as much about in the residential experience now matter more. It’s created a pickier customer."
— Marc Pollack | Managing Director of Asset Management
-
75 Wall Street Saves $50,000 Through Community Distributed Energy Program
Jan 10, 2024Our experts helped 75 Wall Street, a high-rise condo in Downtown Manhattan, save $50K in annual electricity costs through a local CDG energy program. Led by Kelly Dougherty, FirstService Energy has helped boards and building owners save millions in energy and utility costs.Read more
Get the full story in Habitat Magazine.
"FirstService Energy has been great about communicating the benefits, they've articulated what it can mean for the building, and they’ve delivered on that."
— Board President | 75 Wall Street