Can apartments be too small? Developers are testing the boundaries, experimenting with layout and design to determine just how tiny and inexpensive a space they can easily lease. During the Urban Land Institute’s Spring Meeting last week, Kauri Investments Ltd. chairman James Potter and AREA Real Estate LLC principal David Adelman offered some creative configuration ideas that are attracting not just Gen Y programmers seeking to live near their Silicon Valley jobs but even empty nesters in search of urban locations in San Antonio. Either group may use the units as their sole residence or maintain a larger, perhaps weekend-only additional home farther from the city. What makes these renters different from those who prefer more space, Potter noted, is their even greater focus on price point.

Leases are important -- why else would we use them? They spell out the terms of the apartment so that the renter knows all the rules and requirements going in to the agreement, and leases protect the interests of both the property manager and the resident.

The Q1 2013 Northern Nevada Commercial Investment Real Estate Report for Reno and surrounding areas is now available.

A day after Freddie Mac reported sizeable income in the first quarter, the considerably larger GSE Fannie Mae reported income of $8.1 billion for the first quarter of 2013, compared with income of $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2012 and income of $7.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012. The company’s income in 1Q13 was the largest quarterly total in its history, marking a recovery from the money-losing quarters of the recession.

The cost burden of renting continues to increase for a large share of U.S. households, according to the latest Center for Housing Policy’s Housing Landscape report, which is published annually. The findings were based on the most recently available American Community Survey data, which is from 2011.