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Letter to the Editor

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Re: 'Innovation explodes across real estate industry ' (Dec. 9)

Dear Editor:

The article misses a major piece of the interrelationship of real estate, technology and the Internet...

Because of technology, in many fields, I can now live where I want versus near work. One's place of employment does not necessarily dictate where one has to live. With telecommuting it is just as easy to live across the country.  more...

Weekly real estate rates sink

By Lou Barnes, Friday, December 10, 2004.

The bond rally (and hence, mortgage rally) that began last Friday has grown from short-term correction to something deeper and perhaps more durable.

T-bonds reached 4.11 percent, down from last week's post-July high at 4.42 percent, and mortgages are slightly under 5.75 percent. Other markets made huge moves also, all confirming the bond rally: gold is off $22/oz.; oil is still in the low-$40s; and the dollar is in a continuing rally against all currencies.  more...

Real estate execs highlight big issues for 2005 Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, December 10, 2004.

The California Association of Realtors has worked to provide an open environment for alternative real estate business models; the Houston Association of Realtors invited the manager of an alternative real estate business model to participate in its MLS committee; and the Wisconsin Realtors Association has worked toward equal treatment for many business models, said participants in an Inman News conference Thursday.

Joel Singer, executive vice president for the California Association of Realtors; Bob Hale, president and CEO for the Houston Association of Realtors; and Bill Mal  more...

Hines, CalPERS acquire class A building

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Hines, an international real estate firm, in partnership with the California Public Employees' Retirement System, has acquired a 270,000-square-foot office building in Wellesley, Mass.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The joint venture purchased the property, Wellesley Gateway, from a partnership of The Druker Co. Ltd. and Boylston Properties Co.

Situated on a 15.7-acre site, Wellesley Gateway is located 12 miles west of Boston. The four-story, class A building was completed in 2000.  more...

South Florida apartments sold

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Marcus & Millichap completed the sale of the 245-unit Hawaiian Palms Apartments in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.

The value of the transaction was $15.5 million.

Massachusetts-based Sawyer Realty Holdings sold the property to Fla.-based Glendale Properties and Investment Inc.

Hawaiian Palms Apartments is located at 3540 N.W. 50th Ave. The sale includes 245,000 rentable square feet on approximately 12 acres. The community was constructed between 1986 and 1987 and has a unit mix composed entirely of two-bedroom units, each with 1,000 rentable square feet.  more...

Developer finds buyer for newly built retail center

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Advantis Real Estate Services Co. arranged the sale of Village Shoppes at Simonton in Lawrenceville, Ga.

The value of the transaction was $13.8 million.

The 66,415-square-foot retail property, which is anchored by Publix, was completed concurrent with the sale.

Barclay Group, a Dunedin, Fla.-based development group, sold the property to Chicago-based Inland Real Estate.

Advantis/GVA is a full-service real estate firm that leases, manages and sells office, industrial, retail and other commercial real estate projects and sites.

***  more...

The unresponsive home seller syndrome

By Julie Brosterman, Friday, December 10, 2004.

This has been a very frustrating week for my friends who've been looking to buy a house here in the Westside of Los Angeles. Two different buyers, two different houses, but it's the same set of circumstances.  more...

13 tips for improving real estate performance Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, December 10, 2004.

(This is Part 3 of a three-part series. See Part 1: Understanding your strengths, weaknesses and Part 2: Personality holds clues to real estate success.)

The difference between top performance and mediocre performance is often quite small. To see how you measure up, examine your business and personal skills in light of the 13 tips below.

1. Do you have at least one specific niche you service?  more...

Fidelity system aggregates clients' financial data

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Fidelity National Financial today announced the release of FIS Information Server 5.0, an Enterprise Information Integration (EII) tool that consolidates financial data to provide a client-centric view to a financial institution's wealth management applications.  more...

New York real estate group debuts online leases

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

The Real Estate Board of New York, known as REBNY, is now offering lease forms on its Web site, www.rebny.com, in an attempt to expedite real estate transactions.

Members first download the forms, and then enter the necessary data into tables. Draft and final lease forms can be saved to a computer as a PDF file, making it easy to print or e-mail.  more...

Freddie Mac unveils funding plans Premium Content

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Freddie Mac today provided its quarterly funding announcement, detailing expected funding activity for the first quarter of 2005.

"In October, we announced that for 2005 we would begin issuing our Quarterly Funding Announcement on an expedited timetable, providing more advance notice to the market about our upcoming debt-funding plans," said Jerome Lienhard, Freddie Mac treasurer and senior vice president for funding and investor relations.  more...

Nashville breaks real estate sales record

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Home sales in the Greater Nashville, Tenn., housing market rose 13.7 percent in November from the same month a year ago, and have already broken last year's record, according to data released by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

There were 2,762 home closings reported for the month of November, compared to 2,429 closings reported for November 2003.

Year-to-date closings through November are 33,584, a 14.7 percent increase from the 29,262 closings reported through November 2003.  more...

HouseValues IPO gets a boost

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

HouseValues on Thursday priced its initial public offering at $15 a share, well above its initial estimated range of $10 to $12. At the opening price, the company will sell $93.8 million in shares. In the first hours of trading today, shares were selling at around $17, with a volume of about 7.1 million.

The company is offering 4.2 million shares, and its selling shareholders are offering 2.1 million shares.  more...

Real estate buying power slips in California

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

The percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home remained at 19 percent in October, unchanged from the previous month, but down 6 percentage points from the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the California Association of Realtors.

The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $460,370 in California in October was $106,680, based on an average effective mortgage interest rate of 5.7 percent and assuming a 20 percent down payment.  more...

Overnight real estate rates slide further

By Inman News, Friday, December 10, 2004.

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued falling Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.17 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 5.27 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate sank to 4.71 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 3.28 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.83 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...

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