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Wells REIT II buys suburban office park

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II purchased four class-A office buildings totaling more than 832,000 square feet of space in suburban Atlanta.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The four buildings are part of a 2.5-million-square-foot office park known as Wildwood, located northwest of Atlanta just outside the I-285 perimeter loop near I-75. Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. starting in the early 1980s developed wildwood.  more...

Multifamily golf-course community sells in Indiana

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

CB Richard Ellis arranged the sale of Mohawk Hills Apartments, a 564-unit golf-course community in Carmel, Ind.

The value of the transaction totaled more than $30 million.

The property is located in a high-end suburb of Indianapolis.

Chicago-based Executive Capital Corp., which had owned the property since 1980, sold the property to Buckingham Cos., a local owner, developer and management company.

Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis is a commercial real estate services company.

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Real Estate Partners buys Arizona apartments

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Real Estate Partners acquired an 856-unit apartment community in Phoenix, Ariz.

The value of the transaction was more than $45 million. 

The seller was Denver, Colo.-based United Dominion Bank UDR Texas Properties.

The company plans to invest more than $7 million for renovation and improvements starting next month. The property, known as Terracina, was completed in two phases from 1984 and 1987.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Dalton Real Estate Co. represented the seller in this transaction.  more...

Patriot Act's bank provisions have helped fight terrorism

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

The U.S. Patriot Act, including the provisions that apply to banks, has been a tremendous boon to the country's efforts to detect and prevent terrorist attacks, a U.S. Treasury Department official told a Congressional committee today.

One critically important tool against terrorist financing was the mandate that the financial sector share information with the government, said Stuart A. Levey, under secretary of terrorism and financial intelligence.  more...

Mass prosperity

By Rebecca Hurwitz, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Piggyback loans threaten PMI industry Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Newlyweds Michelle and Samuel Riccobono knew that without a 20 percent down payment for a house they'd face the added expense of private mortgage insurance. They weren't sure they could afford that.

A mortgage broker, however, showed the Philadelphia couple how they could avoid the cost of private mortgage insurance and cut their monthly payments: a piggyback loan. Instead of going with a 100 percent mortgage as they'd originally planned, they opted for an 80 percent first mortgage with a second mortgage for the remaining 20 percent "piggybacked" on.  more...

NAR perspective on antitrust Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Editor's note: In this three-part series we examine the real estate record on antitrust. Since realty professionals 24 years ago became subject to federal antitrust law, dozens of lawsuits and regulatory actions have been taken. Learn what some of those cases are, who's behind them and how the industry has reacted.  more...

Webby Awards join the real estate party

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

The Webby Awards, which kicks off its annual call for entries today for the "most coveted honor in online media," has expanded its competition this year to include real estate services companies, agencies and brokers.

Real estate Web sites from around the world can get in the running for a Ninth Annual Webby Awards nomination by entering at www.Webbyawards.com.

"Over the years, we kept hearing from real estate businesses who wanted the chance to compete in The Webby Awards," said Tiffany Shlain, founder and creative dire  more...

HomeServices grows in Southern California

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Prudential California Realty, a HomeServices of America company, has acquired the residential real estate brokerage business of HLH Enterprises Inc., doing business as Prudential California Realty in Palm Springs.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.  more...

Responsive real estate agents rank high with consumers

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Responsive real estate agents earn the most kudos from consumers, according to a survey conducted by RealEstate.com, an operating business of LendingTree Inc. The survey, which collected 702 responses from consumers who visited the Web site to find a real estate agent, found that 43 percent of consumers most appreciated that their real estate agent was "very responsive."  more...

Credit program targets underserved borrowers

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

First American's enhanced credit-reporting services are now available to credit grantors through First American CREDCO. The service targets low- to moderate-income and first-time home buyers, particularly in the traditionally underserved Latino, African-American and Asian/Pacific Islander communities.

The enhanced credit report service includes consumer assistance, verification services, consumer dispute services, rapid re-check and a non-traditional credit report, and is part of the company's broader minority home-ownership initiative launched in October 2003.  more...

Real estate purchases increase slightly

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Overall mortgage purchases increased 1.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The MBA seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 0.2 percent to 456.6 from 455.7 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance index increased by 4.1 percent to 2,052.5 from 1,972.5 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 44.5 percent of total applications from 43.2 percent the previous week.  more...

Real estate sales climb in Ohio

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Central Ohio home sales rose 2.1 percent in August from their year-ago level, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Realtors reported 2,639 homes sold last month, compared to 2,584 sold during August 2003. Year-to-date home sales are now 10.6 percent ahead of the same period last year.

Homes on the market last month were more affordable than those available one year ago, the association reported.  more...

Overnight mortgage rates drop

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.04 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped slightly to 5.31 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate sank to 4.73 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 3.22 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.84 percent.

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

Exclusive listing agreement fails home seller

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

DEAR BOB: Due to a job transfer, my wife and I plan to list our home for sale in a few weeks. My employer gave us the option of either accepting the "low ball" purchase price of their so-called corporate relocation consultant, or selling our home on our own. The low price offered by the relocation consultant is a joke (but we can accept it for up to 120 days if our home doesn't sell). That's very fair. Our problem is selecting the best agent to get our listing.  more...

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