By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The Department of Housing and Urban Development said today it is charging two Austin, Texas, landlords with violating the Fair Housing Act. Anibal and Janet Silva are charged with discriminating against Hispanic families in the sale of four homes in Austin and San Antonio, Texas, the housing agency said today. more...
By Janis Mara, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Editor's note: In this four-part series, we highlight four of the finalists for the 2005 Inman Innovator Award and profile their contributions to the real estate industry. This year, 66 real estate, technology and media firms have made it to the final nomination round and will compete for the coveted awards. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Jane Ellsworth-Purcell has an adventurous resume that includes opening a successful chain of surf and skate shops throughout California and Utah. Now she has taken that entrepreneurial spirit to the world of online real estate in her role as senior vice president of sales for Advanced Access, which specializes in Web site development, Web hosting, e-mail and Internet marketing for real estate. She has worked with Advanced Access since March 2000 and is one of the company's original staff members. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. recently announced it has acquired the 253,377-square-foot California Casualty Plaza in San Mateo, Calif. The value of the transaction was not disclosed. California Casualty Plaza is comprised of a four-story office building completed in 1971 and substantially renovated in 1996, and a two-story office building completed in 1983. The properties are located at 1900 Alameda de las Pulgas and 2000 Alameda de Las Pulgas, respectively. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. has acquired Monmouth Executive Center, a four-building, 236,338-square-foot office complex in Freehold, N.J. The value of the transaction was approximately $32.8 million. The class A complex, which was 75.8 percent leased to 15 tenants at the time of sale, was acquired from entities of an undisclosed seller. The buildings are located at 100 Willowbrook Road and 2, 3 and 4 Paragon Way. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. is a self-administered real estate investment trust operating primarily in the northeastern United States. *** more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The sky's the limit and the slate is clean for suggestions, changes and input on how to improve the nation's mortgage settlement process in today's Department of Housing and Urban Development small-business roundtable. "We're starting over with a clean slate," HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan has said of the roundtables, the first of which was held last Thursday. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Mortgage rates rose for the third consecutive week as positive economic news continued, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.73 percent for the week ended today, up from last week when it averaged 5.66 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.32 percent, up from last week when it averaged 5.25 percent. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Owners of apartment properties in the Western U.S. experienced little or no growth in income over the past year, according to a study by RealFacts, a research and database organization that focuses on the multifamily housing market. Average rent growth in the past year was 2.1 percent, RealFacts reported. In the second quarter of 2005 the average apartment rented for $895, a gain of 0.6 percent since March. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. A Kansas City, Kan., real estate agent and loan processor pled guilty to a conspiracy to sell homes to illegal aliens using a Federal Home Administration loan program, Kansas U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren said Tuesday. Carlos Ruano Cruz of Kansas City, Kan., and Mary Rachel Olivarez of Shawnee entered pleas Monday to one count each of conspiracy to defraud the loan program, Melgren said in a statement. Cruz was a real estate agent and Olivarez was the manager of American Home Loans in Shawnee, Kan., according to Melgren. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. ApartmentRatings.com, a Web site that helps renters find better apartments, has put Google on the map – or rather, has added Google Maps. Renters now have the ability to search for apartments by exploring city maps on the company's site. According to ApartmentRatings, it is the first major apartment Web site to release an integration with Google Maps API. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Orlando, Fla., topped the list of destinations searched by second-home shoppers, according to Internet statistics tracked by EscapeHomes.com, an online real estate marketplace for second-home buyers and sellers. The company reported that Orlando was the most popular second-home destination searched by its Web site users in June 2005. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. RE/MAX has put its footprint in the 57th country for the global real estate network with the announcement today that franchising operations are being established in Jamaica. The announcement comes from Peter Gilmour, RE/MAX senior vice president of international franchise sales and brokerage. George W. Plummer will be managing director of Capital Holdings Ltd., which purchased the franchising rights and will operate RE/MAX Island Estates in the capital city of Kingston. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Inman News is bringing together 1,500 real estate industry leaders, government and media executives during its annual Real Estate Connect San Francisco conference July 27-29, to tackle a host of controversial topics, including antitrust, copyright protection of MLS data, title insurance kickbacks and the Internet. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The governor of Oregon has signed into law a bill called the Homeowners Bill of Rights in an effort to protect homeowners in the state from certain insurance company practices. Gov. Theodore Kulongoski last week signed into law Senate Bill 118, which passed both chambers of the Oregon Legislature without opposition and will take effect in January 2006. more...
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