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Real estate high-tech maven has professorial goals

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Josh Sharfman has worked with the California Association of Realtors for the past 19 years, and is currently CEO of its Business Technologies subsidiary.

He first began his work with CAR as a consultant and later worked as an outside board member of the association's Real Estate Business Services subsidiary.  more...

Unique approach to real estate survival Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, January 6, 2006.

(This is Part 1 of a three-part series. See Part 2: Birth date impacts real estate success and Part 3: Real estate biz prosperity changes with the seasons.)

Ninety percent of all businesses lack a business plan. Even among those who do have a plan, their plans often fail.  more...

Toronto boasts record year in real estate

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

With 84,145 sales in 2005, the Toronto, Canada, resale home market experienced its best year ever recorded, exceeding the previous year's 83,501 sales total by almost 1 percent, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported today.

"Sales continued to gain strength throughout the year, and especially in the second half," noted TREB President John Meehan.  more...

Fannie Mae shares soar on accounting news

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Fannie Mae shares soared more than 9 percent Thursday after an investigator hired by the mortgage finance giant indicated he had discovered no new accounting problems, media reports said.

Former New Hampshire Republican Sen.  more...

California real estate trend could reverse

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

The slowing housing market in California won't stand in the way of the state's economic growth, according to an economist for Comerica bank, a subsidiary of Comerica Inc., a Detroit-based financial services company.

Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank, said, "The coming home-price adjustments will be relatively orderly – denting, but not crushing the state economy," according to a Comerica announcement.

Johnson spoke Thursday as a featured panelist at the 2006 Economic Trends breakfast at the San Diego Mar  more...

Pitch, pitch, pitch, that's all I ever do

By Alison Rogers, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Somebody say yes, already!

I have a line on two houses, but no answers. Meanwhile, I have explained my rehab-y existence to community leaders and mortgage bankers. I have pitched my home-ownership/personal finance expertise to every publication I can think of, from giveaway weeklies to big-shot magazines. If real estate execs float into my general vicinity, I explain to them that I'm happy to write their Web sites.

I have moused so much my arm hurts.  more...

HUD awards $710M to house elderly, people with disabilities

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday announced more than $710 million in grants to help very low-income elderly and people with disabilities find affordable housing.

HUD is awarding $574.8 million through Section 202 grants to assist very low-income elderly and $135.8 million through Section 811 grants to assist very low-income people with disabilities.

"Our senior citizens have given us so much, and Americans with disabilities make remarkable contributions to our society every day.  more...

Overnight real estate rates push lower

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued to fall Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.36 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.66 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate was down at 5.23 percent. The 1-year adjustable dipped to 4.49 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.55 percent.

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

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Investors are unknown factor in 2006 real estate market Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, January 6, 2006.

While housing and finance industry economists say they don't expect the real estate boom to turn to doom and gloom this year, they do say that the record run-up in housing prices and sales has run out of steam, and 2006 should be an above-normal year but probably won't make the record books.

There is an asterisk for these predictions: How real estate investors react to this downturn could foil the forecast and potentially be devastating for the housing market and overall economy, economists said during an economic outlook presented Thursday by the  more...

California Realtor is high-tech to the max

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Ira and Carol Serkes specialize in helping nice folks sell and buy wonderful homes in Berkeley, Calif. Their high touch through high-tech systems, and effective use of Kim Hughes (a virtual assistant), allows them to travel extensively and have a bountiful real estate practice.

They visited Venice, Rome, Vancouver, Guanajuato, Santa Fe, Seattle, New York, cruised to Alaska (connecting with a $1.3 million Internet buyer via VOIP), and closed over $15 million in the past year.  more...

Design review boards do architecture disservice

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, January 6, 2006.

(This is Part 1 of a three-part series. See Part 2: )

For a century or so, zoning and building regulations have existed to ensure public health and safety. Now and then, they've affected architectural aesthetics as well--for example, New York's light-and-air zoning laws indirectly created the city's characteristic stepped-back skyscrapers--but dictating how buildings should look was never their intent.

This is no longer the case.  more...

Time to replace the roof

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, January 6, 2006.

The phrase, "having a roof over your head," takes on a whole new meaning and sense of importance when that roof begins to age and wear out. Replacing your home's roofing is a big investment, so how do you know when it's time? Other than the obvious signs of missing singles and water leaks, here are some things to look for with two of the most common and popular roofing materials.

COMPOSITION SHINGLES

Composition shingles get their name from the fact that they are made up of a composite of layers of different materials.  more...

Pros and cons of investing in real estate foreclosures

By Robert Bruss, Friday, January 6, 2006.

A few days ago, while cleaning out a file cabinet, I found a copy of my book, "How to Earn Big Profits from Foreclosure and Distress Properties," which I wrote way back in 1992. It has been out of print for years so don't try to buy it. As I glanced over the book, I was shocked at how much has changed since then and how much easier it is today to find and profit from foreclosures.

Although the basic foreclosure procedures remain virtually unchanged, thanks mostly to the Internet it has become much easier today to find and profitably acquire foreclosed properties.  more...

$14.4 million senior apartments sold near L.A.

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Marcus & Millichap negotiated the sale of the Seasons Senior Apartments at Diamond Bar in Diamond Bar, Calif.

The value of the transaction was $14.4 million.

The 82,714-square-foot apartment building is located at 23750 Highland Valley Road. The community was constructed in 1989 and consists of 149 units situated on a 9.9-acre lot.  more...

SoCal industrial assets change hands

By Inman News, Friday, January 6, 2006.

Voit Commercial Brokerage has closed four industrial sales transactions totaling more than 84,000 square feet across Southern California.

The total value of the transactions was $14.6 million.

In the first transaction, McLellan Estate Co. sold a 46,308-square-foot, multitenant industrial park for $4.5 million. The project is located at 8331-8341 Artesia Blvd. in Buena Park. The Olson Co. purchased the property.

In the second transaction, Rancho Way LLC acquired a 6.45-acre industrial land parcel for $3.4 million.  more...

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