Home

Fannie Mae adds employees, expands space

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Charles Dunn Co. negotiated a 10-year office lease renewal for mortgage giant Fannie Mae at a building in Pasadena, Calif., for a price of $24.7 million.

Under the terms of the new agreement signed with building owner Maguire Properties, Fannie Mae's office space will increase from 49,000 square feet to 61,655 square feet.

A part of Plaza Las Fuentes, this eight-story building is located at 135 N. Las Robles Ave. and comprises 183,614 square feet. The property, which was 100 percent occupied at the time of the deal, is also home to East West Bank and Fed Ex Kinko's.  more...

Big office building sells for small price

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

NAI Hunneman Commercial brokered the sale of a 136,000-square-foot office building in the Florence section of Northampton, Mass.,

The Brush Works LLC purchased the property for $2.1 million from Molding Business Services.

Known as The Arts & Industry Building, the property at 221 Pine St. is home to 90 tenants, mostly artists and other small businesses. The building, which was built in 1866, has been virtually full for 10 years since its redevelopment in the early 1990s, and currently has a waiting list for new tenants, according to a press statement.  more...

Videojet extends headquarters lease

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Videojet Technologies Inc. signed a new 15-year lease at its quarter-million-square-foot headquarters facility outside Chicago, landlord Wells Real Estate Investment Trust said.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Wood Dale, Ill.-based Videojet, a manufacturer of coding, printing and laser marking products, has lengthened its lease through 2021.

The property, built in 1991 at 1500 Mittel Blvd. in Wood Dale, was acquired by Wells REIT in 1999. It is one of a dozen buildings owned by Wells investment funds in the metro Chicago area.  more...

Mortgage credit to impact housing next year

By Lou Barnes, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Well. The elections are over, and the outcome had no detectable impact on the financial markets. Far more important than the switch in congressional control is President Bush's transfer of national security policy from Neo-Con hands to Daddy's bailout team -- grounds for optimism for the world ahead. However, we're not interested in the world, we're interested in money; not the House but housing, and the bond market much prefers pessimism to optimism.

There were no noteworthy economic data released this week, but the bond market and mortgages improved by a chart-pattern whisker.  more...

NAR: Existing-home sales to flatten in '07

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Following a correction in home sales and prices in 2006, existing-home sales are expected to "coast" at roughly the same level next year, although there will be some additional decline in the new-home market, according to a forecast released today at the National Association of Realtors Conference & Expo in New Orleans.

"Overall home-price gains will be modest," said David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, in a statement, and sellers are adjusting to the market transition.  more...

Weichert expands across South, Midwest

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, the franchise arm of Weichert, Realtors, this week announced it has added six franchise offices in the Midwest and South.

In the South, the four franchises offices affiliating with the company include Weichert, Realtors - 1st Choice, LaFayette and Rossville, Ga.; Weichert, Realtors - The Genesis Group, Norcross, Ga; and Weichert, Realtors - All Points Properties, Flower Mound, Texas.

In the Midwest's Great Lakes region, the new franchises offices include Weichert, Realtors - Monarque Propert  more...

Nashville home sales, prices jump

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Home sales in the Nashville, Tenn., area climbed for the second straight month in October as prices maintained healthy growth, the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors reported.

Realtors recorded 3,331 home sales last month, up 3.5 percent from the 3,216 sales in October 2005.  more...

Help-U-Sell launches in South Africa

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Help-U-Sell Real Estate has expanded its fee-for-service real estate business in South Africa, the company announced this week.

Since opening an office in Pretoria earlier this year, the company has already established 12 franchise offices throughout the country.

Under the company's set-fee model, consumers choose the level of brokerage service they want and often can save money on total commission costs compared with a more traditional commission that is a percentage of the home's sale price.

"The expansion of Help-U-Sell Real Estate into South Africa exemplifies how  more...

The late lunch

By Alison Rogers, Friday, November 10, 2006.

There is so much work -- two actual clients! One woman I met on some real estate Internet boards is coming to Manhattan this weekend, and I've been spending hours looking for the right high-end rental for her and her family. It's so hard because I have less experience with rental units, and so I'm not as confident about what they will look like, and there are a lot of "hijacked" listings, so half the time I see a posting for $17,000 I have to do a ton of detective work to find the real thing for $14,000.

And then there's the sale: the Big Sale.  more...

Overnight real estate rates ride downtrend

By Inman News, Friday, November 10, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell further Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.61 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 5.78 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate decreased to 5.51 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.35 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield held at 4.73 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...

Expired listings a goldmine for agents Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, November 10, 2006.

(This is Part 1 of a two-part series.)

Why do listings expire?  more...

Modern home fixtures born, raised in America

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, November 10, 2006.

(This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Read Part 2.)

Aside from my usual grumbling about Hewlett Packard products, I seldom mention brand names in this column. Today, however, I'm going to mention a whole raft of them. Before I'm accused of selling out, though, let me say that none of the firms I mention have paid me to drop their names, nor so much as taken me out to lunch. However, just for future reference, I could probably be easily bribed with a nice fresh rhubarb pie.  more...

Storm windows offer alternative to full replacement

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, November 10, 2006.

If your windows are leaking air like crazy but upgrading them with new replacement windows simply isn't in the budget at the moment, there is an alternative. Storm windows can provide protection against air infiltration and also increase the warmth and energy efficiency of your existing windows, typically at a much lower cost than full replacement.

Storm windows are essentially the forerunner to today's double-pane, insulated windows. Older, single-glass windows were fine during the summer, when temperatures were warm and windows were often open for ventilation.  more...

Home seller's remorse: Will it strike you?

By Robert Bruss, Friday, November 10, 2006.

A few weeks ago I received an unsolicited cash offer to sell my second-home condominium, which I have owned about 15 years. In the last year, I have used it less and less so this surprise purchase offer at a very fair price received my careful consideration.

As I often do when making major decisions, I got out a sheet of paper and drew a line down the middle.  more...