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Mack-Cali sells off Colorado holdings

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Mack-Cali Realty Corp. sold a portfolio comprised of 19 office buildings and vacant land in suburban Denver and Colorado Springs for nearly $194.3 million.

The portfolio, which totals approximately 1.4 million square feet, plus 7.1 acres of vacant land and 1.6 acres of land dedicated to a parking facility, was sold to privately held Westcore Properties LLC, based in San Diego.  more...

Bascom continues Georgia expansion

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

The Bascom Group LLC continued its growth in the Southeast with the purchase of Highland South Apartments, a 218-unit apartment community in Jonesboro, Ga.

The value of the transaction was $7.5 million, or $34,404 per unit.

Highland South, located at 221 Upper Riverdale Road, features 168 two-bedroom/two-bath apartments and 50 three-bedroom/two-and-a-half-bath apartments. Unit sizes range from 1,200 square feet to 1,500 square feet.

PAMI Highland South LLC sold the community, which was constructed in 1972 and includes a swimming pool and playground.  more...

Payroll processor to relocate Mass. space

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

GVA Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Stevens represented ADP in a 134,164-square-foot lease in Peabody, Mass.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

ADP, a provider of payroll and transaction processing services, will move into the one-story building after relocating in December from its current address at 66 Broadway in Lynnfield.

The building, located at 13 Centennial Drive, is owned by RFP Juniper Centennial LLC. It was previously occupied by Saucony, a global supplier of performance footwear.  more...

OFHEO: Conforming loan limit likely to remain at $417,000

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

The conforming loan limit -- the maximum-sized loan backed by government-sponsored mortgage repurchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- won't be reduced to reflect a decline in home prices, but is likely to stay at $417,000 in 2007.

That's according to James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which oversees the government-sponsored entity's financial soundness.

OFHEO uses a survey conducted by the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) to set the conforming loan limit, comparing the average home price in October to the previous year.

 more...

Resetting adjustable loans won't hurt housing

By Lou Barnes, Friday, November 17, 2006.

The 10-year Treasury failed again to break below the 4.53 percent bottom, a level tested again and again since September, so mortgages are stuck just above 6 percent.

This week's test and failure was different from the prior ones: the other rallies were broken by surprisingly strong economic data, especially the last two monthly payroll reports.  more...

Foreclosures increase, but don't overwhelm market

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

A new study reveals that markets in which property foreclosures exceed 8 percent of sales require deeper price discounts to move inventory. 

The study, by First American Real Estate Solutions researcher Christopher Cagan, verified two widely held beliefs: that properties at the lower end of the price range for their markets have higher foreclosure rates and require deeper price discounts to sell, and that the amount of the discounts is tied to foreclosures as a percentage of total sales in a gi  more...

Insurance remains huge barrier to New Orleans rebuild

By Jessica Swesey, Friday, November 17, 2006.

NEW ORLEANS -- The biggest barrier to growth in New Orleans after the city was nearly destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 is commercial insurance, according to local real estate brokers.  more...

Summit Financial to exit mortgage-lending business

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Summit Financial Group, a holding company with $1.2 billion in assets, plans to sell or close down its residential mortgage loan origination unit, Summit Mortgage, the company said today.

The decision to exit the mortgage-banking business was based on the poor operating results of Chesapeake, Va.-based Summit Mortgage, the company said. Summit Mortgage will cease operations by Jan.  more...

Real estate slowdown deepens in Illinois

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Illinois' third-quarter sales of single-family homes and condos fell considerably from the same period last year, while the statewide median home price slipped, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported today.

A total of 46,759 single-family homes and condos were sold in the third quarter, down 14.7 percent from the 54,804 units sold during third-quarter 2005. The median home-sale price dipped 0.5 percent during the period to $209,000, compared with $210,000 a year earlier.

" ...  more...

Utah may make mortgage fraud a felony

By Matt Carter, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Mortgage fraud could soon become a second-degree felony in Utah, prosecutable under the state's anti-racketeering statutes to allow the seizure of assets so they can be returned to victims.

Utah Rep.  more...

Canadian home sales lose steam

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Resale housing in Canada's major markets experienced cooling in October, as the massive supply of homes for sale gave buyers more time to gauge the market, according to statistics released Thursday by The Canadian Real Estate Association.

Seasonally adjusted home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Canada's major markets numbered 27,225 units in October 2006, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier.  more...

Gift season begins: Wrestling with what to give clients

By Alison Rogers, Friday, November 17, 2006.

OK, if someone has a system for keeping track of all the little loose receipts, please tell me.

Since I'm not in the suburbs, I don't drive clients around (there was the time I drove my married friends to house-hunt in Brooklyn, but lost some of my cool points by asking the husband to parallel park for me). I do, however, ferry clients around by taxi, which generates receipts smaller than post-its. I'm good, I stick the little bits in my wallet, and then four taxis later pull out a five and find that the ground is covered in white confetti.  more...

New housing construction falls to 6-year low

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Builders held back on new home construction last month as the housing market continued to see declines in activity in many parts of the country.

Housing starts plunged 14.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.49 million, reaching a six-year low, the Commerce Department said today.  more...

Real estate foreclosures hit 2006 high

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

U.S. property foreclosures soared in October to the highest monthly level this year as housing markets continued to cool, an industry report stated.

Some 115,568 properties entered some stage of foreclosure last month, up 3 percent from September, and up 42 percent from October 2005, according to foreclosure tracking service RealtyTrac.

The RealtyTrac report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 1,001 U.S.  more...

Overnight real estate rates edge down

By Inman News, Friday, November 17, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates decreased slightly Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.67 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.72 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate dipped to 5.48 percent. The 1-year adjustable edged down at 5.33 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.74 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...

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