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Bascom grows holdings in Southeast

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

The Bascom Group LLC acquired the Copper Mill Apartments, a 320-unit complex in Norcross, Ga., for approximately $11.2 million.

Dunwoody Forest Associates LLC sold the property, which is located at 6860 Bebout Drive. It was constructed in 1974, and includes 166 one-bedroom apartments, 128 two-bedroom apartments, and 26 three-bedroom apartments.

Amenities at Copper Mill include a clubhouse, fitness center, pool, spa, tennis court/soccer court, and playground. Unit sizes range from 660 to 1,127 square feet with an average of 871 square feet.  more...

Glen Ellyn Storage signs build-to-suit lease

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler negotiated a 103,160-square-foot build-to-suit lease for Glen Ellyn Storage Corp. at a facility currently under construction in Carol Stream, Ill.

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

Lime Financial to hire Meritage Mortgage sales force

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

Lime Financial Services will hire most of Meritage Mortgage Corp.'s sales staff and some employees in operations as Meritage's parent company, NetBank Inc., exits the nonconforming mortgage business.

NetBank said the majority of Meritage's nonconforming mortgage sales force and "a smaller but significant number of operations support staff" will be offered jobs with Portland, Ore.-based Lime by Nov.  more...

Apartment market 'firing on all cylinders'

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

The apartment market in the third quarter remained solidly in the expansion phase of the real estate cycle, albeit at a slower pace than in the second quarter, according to the National Multi Housing Council's (NMHC) October 2006 Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions.

"Demand for apartment residences continues to rise, and should remain strong so long as employment keeps rising," said Mark Obrinsky, NMHC's chief economist.  more...

Seven Century 21 offices merge in Mass.

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

Ten Massachusetts owner-brokers of seven Century 21 companies announced a merger today that forms the largest independently owned and operated residential real estate company in Massachusetts.

The new company, Century 21 Commonwealth, has 400 agents and employees and serves about 150 communities through 15 offices in Eastern Massachusetts.  more...

Largest MLS to secure property database

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

Another large multiple listing service has taken action to try to prevent potential security breaches in its property database by installing an authentication system for members.

Clareity Security today announced that Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. (MRIS) will install its SafeMLS product, which provides token-generated, one-time passwords instead of the traditional username and password system.  more...

Overnight real estate rates bumped higher

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates rose considerably Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 4.72 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.83 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate increased to 5.54 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.35 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.81 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...

Best mortgages in today's market

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, November 6, 2006.

"Are some types of mortgages priced better for the borrower than others?"

If you qualify for prime lending terms, there isn't much reason to select an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) in the current market. For most such borrowers, the temporary rate benefit in the early years is too small to justify the risk of higher rates later on.

This is a consequence of what has been referred to as a "flattening of the (bond) yield curve." The yield curve is a graph that shows, at any given time, how the yield varies with the period to maturity.  more...

Home seekers' big dilemma: buy now or wait?

By Dian Hymer, Monday, November 6, 2006.

During the last couple of years, new listings sold in a matter of weeks in many areas. Home prices escalated at a record pace. Financing a home purchase was rarely a problem -- money was easy and interest rates were low. Few buyers wanted to miss the opportunity to make fast money in a market that seemed to defy gravity.

What a difference a year makes. Now, the appreciation rate is running at a snail's pace, and declining in some areas. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home price nationally declined a little over 1 percent in August from a year ago.  more...

Buyer's market casts doubt on McMansion's value

By Robert Bruss, Monday, November 6, 2006.

DEAR BOB: My house has been for sale on the market more than 18 months. Despite scores of open houses and showings by agents, I haven't received any offers. It is a gorgeous five-bedroom, 4-bathroom home with a three-car heated garage. The area is not economically depressed. We can't figure out any ideas to sell it (without a dramatic drop in price) --Bryan C.

DEAR BRYAN: The primary reason a home doesn't sell is it is overpriced.  more...

Former Homestore exec receives 30-month sentence

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, November 6, 2006.

Peter Tafeen, a former Homestore executive who pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud for his participation in a fraudulent advertising scheme, today was sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison.

Tafeen was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following the prison sentence, and six months of the supervised release program must be served in home confinement.

Tafeen, who faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, served as executive vice president of business development at  more...

Home-valuation tool lands on broker Web sites

By Inman News, Monday, November 6, 2006.

Real estate technology and data service provider Visient today announced the launch of a new home-valuation tool in major metropolitan markets that uses public record and multiple listing service data.

The product, called Your Home Valuation, is now available in Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Sarasota and Tampa, Fla., the company said.  more...