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New York EDC extends downtown lease

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

The New York City Economic Development Corp. (EDC) has extended its lease until 2020 for approximately 263,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

This 32-story building, located at 110 William St., comprises 900,000 square feet and underwent a major capital improvement program in 2002. EDC leases space located on floors 2 through 8, including a portion of the ground floor.

Swig Equities LLC, a New York City-based real estate development, investment and management firm, owns the property.  more...

Hines, Sumitomo acquire office tower

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Hines, an international real estate firm, announced that Hines-Sumisei U.S. Core Office Fund L.P. (Core Fund) has acquired 287,000 square feet of office space in downtown Seattle, Wash.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Archon Group L.P. sold the property, located at 720 Olive Way. The 20-story building was constructed in 1981 and renovated in 1997, and includes a four-level subterranean garage.  more...

Atlantic Management dumps industrial center

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

CB Richard Ellis/New England brokered the sale of 675 Canton St., a 345,026-square-foot industrial building in Norwood, Mass.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Atlantic Management Corp., a Framingham, Mass.-based real estate investment firm, sold the property to AMB Property Corp., a San Francisco-based global developer and operator of industrial real estate.

675 Canton St., now called AMB Pinewood Distribution Center, features 28-foot clear ceiling heights, 40 loading positions and rail access.  more...

New Mexico considers minimum-service rule change Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, February 20, 2006.

The New Mexico Real Estate Commission will meet this week to consider a controversial real estate regulation opposed by U.S.  more...

'Mortgage-elimination' criminal case expands Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, February 20, 2006.

A grand jury in California has issued a 68-count indictment against the creators of a mortgage-elimination scheme and several affiliates, on charges related to mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, contempt of court and forfeiture, according to court documents.

This latest indictment, called a superseding indictment, adds a list of charges and individuals to the U.S. government's ongoing criminal case.  more...

Architecture billings improve for 12th month

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Billings at U.S.  more...

Coldwell Banker launches Web-oriented TV campaign

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Coldwell Banker launched its newad campaign Sunday night on prime-time television, with 15-second spots expressly designed to drive consumers online, Online Media Daily reported today.

The ads, created by Publicis Groupe's Kaplan Thaler, focus mainly on laptops streaming video featured on the company's Web site, reports said.

"The Web site is the real focus," Charlie Young, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker, told Online Media Daily.  more...

Fannie Mae lobbying spend grows

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Fannie Mae spent $10.1 million on lobbying last year, as Congress considered legislation to tighten oversight of the mortgage giant in response to its multibillion-dollar accounting scandals.

According to records filed last week with Congress, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remained among the most prolific corporate spenders on lobbying, despite controversy over their efforts to influence lawmakers.  more...

Mortgage tech companies expand fraud detection

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Interthinx has integrated its mortgage fraud prevention systems with VueCentric's loan origination system, the companies announced today.

The partnership allows VueCentric's Mortgage Dashboard customers to automatically screen for potential fraudulent activity through the integration with Interthinx tools.

VueCentric's Mortgage Dashboard enables the processing of paperless mortgages for lenders, credit unions and banks.  more...

FEMA trailer program for hurricane evacuees criticized

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

The National Multi Housing Council and National Apartment Association issued a statement to express opposition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's purchase of thousands of mobile homes that were intended to house hurricane evacuees but have remained unused.

Jim Arbury, senior vice president of government affairs for the two groups, which represent developers and operators of apartment communities, said in the statement that FEMA spent about $1 billion on trailers that "are not  more...

Canadian real estate sales hit 4-month high

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Resale housing activity in Canada's major markets started 2006 on a strong note, as sales grew 3.1 percent in January from the previous month, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association.

Seasonally adjusted home sales via the Multiple Listing Service in Canada's major markets totaled 28,840 units in January, up from 27,966 sales in December.  more...

Overnight real estate rates stall

By Inman News, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly unchanged Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.54 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.85 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate held at 5.48 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at 4.61 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 4.51 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...

Six clicks of separation: Maps speed online home search Premium Content

By Janis Mara, Monday, February 20, 2006.

Editor's note: Mapping has quickly become an essential part of real estate Web sites as map-based searching offers a more streamlined, interactive way of looking for homes. Brokers and agents are still sorting out how to incorporate maps into their Web sites and turn them into a lead-generating tool. In this three-part series, we go beyond the buzz to uncover what mapping can do for real estate business.  more...

Proposals attempt to create fair mortgage market

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, February 20, 2006.

(This is Part 3 of a three-part series. See Part 1 and Part 2.)

Q: "What should be done about high settlement costs and referral fees in the home mortgage market?"

In previous articles, I made the point that both high settlement costs and referral fees arise out of referral power--the power to direct a client to a specific vendor--that is pervasive in the home mortgage market.  more...

Couple aims to pull off multiple home-sale tax breaks

By Robert Bruss, Monday, February 20, 2006.

DEAR BOB: We own three houses; one is a rental. We have owned house number one, our primary residence, for 18 years. We want to sell it in 2006 to get the $500,000 tax credit. House number two has been owned for two years. We moved in during 2005 and want to sell it in 2008 to take the $500,000 tax credit. House number three, the rental, will be our last move if we can sell it in 2010 for the $500,000 tax credit. Can this be done? --Lil H.

DEAR LIL: Yes.  more...

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