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MLS consolidation group draws more interest Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Participants in an effort to consolidate six San Francisco Bay Area property-listing services are studying whether the ownership structure of the new group should be tweaked to accommodate more expansion.

The consolidation will create one of the largest multiple listing services in the country.

Gregg Larson, CEO of Clareity Consulting and a spokesman for the consolidated MLS organization, dubbed the Northern California Real Estate Exchange (NCREX), said tod  more...

C21 launches new TV ad campaign

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Century 21 Real Estate today launched its "Agents of Change" national television ad campaign, which showcases the sales agent's role in a home sale or purchase.

The new TV spots will appear during popular primetime television programming including the ABC Television network's "Desperate Housewives," "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," "Boston Legal" and "Alias." In addition, the ads will air on cable television networks, including CNN, CNBC, ESPN and DIY.

In one spot, titled "Open House" viewers watch as an older couple sits  more...

Major industrial deal completed in Tennessee

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Binswanger recently negotiated the sale of a 334,600-square-foot industrial building on 41 acres in McKenzie, Tenn.

The value of the transaction was approximately $3.1 million.

The property, located at 1165 Rochelle Drive, is a one-story building that features ceiling heights up to 26 feet, 9,600 square feet of office space and 26 dock-high doors.

Hines, an international real estate firm, sold the property to The Hollingsworth Cos., which plans on retrofitting the building.

Philadelphia-based Binswanger is an international, full-service real estate organization w  more...

Bascom grows downtown Seattle portfolio

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Bascom Northwest Ventures LLC acquired the Mandarin View Apartments, its eighth apartment community in the Seattle area, pushing its portfolio in the region to 2,280 units.

Bascom purchased the property for approximately $8.5 million from Lee Holdings LLC. The 96-unit property is located near downtown Seattle in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. 

Mandarin View Apartments, built in 1968, is on a bluff overlooking downtown Seattle and the Puget Sound. It has a unit mix which consists of 7 percent studios, 62 percent 1-bedroom units, and 21 percent 2-bedroom units.  more...

Retail plaza sold near Lake Tahoe

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Grubb & Ellis Co. arranged the purchase of Round Hill Square, a 118,483-square-foot, mixed-use property in Zephyr Cove, Nev.

The value of the transaction was $40.6 million.

The class A property, which is located at 212 Elks Point Road, was 100 percent leased at the time of sale, and anchored by Safeway and the U.S. Postal Service. It was built in 1998.

Douglas Capital of Zephyr Cove sold the property to Pacific Capital Investments, a Roseville, Calif.-based private investment group.  more...

Freddie Mac gets new SVP-controller

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Freddie Mac has chosen a senior vice president-controller and principal accounting officer, the mortgage giant said Tuesday.

James Egan will take the position effective April 3, 2006, the government-sponsored enterprise said.

Egan, 53, has been executive vice president and controller for MBNA America Bank.  more...

Maryland county's predatory lending law stalled

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Enforcement of a new Montgomery County, Md., law seeking to curb predatory lending was halted for four months by a state judge Tuesday, media reports said.

Additionally, the Bush administration said the measure usurps federal authority, according to reports.

The Montgomery County Predatory Lending Ordinance seeks to curb discrimination in mortgage lending through harsh penalties against alleged predators.

Montgomery officials characterized the law as an effort to strengthen civil rights protection, reports said.  more...

Homes & Land expands franchise network

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

The Homes & Land network has licensed 11 new franchises during the first two months of 2006, bringing the total number of magazines in the network to 332, the real estate publisher said today.

The new magazines will be opening in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

"This rapid growth is expected to surpass the record year in 2005 of 36 new magazines," said Brian Crawford, vice president of franchise sales.  more...

National TV ad campaign aims to attract mortgage leads

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

HouseValues has launched a national television advertising campaign for TheLoanPage.com, a national mortgage lead generation service, the Kirkland, Wash.-based company said today.

The campaign aims to drive consumers seeking home loans to TheLoanPage.com, where they can request up to four competitive bids from national lenders for home purchases as well as refinances and home equity lines of credit.  more...

Real estate rental prices surpass income growth Premium Content

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

About 70 percent of the 7 million lowest-income renters in the country pay more than half of their income for housing, according to a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

The median asking rent increased 32.7 percent in a decade, from $734 in 1994 to $974 in 2004.  more...

Real estate refinancings jump

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Overall mortgage applications inched up 0.7 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, taken higher by refinancing activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 0.4 percent to 399 from 400.8 the previous week, whereas the refinance index increased by 2.6 percent to 1,614.4 from 1,573.5 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38.5 percent of total applications from 38.1 percent the previous week.  more...

Overnight real estate rates march higher

By Inman News, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up again Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.73 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.91 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 5.58 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 4.67 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 4.71 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...

How to handle 'year of the buyer' Premium Content

By Janis Mara, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Editor's note: Experts have predicted that the torrid pace of home sales and double-digit price growth would slow this year, and some segments are already experiencing this. In this three-part report we take the housing market's latest pulse to get a feel for what's happening across the country and what real estate executives advise brokers and agents can do to stay on top.  more...

Boomers carry special demands, rewards for builders Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

About 6 percent of new housing units in 2003 were built specifically for older adults, and baby boomers are likely to fuel the demand for age-specific housing for years to come, according to home-building experts.

David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders trade group, said about 3.2 percent of all housing starts in 2003 were built in 55-and-over age-restricted communities, while about 2.7 percent of all U.S.  more...

Craftsman-style bathroom needs serious improvement

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Q: I own a 1920s, two-bedroom, one-bath house in a modest neighborhood of Oakland, Calif. I am trying to decide how much of a bathroom upgrade to do, partly to make it more desirable for everyday use but mostly to improve it for resale.

The bathroom is tiny, about 4 feet by 7 feet. I have put in a pedestal sink. The bathtub is in good shape, but it's mint green. The floor is marble and in good shape, but it's an ugly orange color that clashes with the green tub. Also, the tile around the tub needs to be replaced.  more...

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