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Super-sizing trend continues in real estate Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Large lot sizes and big houses are still gaining in popularity among buyers of new homes, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on housing characteristics.

The "Characteristics of New Housing" report, released this month, found that the average size of a new single-family U.S. home sold last year grew 2 percent since 2004, to 2,414 square feet.  more...

Next stop: 7% mortgage rates

By Lou Barnes, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Last week's hopes for a mortgage-rate top are still valid, but the location may be closer to low sevens than high sixes. The latest over-target inflation report (May CPI core plus .3 percent) will likely force the Fed from 5 percent to 5.25 percent on June 29, and short-term Treasurys are beginning to price a 5.5 percent Fed in August.

The Fed must proceed until the economy slows substantially, but the global unwinding of stock markets that began two weeks ago caused bonds to get ahead of themselves.  more...

Younan dumps Phoenix office center

By Inman News, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Younan Properties Inc. has announced the sale of Four Gateway, a 140,000-square-foot office building in Phoenix.

The value of the transaction was $27.5 million.

Beverly, Mass.-based Brookwood Financial Partners purchased the property, which is located at 444 N. 44th St. Built in 1998, Four Gateway was 99 percent leased at the time of sale to a tenant roster that includes ValueOptions and Eclipsys Corp.

"We recognized the opportunity to produce a significant yield in a very short time due to the fast recovery in the Phoenix office market," said Zaya S.  more...

Cedar grows shopping center holdings in Pa.

By Inman News, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. this week announced it has purchased Gold Star Plaza Shopping Center in Shenandoah, Pa.

The value of the transaction was approximately $7.9 million.

Gold Star Plaza is a 72,000-square-foot property anchored by a 47,000-square-foot Redner's supermarket. The property is located on 20 acres, permitting expansion of up to 24,000 square feet. The purchase also includes two additional pad sites for future development. Other tenants include Family Dollar, Advance Auto and a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board liquor store.  more...

New Jersey office complex sold for $56M

By Inman News, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Investment Team recently negotiated the sale of Mt. Kemble Corporate Center, a 277,860-square-foot office property in Morristown, N.J.

The value of the transaction was $56.7 million.

Mt. Kemble Corporate Center, located at 350-360 Mt. Kemble Ave., is a two-building office property located off Exit 33 of Interstate 287. Tenants at the time of sale included Morgan Stanley, St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Coughlin Duffy, and Taisho Pharmaceutical.  more...

South Florida real estate sales drop 25%

By Inman News, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

South Florida's Broward County residential real estate sales continued to fall by double digits in May, as for-sale inventory soared from a year ago, according to statistics provided by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Single-family home sales totaled 808 in May, down 25 percent from a year ago when 1,071 homes were sold. May saw 944 condominium-townhouses sold, down 32 percent from 1,379 sales in May 2005.  more...

Sellers are liars

By Alison Rogers, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

I was going to write a column about the saying "Buyers are liars." I have it in my head, so hopefully you'll read it next week.

But before I sat down to write it today, I decided to attack my work e-mail. It's been three months since I got my real estate license, and I just hit that magical point where everyone else has learned that I co-broke and has decided to send flyers to me.

So I read them, and decided to write that sellers are liars instead. Or at least sellers' agents; they're such liars, in fact, that I'm gonna lay down some rules.  more...

Wolff testifies in his own defense Premium Content

By Marcie Geffner, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

LOS ANGELES -- Stuart Wolff, the former CEO of Homestore (now Move Inc.), appeared in court here yesterday to defend himself against charges of conspiracy, filing false statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, circumvention of internal auditing controls, fraudulent insider trading and falsification of corporate books and records.

In his hours-long testimony, which began Wednesday, Wolff portrayed the company's former COO and then-CFO John Giesecke as an unhappy and power-hungry second-in-command; claimed that post-merger confusion and internal politics at AOL T  more...

Don't rush into lumber accord with Canada, say builders

By Inman News, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

The National Association of Home Builders trade group is urging the federal government not to rush into a lumber accord with Canada that could keep prices up and ultimately cause an increase in housing costs.

Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO for the builders' group, said in a statement that the current framework for the agreement under consideration by the United States and Canada "could have huge long-term ramifications f  more...

Overnight real estate rates climb

By Inman News, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 5.1 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 6.24 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate increased to 5.93 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.26 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.14 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...

Realtor builds virtual community for Ohio neighbors Premium Content

By Jessica Swesey, Thursday, June 15, 2006. Editor's note: Real estate agents are learning that online community sites can be useful in reaching their target audience. Agents can use community Web sites to raise awareness about their services and drum up local business, while consumers can use the sites to rate, review, recommend and reach agents in their desired locations. This three-part series uncovers how a few savvy agents are using these sites and building their own.  more...

Savvy agents tap softening for-sale-by-owner market Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

According to Alexa.com, Web traffic at ForSalebyOwner.com is down substantially since 2005. Given the shifts in the market, now may be the best time ever to start prospecting for-sale-by-owners, or FSBOs.

While Web leads may take months or even years to develop, there are few resources better than expired listings, referrals and FSBOs for "right now" business. When markets are strong, we see more discounting and more people selling their properties without representation.  more...

Homeowner deals with 'blistering paint' problem

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Q: About four years ago, my sons painted my house. They pressure-washed and scraped and sanded one weekend, and painted the next weekend. Subsequently, blisters appeared in the paint in several areas. Last summer I had a professional painter repaint the house, again washing one weekend, along with scraping and sanding, and painting the next weekend. Now the whole house has blisters in the paint, and the paint is coming off the edges of the siding. Incidentally, I also had a new roof put on. The roofer removed three layers of shingles, replaced some plywood, and added additional vents.  more...

Kitchen and bath show unveils unique inventions

By Katherine Salant, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Every year at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS), one manufacturer comes up with an over-the-top sensation that offers little utility but garners lots of media attention. This year's over-the-top item -- a whirlpool bath for a dog -- actually makes some sense if you're a dog owner.

Offered by MTI Whirlpools, the Jentle Pet Spa fits onto a stand about the size of a crib, so that you can bathe Fido without wrenching your back.  more...

Home sellers hit roadblocks in buyer's market

By Robert Bruss, Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Spring is the traditional peak sales season for houses and condos. Summer is also usually very good until the traditional August slump, especially for families who want to relocate before school starts. More prospective home buyers are in the market at this time of the year than during any other season.

But 2006 is proving to be a bit different. Although 2005 was a record home sales volume year, the number of residence sales has slowed this year. There could be several reasons, such as adverse weather in many areas and slowly rising mortgage interest rates.  more...