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Discounters, new agents add pressure to home-sale commissions

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

The majority of real estate agents in a recent survey said that home sellers are more likely to negotiate commission rates today than a year ago, and that companies offering discounts have had the most impact on their sales commissions in the last year.

That's one of the key findings in an Inman News research report, "The State of Real Estate Commissions: 2006," released today.  more...

Developer sheds class A office park

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Grubb & Ellis/West Shell Commercial arranged the sale of The Acropolis at Fairfield Commons, a seven-building office portfolio in Beavercreek, Ohio.

The value of the transaction was $34 million.

Greenville, S.C.-based TIC Properties purchased the class A portfolio, which comprises more than 204,900 square feet.  more...

Westpark Business Center sells in H-Town

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Transwestern recently brokered the sale of Westpark Business Center, a 209,302-square-foot office/flex project in Houston, Texas.

Avalon Financial Group Ltd. sold the property to Alessio Partners Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

Westpark Business Center is a 12-building complex located in Houston's southwest submarket at Hillcroft and Westpark Drive. Built in 1970, the project was 80 percent occupied at the time of sale.

Transwestern is a privately held commercial real estate firm operating nationwide.

Marbella Plaza acquired in 1031 exchange

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Faris Lee Investments negotiated the sale of Marbella Plaza, a 70,844-square-foot retail center in the South Orange County city of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

The value of the transaction was $29.4 million.

Located at 31103-31113 Rancho Viejo Road, the Farmer's Market-anchored center was built in 1992 on a 7.3-acre site. Other tenants at the time of sale included Stillwater Bistro, White Horse Restaurant and Independence Bank, as well as other service and merchandise stores.  more...

Southern California home sales plunge 25%

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Home sales in Southern California fell for the ninth straight month in August, as price levels appeared to be nearing a plateau, a real estate information service reported today.

A total of 25,628 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month, down 25.3 percent from 34,292 sales in August 2005, but up 12.8 percent from 22,712 sales in July, according to DataQuick Information Systems.  more...

Risk of home-price declines increases

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Rapidly slowing home-price appreciation and declining affordability contributed to a marked increase in the risk of home price declines in cities across the country, according to a report released today.

According to PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.'s latest risk index, there's a 32.8 percent chance that home prices will decline in the next two years.  more...

Home builder confidence slips further in September

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

The nation's home builders once again showed lower confidence in the single-family home market, reflecting increasing concerns about overall housing conditions, according to the latest poll released Monday.

The index measuring builder confidence, published by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo, declined for the eighth consecutive month to a level of 30 in September.  more...

New real estate construction plummets in August

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

The rate of privately owned single-family housing starts fell about 20.6 percent in August compared to August 2005, while total housing starts dropped about 19.8 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today.

And the rate for all privately owned housing starts dropped about 6 percent from July 2006 to August 2006, the agencies reported. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 1.67 million in July.  more...

Online job ads up 10%

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

New online job ads across the United States increased to 2.57 million in August, with New England leading the growth, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series, released today.

Last month's supply of online job ads grew by 239,905, or 10 percent, from the previous month and rose 20.8 percent from the August 2005 level.

In August, there were 1.71 online job ads per 100 persons in the U.S. labor force, compared with 1.55 in July 2006 and 1.63 in June.  more...

Overnight real estate rates rise

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.81 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average increased to 5.97 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 5.68 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.32 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.92 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...

Software helps convince consumers they can't do it all Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Editor's note: In this four-part series, Inman News examines the effect of the housing slowdown on everyday real estate business. We've asked brokers and agents what they are doing differently with marketing now that listing times are longer, how they are keeping an edge, and how a slowdown may or may not be impacting commission rates.  more...

Cleveland's top lender sees 20% foreclosure rate on 2005 loans

By Inman News, Monday, September 18, 2006.

One in five home purchase loans made in 2005 by Cleveland's top mortgage lender are already in foreclosure, according to an investigation by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Three years after entering the Cleveland market and becoming the city's top mortgage lender, California-based Argent Mortgage Co.  more...

'As-built' permit: Best solution for illegal garage conversion

By Barry Stone, Monday, September 18, 2006.

Dear Barry,

We received a notice from our local building department informing us that our garage was converted to a bedroom without a building permit. The conversion was actually done by the previous owners and they disclosed this to us when we purchased the property. We never thought to ask them for an as-built permit, but now we wish we had. Is this a serious problem? --Kim

Dear Kim,

When building departments become involved in permit violations, the potential for seriousness is undeniable.  more...

What causes a reverse-mortgage lender to deny loan?

By Robert Bruss, Monday, September 18, 2006.

DEAR BOB: I am a 74-year-old widow. About six years ago, I added my daughter's name to my home's title in joint tenancy with right of survivorship so she wouldn't have to worry about probate costs when I pass on. I'm doing pretty well, health wise, but am running low on income since my airline pension income was cut about two years ago. However, I am told I can't qualify for a senior-citizen reverse mortgage because my daughter is on the title. Is this true?  more...

Property management book gets dismal review

By Robert Bruss, Monday, September 18, 2006.

The best thing about "Be a Successful Property Manager" by experienced real estate author R. Dodge Woodson is the attractive book cover with lots of supposed benefits listed for readers of this book. Unfortunately, the text rarely delivers on the book-cover promises. Instead, the author provides superficial, bland explanations about property management rather than getting down to specific details of what makes a successful manager.

Having read all of R.  more...