Archive - Jan 22, 2007 | Real Estate and Technology News for Agents, Brokers and Investors

Date

Jan

2007

Suburban Sprawl? Scientists continue to

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Suburban Sprawl? Scientists continue to wrestle with the question of whether fat people move to the suburbs or if the suburbs create fat people. But one point is no longer debatable: the suburban lifestyle positively correlates with obesity. From this... more...

I want to sell my

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

I want to sell my home. Why should I use you? Give the seller your best pitch and tell us why it works. by sellsius° real estate Inman News Exclusive more...

(excerpt from Transparent Real Estate

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

(excerpt from Transparent Real Estate Cyberhomes learns from Real Estate 2.0 Pioneers) Last week, I had a conversation with Marty Frame, Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions (FNRES) Chief Information Officer, and builder of its Cyberhomes automated valuation model ("AVM") product.... more...

300 public MLS Web sites

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

300 public MLS Web sites Saul Klein at the Internet Crusade tells us that in his extensive research he's found that about 300 MLSs throughout the nation have a public Web site where consumers can search for local real estate... more...

Wanted: Home Buyer -- $1,000

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Wanted: Home Buyer -- $1,000 Reward Update to this blog post: Attorneys weigh in on legality of rewards. Click here to read what they said. A property flier in the San Francisco Bay Area contains the usual information on amenities... more...

Student housing sells for $130 million

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

A joint venture between The Pierce Co. Inc. and The Fidelity Real Estate Group has completed the purchase of a portfolio of four off-campus student housing communities in Michigan, and expects to close on a fifth purchase within 60 days.

The $130 million, 3,516-bed, five-property portfolio includes four properties in East Lansing located near Michigan State University and one property near Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. more...

One Harmon Plaza acquired

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

A joint venture between Prism Capital Partners and New Boston Fund has acquired One Harmon Plaza, a 187,000-square-foot office building in Secaucus, N.J., the companies announced Thursday.

Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. sold the property for an undisclosed price.

The 10-story property, situated on 1.67 acres, includes a full-service retail bank in the lobby, ample parking, and an adjacent Crown Plaza Hotel and Exhibition Center.

At the time of sale, the property was 63 percent leased to 22 tenants, according to a press statement.

Bascom buys foreclosed apartment complex

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

The Bascom Group LLC on Wednesday purchased the recently foreclosed Highland Orchard apartment community in Conyers, Ga., for approximately $5.6 million. more...

Wanted: Home Buyer -- $1,000 Reward

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Editor's note: The following excerpt is from the Inman News blog. We invite you to leave your thoughts at the blog discussion by clicking here. What kinds of creative incentives are being offered in your market?

Wanted: Home Buyer -- $1,000 Reward more...

Citigroup to acquire ABN AMRO Mortgage Group

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Citigroup Inc. says it will acquire ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, and move ABN's $224 billion mortgage servicing portfolio and 2,500 wholesale brokers to CitiMortgage Inc. in the process.

The combined companies will be the fourth-largest mortgage loan servicer and third-largest originator, Citigroup said in a press release today. Terms of the sale, which is expected to close this quarter, were not disclosed. more...

Governor suspends Chicago anti-predatory-lending program

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has suspended a controversial program intended to stop predatory lending in 10 Chicago-area ZIP codes after a study found housing sales in the predominantly minority neighborhoods dropped by nearly half after the program went into effect.

Legislators who sponsored the legislation that created the program said it was working and questioned the governor's authority to suspend it. more...

Yahoo Real Estate launches school tools

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Yahoo Real Estate has launched new tools, at http://realestate.yahoo.com/Schools, that allow users to research neighborhood schools across the nation. more...

North Carolina home sales, prices up in '06

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Despite several months of slowing activity, last year's overall sales and prices of existing homes in North Carolina still outperformed their 2005 levels, according to statistics provided by the North Carolina Association of Realtors.

For 2006, there were 139,676 homes sold statewide, up 3 percent from the 135,970 homes sold in 2005.

The average sales price of a home in the state gained 2 percent in 2006 to $214,952, compared with $210,577 for 2005. more...

No growth in overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were scattered Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.78 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 5.76 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 5.55 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.36 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.86 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. more...

Commentary: 'Housing risk ain't over'

By Lou Barnes, Monday, January 22, 2007.

Long-term rates are clinging to their highs (6.25 percent for mortgages, 4.77 percent for the 10-year T-note), but the bond market looks lousy, poised for another rise.

The straight-line, quarter-percent rise in rates began in the second week of December, as data began to arrive too strong to support sweet dreams of a Fed rate cut, especially strength in the job market. Unemployment is a dead-low 4.5 percent, and a sustained decline in new claims for unemployment insurance says that conditions are, if anything, improving. more...