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Releasing real estate's pheromones Premium Content

By Marc Davison, Monday, October 29, 2007.

Sexy sells.

These days, stimulating the mind and the heart from the advertisement all the way through to the experience is hot, hot, hot. It's what attracts people to products, what creates loyalty to brands. And it's building across the luxury spectrum. Hermes, Prada, Ferrari, Burberry are booming while other less sexy brands sit unwanted, like wallflowers at the school dance.

Real estate has pheromones.  more...

Oct

29
2007

I've done everything for you...

By Matt Carter, Monday, October 29, 2007.
... You've done nothing for me. You said someday I'd have a whole lotta money, I'd be a millionaire But when that didnt happen over night I found out how much you really cared Well, all you want is a...  more...

Guest Post: Zestimating the power of youth

By toddwcarpenter@gmail.com, Monday, October 29, 2007.
Rich Barton, CEO of Zillow has reportedly invested in a new, anti-aging focused Web site called RealSelf.com. Featuring consumer reviews, a community based Q&A, and it's own blog, RealSelf's Web 2.0 nature reflects that employed by Zillow itself. One can...  more...

MBS: housing's canary in a coal mine?

By Matt Carter, Monday, October 29, 2007.
One sign that the housing downturn has bottomed out in a given market is when investors start snatching up homes they consider bargains. A similar phenomenon is expected in the market for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)....  more...

Seller finds higher commissions move houses

By Jessica Swesey, Monday, October 29, 2007.
Here's a tidbit from Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle on the benefits of sellers offering a higher commission for the sale of their home. It makes sense; money motivates in a work setting so it comes as no surprise that real...  more...

HUD settles captive reinsurance claims for $1.4 million

By Inman News, Monday, October 29, 2007.

Without admitting wrongdoing, six major home builders have agreed to pay nearly $1.4 million to settle charges that subsidiary companies they created to "reinsure" home buyers' title insurance policies violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).  more...

Hines, CalPERS acquire Guaranty Bank Building

By Inman News, Monday, October 29, 2007.

A joint venture between Hines and the California Public Employees' Retirement System today announced it has acquired the Guaranty Bank Building in Denver, Colo., for an undisclosed price.

The 13-story, 220,287-square-foot office building, sold by Westfield Capital Partners LLC, is located at 1331 17th St. in the city's Lower Downtown (LoDo) district.

The class A property, which was completed in 1983, includes an attached nine-level structure (three below-grade levels and six above-grade levels) providing a total of 650 spaces.  more...

Kohl's store purchased in 1031 exchange

By Inman News, Monday, October 29, 2007.

A limited liability company has completed a 1031 exchange for an 89,000-square-foot Kohl's retail property in Livermore, Calif., for a price of nearly $10.7 million.

Los Gatos, Calif.-based C & D Livermore LLC purchased the property from Phoenix, Ariz.-based Univest/Verus-Livermore LP.

The single-tenant property, which was built in 2007, is ground-leased to Kohl's Corp., an operator of more than 730 discount department stores in 41 states. The triple-net lease is for 20 years with eight five-year options.  more...

Home builder supplier lands Houston space

By Inman News, Monday, October 29, 2007.

Tri-Supply Co., which provides products to Texas home builders, recently leased approximately 92,000 square feet in northwest Houston for an unidentified price.

The space, owned by 7100 Business Park Inc., is located within a 216,000-square-foot, multitenant distribution facility at 7100 Business Park Drive, at the intersection of Highway 290 and Beltway 8.  more...

Survey: Real estate agents still clinging to print ads Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, October 29, 2007.

Spending on print advertising continues to rank high among real estate practitioners, though a growing number report that they are advertising at national Web sites, according to a report based on an August survey.  more...

Real estate rates end night higher

By Inman News, Monday, October 29, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.4 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.89 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate inched up to 5.49 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.62 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.7 percent.

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

Chicago-area MLSs announce data-sharing deal

By Inman News, Monday, October 29, 2007.

Two Chicago-area multiple listing services announced the creation of a "mirrored database" that allows each MLS to display a combined inventory of property information from both MLSs to their members.

The Realtor association-owned MLS of Northern Illinois and the smaller broker-owned MAP-MLS, which are participating in the data-sharing agreement, have also been pursuing a merger.

Though a group of dissenting MLSNI shareholders has filed a lawsuit to block the merger, that litigation is ongoing.  more...

Let's make a deal: loan mod for 50% of price appreciation

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, October 29, 2007.

(This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1, "Too much equity can deny homeowners loan mods.")

The first article in this series pointed out that when a mortgage borrower is unable to make the required payments, the servicing agent has an obligation to the owner of the mortgage to resolve the problem in the way that is least costly to the owner. The usual method is foreclosure, but an alternative is to modify the loan contract to make the payment more affordable.  more...

Is improving home's basement wise during soft market?

By Dian Hymer, Monday, October 29, 2007.

Should you invest a good sum of money in your home if housing prices in your area are flat or declining? When home prices are escalating, adding more money to an asset that's increasing rapidly in value is a no-brainer. But given current market conditions, it's more important to consider the financial ramification of a renovation before giving your contractor the green light.  more...

Neighbor shouldn't share well without legal contract

By Benny Kass, Monday, October 29, 2007.

DEAR BENNY: Our neighbor is planning on drilling a well and putting in an irrigation system. They have asked us if we would like to install an irrigation system and if so, would we like to tap into their well and help pay for it. Our neighbors across the street have a similar arrangement. The neighbors that have the well on their property pay for the electricity, and any repairs are paid for by the others that use the well. That sounds fine, but what needs to be done to make sure this agreement and our ability to use the well continues if our neighbor decides to sell their house?  more...