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The many faces of real estate Premium Content

By Marc Davison, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Abraham Lincoln found himself in court one early morning arguing a case for the defense. Later that afternoon, he pleaded the same type of case, in front of the same judge, this time for the plaintiff. When the judge asked how he could argue both sides, Lincoln replied, "Well, your honor, this morning I was wrong."

Last week I found myself taking both sides of an argument. The topic: commissions. At an industry gathering early in the week, I argued that the traditional commission structure was broken.  more...

Cedar buys 6 East Coast shopping centers

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. this week announced it has closed on the purchase of six shopping center properties located across the eastern United States.

Cedar, a real estate investment trust that focuses on properties located in mid-Atlantic and New England states, paid approximately $117 million for the portfolio, which includes nearly 870,000 square feet of gross leasable area.

Two of the properties are located in Massachusetts, with one in Connecticut, one on Long Island (New York), one in Maryland and one in Pennsylvania.  more...

Ixia renews SoCal space

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Ixia, a provider of IP performance test systems, has renewed its Calabasas, Calif., headquarters lease for nearly $11 million.

The lease, which ends in 2012, is for 84,124 square feet of space at the Corporate Center at Malibu Canyon located at 26601 and 26701 West Agoura Road.

MS LPC Malibu Holdings LLC owns the building.

Pennsylvania apartments sold for redevelopment

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

A real estate investor/developer has purchased a 244-unit multifamily community in Glen Mills, Pa., for a price of $41 million.

Villanova, Pa.-based Red Rocks Group bought the property, Coventry Crossing, from Chester Heights Associates LP at a price representing $168,032 per unit.  more...

Foxtons owes $40.9 million, has $488,000 in assets

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Discount real estate brokerage company Foxtons North America Inc. listed $40.9 million in total liabilities and $488,000 in assets in a bankruptcy court filing.

About $35.4 million worth of liabilities is attributed to a loan by Heven Holdings Ltd., the parent company of London-based Foxtons.  more...

California title companies roll out Web site for consumers

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

With California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner on hand to lend support, the California Land Title Association rolled out a new Web site Tuesday that the industry group said would help consumers shop for the best deal on title insurance.

At this time a year ago, groups representing title and escrow companies were doing battle with Poizner's predecessor, John Garamendi, and his proposal to roll back rates by $1 billion and impose rate caps based on the companies' expenses.

Like Garamendi, Poizner has s  more...

Risk of house-price declines falling in many areas Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Declining home prices boosted affordability during the second quarter, reducing the risk of price declines in 28 of the 50 largest metropolitan areas, according to an analysis by PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.

PMI said its U.S. Market Risk Index -- which takes into account economic factors like home-price appreciation and volatility, affordability and employment -- fell for the first time in 2 1/2 years during the second quarter.

While that's an encouraging sign that housing markets are beginning to correct, it's not evidence that they've hit bottom.  more...

Social networking meets referral management

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, October 8, 2007.

Zolve, a real estate social network that launches today, allows real estate professionals to network, blog, assign ratings, and create and accept digital contracts for a range of real estate transaction services.

The site was created by Brian Wilson, a Colorado Springs, Colo., real estate broker since 2001.

Zolve joins a lengthy list of active and soon-to-be-launched real estate networking Web sites, which includes ActiveRain,  more...

Real estate rates higher overnight

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up again Monday, while U.S. financial markets were closed in honor of Columbus Day.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 6.09 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate gained to 5.72 percent. The 1-year adjustable grew to 5.76 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. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5.

Lone Star to wholly acquire Accredited Home Lenders

By Inman News, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Lone Star Fund says it will purchase the remaining outstanding shares of Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. by Thursday, resolving a dispute over the investment firm's acquisition of the San Diego-based subprime lender.

Accredited sued Lone Star Fund Aug. 11 in an attempt to force Lone Star to complete its planned acquisition. Less than two weeks later, Accredited announced it was laying off more than 1,000 workers and closing down its retail lending business.  more...

Get rid of home's nasty cigarette-smoke smell

By Barry Stone, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Dear Barry,  more...

Three reasons to buy a second home

By Robert Bruss, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss passed away on Sept. 26, 2007. This was one of the last real estate columns he wrote. Inman News is publishing Bob's last work as a final salute to the nation's most well-known real estate writer.

According to Craig Venezia, author of "Buying a Second Home," there are three primary reasons for buying a second home: investment (rental income and market-value appreciation); getaway; and/or retirement. His new book explains all three motivations, along with their pros and cons, and how to combine them as the owner's lifestyle changes.  more...

Mom loaned $33,000, but ex-girlfriend got the house

By Robert Bruss, Monday, October 8, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss passed away on Sept. 26, 2007. This was one of the last real estate columns he wrote. Inman News is publishing Bob's last work as a final salute to the nation's most well-known real estate writer.  more...

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Guest Post: 25 more influential people on the Web

By toddwcarpenter@gmail.com, Monday, October 8, 2007.
I was elated to find myself on Inman's list of 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers 2007 released last week. While lists like these are destined to create Monday morning quarterbacks, I take them as an opportunity to learn what...  more...