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Dec

11
2007

'Crazy big' real estate, in the Vast world

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Tuesday, December 11, 2007.
Vast, a vertical search engine company that formally launched its real estate search platform this week, offers about 2.4 million residential properties and allows searches by keyword, location, and a range of other variables (see Inman News article). Testing out...  more...

The future of real estate marketing: newspapers?

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.
Real estate marketing consultant Marc Davison usually has something provocative to say in his regular Inman News columns, and today he argues that rumors of the newspaper's demise have been greatly exaggerated. "If you think that print media -- and...  more...

In emergency take stairs

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.
Stocks tanked today as investors reacted to the Fed's decision to slash a modest 25 basis points off of short-term interest rates (see Inman News story). One reason stocks fell is that investors had already priced in today's action. Only...  more...

RealtyTrac sinks, Move.com and HAR.com gain in Hitwise rankings Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Foreclosures search site RealtyTrac.com sank in its market share of Web visitors to real estate sites in November, dropping to 13th place from its second-place ranking in October, Web metrics company Hitwise reported today.

Move.com, a companion property-search site to Realtor.com, moved up in ranking from ninth place in October to fourth place in November, and the Houston Association of Realtors' property-search site at HAR.com jumped up from 26th place in October to 20th in November  more...

Newspapers: Not dead yet

By Marc Davison, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Editorial policies aside. Costs aside. Are newspapers really a dead medium for real estate advertising?

If you think that print media -- and in particular newspaper advertising -- is a waste of money, think again. Considering all the honest-to-goodness garbage found in most papers, a well placed, well written, neatly conceptualized ad could do wonders for your brand, your business, your properties and your customers.  more...

Opportunity knocks, even in a down market Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

It may take more than a year for the housing market to climb out of this slump, but that's no reason for real estate companies to stand still, said brokerage company representatives during an Inman News audio conference Monday.

Companies should continue to try new approaches and should not close the door to growth and opportunity, said participants in the "2008: Thriving in a Real Estate Downturn" audio conference.

"As the market has tightened up we're looking at things with a magnifying glass," said John R  more...

Fed lowers short term rates 25 basis points

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

An intensification of the housing correction and increased strains in financial markets prompted the Federal Reserve to lower key short-term interest rates today, the third consecutive meeting since September it has taken such steps.

The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee lowered its target rate for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, to 4.25 percent. In a related action, the Fed's board of governors approved a 25 -basis-point decrease in the discount rate, to 4.75 percent.  more...

H&R Block's Option One losses mounting

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

H&R Block Inc. said it will miss the deadline for filing its latest quarterly report to investors, but expects to post more than $500 million in losses largely attributed to its failed subprime lending subsidiary, Option One Mortgage Corp. 

H&R Block said Dec.  more...

Joint venture acquires multifamily property in Phoenix

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Somera Capital Management has acquired Windtree Village, a 103-unit apartment community located in Phoenix in a joint venture with 3 Street Financial LLC.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The property, located at 6041 West Thomas Road, is nearby The Veranda a 156-unit apartment community, which the joint venture acquired in August.

Windtree Village, built in 1982, is comprised of 71 two-bedroom units and 32 one-bedroom units in eight two-story buildings.  more...

Downtown Manhattan office tower changes hands

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Mitsui Fudosan America Inc. has purchased 100 William Street, a 400,000-square-foot class A office building in downtown Manhattan.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The seller was a locally based partnership led by Lighthouse Real Estate Ventures, which had owned the property since 1999.

Built in 1973, the 21-story office tower is currently over 90 percent occupied. Tenants include Reuters, Interactive Data Corp., Level 3 Communications and Citibank.

New York-based Mitsui Fudosan America is a real estate investment and development company.

Triple Net Properties buys Park Central in Atlanta

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Triple Net Properties LLC has acquired Park Central in Atlanta, on behalf of tenant-in-common investors, the company announced.

The value of the acquisition, which closed on November 29, was not disclosed.

Park Central is a 10-story office building totaling approximately 212,200 square feet in Atlanta.

The building was built in 1986 and renovated in 2005 and is approximately 10 miles northeast of Atlanta's central business district.  more...

Point2 Technologies confirms group of resignations Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

The chief operating officer, chief technology officer and five other leaders at real estate technology and marketing company Point2 Technologies announced their resignations last week, a Point2 spokesman and its former chief operating officer confirmed Monday.

A team of employees, including COO Brendan King, chief technology officer Jason Collins, and vice president of strategy and business development Jeff Tomlin were among the departing group.  more...

Overnight real estate rates continue climb

By Inman News, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates increased Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield moved up to 4.16 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.8 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.38 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate increased to 5.54 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was also up at 4.62 percent.

Rates and bonds 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...

How this housing slide compares with past cycles Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Editor's note: With the end of a year marked by weakening housing markets drawing to a close, the question on many industry professionals' minds is "When will this market hit bottom and when will it start to recover?" In this three-part series, Inman News seeks insight from housing analysts who go deep to paint a picture of housing in 2008, compares this downturn to past cycles and seeks input from agents on how they are reacting with their business plans.  more...

Should I paint roof to better match house?

By Paul Bianchina, Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Q: I have enjoyed your column for some time, and I now have a question about the composition shingle roof on a house we just purchased. The roof is only 5 years old and is in good shape, but we want to paint the house. Unfortunately, the existing roof color will contrast poorly with the paint colors we've chosen. Is there any kind of paint or other surface coloring that we can use to darken the shingles? --Pat W.

A: As you're probably aware, a composition shingle gets its coloration from the thousands of tiny mineral granules used in its construction.  more...

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