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Date

Dec

14
2007

Peaks and Valleys

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Friday, December 14, 2007.
Homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. has seen them both in the past few years. A peek at the valley: The image pictured here (from Google Finance) shows changes in Standard Pacific's stock price from 1988 to the present. The "mountain" of...  more...

Got brakes?

By Matt Carter, Friday, December 14, 2007.
One of the most widely used sports car performance benchmarks is zero to 60 mph time. Less than 5 seconds is impressive. Cars that can do it in less than 4 seconds are considered to be in a class of...  more...

'Real-time' national housing stats debut

By Jessica Swesey, Friday, December 14, 2007.
With so many housing stats reports out there it can be hard to keep up while also reconciling the differences between each source's reporting methods, statistical timetables and sources of original information. The latest statistical report to hit the newsstands...  more...

Redfin hits the airwaves again

By Jessica Swesey, Friday, December 14, 2007.
Redfin made its first appearance on The Today Show this morning -- another PR win for the company everyone in the industry loves to hate. CEO Glenn Kelman covered the company's list of seller tips on the segment, which include...  more...

Bascom grows presence in Denver

By Inman News, Friday, December 14, 2007.

The Bascom Group LLC on Thursday announced its third multifamily acquisition in the Denver, Colo., area since June of this year with the recent purchase of Mountain Crest Apartments in Thornton.

Bascom bought the 390-unit community from San Diego, Calif.-based Professors Capital for a price of $16 million, or $41,025 per unit. The company now owns 17 multifamily properties in the Denver metro area.  more...

Pa. shopping center sells to developer

By Inman News, Friday, December 14, 2007.

Phillips Edison & Co. recently paid an undisclosed amount in the acquisition of Airport Village Shopping Center in Pottstown, Pa.

The property is a 70,730-square-foot community shopping center anchored by Rite Aid at the time of sale.

According to a press statement, "this center will provide upside potential through the redevelopment and leasing of the vacant units."

Large California title company closes its doors Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Friday, December 14, 2007.

A title company headquartered in California's Silicon Valley that once employed more than 2,000 employees at 200 branches has closed its doors without warning.

Alliance Title Co., which is licensed to do business in 34 of 58 California counties, grew quickly during the boom -- in part by hiring experienced agents away from other title companies.  more...

NAR's 'Second Century' tech incubator accepts proposals

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Friday, December 14, 2007.

Second Century Ventures, a new company launched by the National Association of Realtors to consider investments in the development real estate technology applications, will formally begin operations in January.

The technology incubator is part of a series of Realtor group initiatives that will be supported by a $16 per member national dues increase in 2008, bringing national dues to $80 per year per member, plus a $30 annual special assessment for the association's public awareness advertising campaign.

A board of directors was approved for Second Century Ventures during the a  more...

Fed's next move: Stop inflation or stop recession?

By Lou Barnes, Friday, December 14, 2007.

In as strange a stew of news as you'll ever see, mortgage rates have risen close to 6.25 percent, led by the 10-year T-note's leap from 3.85 percent to 4.25 percent.

Beginning two weeks ago, the financial markets began to trade on the prospects for government bailout of a fibrillating financial system. Then, yesterday, new economic data whiplashed them from preoccupation with financial failure to worry about inflation.  more...

California new-home sales sink 46% in October

By Inman News, Friday, December 14, 2007.

New-home sales dropped 45.6 percent in California while median new-home prices fell 10.8 percent in October compared to October 2007, the California Building Industry Association and Hanley Wood Market Intelligence reported today.

The groups reported 3,292 new-home sales statewide for all new-home types in October, down from 6,047 sales in October 2006, according to the report. The median price across all new-home types was $405,900, down from $455,000 in October 2006.  more...

Golden Retrievers and Shih Tzus

By Alison Rogers, Friday, December 14, 2007.

Today -- yesterday by the time you read this -- we had an ice storm in New York. I figure that much of the country had this, because when I went to take a look at my favorite journalism site, it had a headline that read, "Tips for Covering the Ice Storm."

So anyway, not unexpected. I knew I was going to have to be out in it, so I brought an umbrella and my waterproof bag.  more...

Real estate rates end night mixed

By Inman News, Friday, December 14, 2007.

Movement in long-term mortgage interest rates varied Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.2 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.81 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 5.39 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate dipped to 5.57 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.64 percent.

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

Redfin offers seven tips for sellers

By Inman News, Friday, December 14, 2007.

Redfin, a low-cost real estate brokerage company, today released recommendations for home sellers, based on academic research, an analysis of Web site statistics and other measures.

The recommendations, at www.redfin.com/scientist, include advice not to overprice for-sale homes, and to price at or below the thresholds of the $25,000 or $50,000 listing price increments on real estate search sites, among others.

Redfin launched a forum site at  more...

How to thrive in 2008 Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, December 14, 2007.

(This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1, "What's working in today's market?")

"Transforming the Market in 2008," a book written and published in just one week at the National Association of Realtors conference in November, reveals what agents are doing today to get their listings sold.  more...

Home-improvement tools make great gifts

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, December 14, 2007.

Well, it's time once again to be thinking about what to get for the avid do-it-yourselfer on your holiday shopping list, so here are some great tool suggestions -- listed in order of price -- that are well worth considering. (Prices are MSRP, and the tools are commonly available through home centers, hardware stores, lumber yards and other retailers, as well as online).

And this year a big thanks to all of the manufacturers who are getting rid of those irritating and dangerous blister packs in favor of more user-friendly packaging!  more...