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TIC investors expand in South

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Tenant-in-common investors have purchased a 288-unit multifamily community in Durham, N.C., for an undisclosed price. The deal closed March 29.

Steven D. Bell & Co. sold the property, Springfield Apartments, which comprises approximately 208,000 square feet on nearly 32 acres and offers a parking ratio of 1.5 spaces per unit. Located just 2 miles south of Duke University, the property was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale.  more...

Northern California office deal tops $25M

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Broadreach Capital Partners recently acquired a 93,296-square-foot office property in San Rafael, Calif., for $25.5 million.

A group of local investors sold the asset, which has been fully occupied since completion by Autodesk Inc., a software designer well known for its AutoCAD product.

The property, located at 3900 & 3950 Civic Center Drive, is comprised of two identical three-story buildings originally developed in 1989.  more...

Pennfield Manor sold, will get facelift

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

BPG Properties Ltd. recently acquired an apartment complex in Hatfield, Pa., for an undisclosed price.

The original developer, whose identity was not disclosed, sold the 264-unit Pennfield Manor Apartments, which comprises 15 buildings. The unit mix includes one-, two- and three-bedrooms, with an average unit size of 845 square feet. The project was completed in 1969.  more...

Subprime's springtime surprise

By Neil Morse, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Upbeat housing data this week coupled with a renewed fighting spirit among survivors of this year's subprime saga may signal an unexpected spring comeback for the beleaguered sector.

With as many as 20 percent of subprime lenders gone, or going, out of business in 2007, and resulting originations expected to slide up to $250 billion this year, the picture would seem weak-to-bleak for lending to borrowers with FICO scores below the prime threshold of 620.

Industry leaders, however, are beginning to coalesce around a positive theme, calling the slowdown in subprime a "correction  more...

Mortgage rates end week higher

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Although mortgage rates were up only slightly this week, tomorrow's labor market report should provide a better idea of where interest rates are headed, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today in their weekly surveys.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up to an average 6.17 percent from last week's 6.16 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage gained from 5.86 percent to 5.87 percent.  more...

Minnesota agents accused of participating in sham businesses

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Minnesota officials are sending enforcement letters to real estate agents alleged to have participated in sham affiliated business arrangements with First American Title Insurance Co.

The letters, which follow a $500,000 Feb. 28 settlement with First American, request that the agents admit to the allegations and pay a fine in the range of $1,000 to $2,000, according to an alert posted on the Minnesota Association of Realtors' Web site.  more...

Overnight real estate rates pause

By Inman News, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates held steady Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.65 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average stayed at 5.75 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate remained at 5.46 percent. The 1-year adjustable gained to 5.33 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.84 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.  more...

Consumers can literally window-shop for real estate Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Looking for homes can be a pressing matter -- especially when you're using a touch-screen.

TableTouch Inc., a San Francisco company, offers a technology that allows consumers to literally window-shop for homes on the Web by touching a window at a real estate office.

The company's technology features a computer display screen that is mounted against an office's window glass.  more...

Is partial real estate tax break for real?

By Robert Bruss, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

DEAR BOB: In a recent article, a reader asked you what can be done when a home seller had to sell after less than 24 months' occupancy during the last 60 months. You said if you lived in the house 18 months, for example, instead of the required 24 months, you could take 75 percent of the exemption. No Realtor I know is aware of this. Neither could I find any tax preparer who knew about this exception. And I cannot find this information in any IRS publication. Please tell me where I can find a legal, authoritative writing that will agree with your opinion. --Raymond L.  more...

Reverse mortgages gain praise

By Robert Bruss, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.

Recently I received a nasty e-mail from a bank loan officer that went like this:

"How can you recommend a reverse mortgage instead of a home equity line of credit for a senior citizen homeowner?  more...

Apr

4
2007

Fetch!

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.
From a press release announcing a "special credit card product only for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage customers" which gives you a 1 percent rebate on purchases you use to pay down your Wells Fargo mortgage: "The Wells Fargo Home Rebate...  more...

Register for Wedding Gifts - not Real Estate

By kenjenny@sbcglobal.net, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.
I don't know about you, but I log off when someone asks me to register to access information. This is especially true in real estate. Who ever came up with this idea? In the world of Web 2.0 if you...  more...

Moving on up the real estate Web rankings

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Wednesday, April 4, 2007.
Move.com, a real estate search site operated by Move Inc. (formerly Homestore), climbed to 9th in market share in total visitors among real estate Web sites in March, metrics company Hitwise reported today. Move.com, a sister site to number one...  more...

Real Estate IS a Roller Coaster Ride

By Joel Burslem, Wednesday, April 4, 2007.
An enterprising bubble blogger has taken it upon themselves to plot historical US home prices as a roller coaster track using the game Roller Coaster Tycoon. You can watch the results below. It's definitely a whole new perspective on housing...  more...