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Colorado office sale exceeds $11M

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

RMI Investment Services acquired a 79,200-square-foot office/flex building in Englewood, Colo., for $11.5 million. 

The property, Arapahoe Service Center II, is a single-story building located at 6446 South Kenton St. in the Lincoln Executive Center. The building was constructed in 2000 on 6.3 acres of land.

Triple Net Properties sold the asset, which was fully occupied by tenants that included AT&T, Dynegy, Akamai Technologies and John A. Harland Co.

SoCal warehouse purchased for conversion

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. recently purchased a vacant, 356,000-square-foot building on 14.5 acres in Rancho Dominguez, Calif., with plans to convert the former warehouse into a modern logistics facility.

The property is located at 3015 Ana St., and the purchase price was not disclosed.

First Industrial Realty Trust will soon begin a major reconfiguration of the property at an investment exceeding $4 million involving the demolition of 150,000 square feet of the structure and redevelopment of the balance.  more...

Bascom buys 280 apartment units

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

The Bascom Group LLC recently paid $10 million for the Evans Mill apartment community in Lithonia, Ga.

The 280-unit property, located at 2795 Evans Mill Road, was sold by Lane Co. Investment and Development. Built in 1971 and later renovated in 2003, it is situated on 24.5 acres.

Evans Mill is comprised of 19 one-bedroom/one-bath apartments, 72 two-bedroom/one-bath apartments, 157 two-bedroom/one-and-a-half-bath apartments, and 32 three-bedroom/two-and-a-half-bath apartments. Unit sizes range from 726 to 1276 square feet with an average of 995 square feet.  more...

Market experts predict end for real estate slump Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, May 31, 2007.

While part of the real estate downturn is behind us now, the buyer's market will likely continue for at least two more years, foreclosures are likely to surge and "we're heading into a year with some more price declines," a real estate consultant told an audience of building-industry professionals on Thursday.

John Burns, a consultant who presented a housing market outlook during the annual Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco, said that a combination of factors, including low interest rates and unconventional mortgage products, dug deep into the pool of future home buy  more...

LandAmerica shareholder says company ripe for acquisition

By Matt Carter, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

One of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc.'s biggest shareholders says the title insurer's larger rivals are interested in acquiring it and that "the likelihood of consummating such a deal is high" if the company were to go along.

In a letter urging LandAmerica's board of directors to explore the sale of the company, Viking Global Performance LLC claims the synergies resulting from a merger with a larger competitor could exceed $200 million, doubling earnings per share. Viking is an investment firm that owns nearly 8 percent of LandAmerica's outstanding shares.  more...

Flat home prices perfect for economic shock

By Lou Barnes, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

After a pause early this week, long-term rates have resumed a quick run to the highest levels since last summer. Mortgages have departed 6.5 percent for higher ground, taken by the 10-year T-note almost reaching 5 percent at one point this morning, up from 4.6 percent trading only three weeks ago.  more...

Michigan MLSs face new antitrust lawsuit Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, May 31, 2007.

A federal antitrust lawsuit, brought by a company that formerly offered low-cost real estate brokerage services, targets two Michigan multiple listing services that last year were hit with separate and unrelated antitrust complaints filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Home Quarters Real Estate Group LLC charges in its complaint, filed in U.S.  more...

Summer could bring 360,000 new jobs

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

Little change is forecast for the job market this summer, as approximately 360,000 new jobs will likely open up, roughly the same pace as in the spring, The Conference Board reported today.

The organization's Help-Wanted Advertising Index, which measures job offerings in major U.S.  more...

Pending real estate sales index hits 4-year low

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

A National Association of Realtors index that gauges pending home sales was 10.2 percent lower in April than in the same month last year, based on contracts signed. The index also fell 3.2 percent in April compared to the previous month.

The index is considered a leading indicator for the housing market because signed contracts typically lead to finalized sales within one or two months, and the index is based on a national sample that typically represents about 20 percent of existing-home sales.  more...

Remodeling the American Dream Premium Content

By Alison Rogers, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

Lately, I have customers who want to buy new, new, new, but they're also going into budgetary shock. I have one particular set of clients, a family, who are having trouble finding their dream home -- they want to be downtown, which is popular, in a top school district, and they want a three-bedroom that is around 2,000 square feet. To get all that with a sparkling new kitchen, too, would bust their budget, since all the available candidates are north of $3 million.  more...

California delays title insurance rate cap until 2011 Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

California's insurance commissioner has decided to delay until 2011 a plan to cap title insurance rates and escrow fees but says he expects the industry to introduce a comprehensive package of reforms that includes rate cuts long before then.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, while critical of what he sees as a lack of competition in the title insurance industry, has also said a rate cap proposed by his predecessor is not his "first instinct" for remedying the problem.

On Thursday, Poizner  more...

Gains resume for overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.89 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 6.01 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate gained to 5.72 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.71 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up to 5.01 percent.

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

Face-to-face negotiation wins real estate clients Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

If you want to close more transactions in 2007, stop relying on your fax machine and your e-mail and start negotiating your offers in person.  more...

Big week for Fidelity National Financial

By Inman News, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

It's been a momentous week for title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc., which named a new chief executive officer and took a major stake in a $5.3 billion acquisition of information services provider Ceridian Corp.  more...

Hidden costs of owning a new home

By Katherine Salant, Thursday, May 31, 2007.

You're buying a new house. You're thrilled and relieved. But if you're like most new-home buyers, you're also confused. What, exactly, do you really need to know -- and how hard is it to find out?

Stage front and center on your "need-to-know list" is the price. That is easy to find out.

But the sale price represents only the first-time cost. How about the lifetime cost?
That's harder to calculate, especially since you may not be familiar with this term.  more...

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