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REIT sheds noncore Midwest asset

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Associated Estates Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust, has sold a 949-unit apartment community in Euclid, Ohio, as part of its strategy to reduce its Midwest exposure.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The property, North Pointe, comprises two 22-story towers located on the shore of Lake Erie. Built in 1971, the asset was 89 percent occupied at the time of sale.

The seller plans to use the net sales proceeds to acquire another property in an undisclosed location, according to a press statement.

Tampa apartment sale tops $10M

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Brentwood Place, a 180-unit apartment community in Tampa, Fla., recently sold for $10.5 million.

Neither the buyer's nor the seller's identity was disclosed.

Located at 8741 Grove Terrace, the 198,700-square foot complex features a great unit mix, including 58 two-bedroom/one-bathroom units; 100 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units; and 22 two-bedroom/two-bathroom townhouses.

Smile, you're on Agentopolis Premium Content

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Hear about the new Web site that lets real estate agents post bios and upload their listings -- and helps consumers find them by city, language spoken, or even religious beliefs or sexual orientation?  more...

Inman TV: Real estate rookie

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Newbie real estate agent Alison Rogers has had a rough time trying to make it in New York City, and when asked about the experience, she holds nothing back.

"More than 6 million Americans move each year.  more...

Atlanta appraiser innocent of fraud charges

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

An Atlanta-based appraiser indicted two years ago for her alleged participation in a mortgage fraud ring has been acquitted by a jury.

Carla Kinsey was indicted with four others in 2005 who allegedly obtained fraudulent loans totaling approximately $4 million on homes in the Atlanta area.  more...

Mortgage rates climb

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Mortgage rates were up for the third straight week on news that durable-goods orders improved in April, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today.

Freddie Mac reported that the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 6.42 percent this week from 6.37 percent a week ago, and the rate on the 15-year fixed gained from 6.06 percent to 6.12 percent.  more...

Home prices grow at slowest rate in a decade

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Home prices nationwide continued to rise in the first quarter of 2007, although at the lowest rate in 10 years, according to a federal agency's analysis of data from mortgage repurchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

For the year, homes appreciated faster than other goods and services that make up the Consumer Price Index, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reported today in issuing its quarterly house-price index (HPI).  more...

Builders lose confidence in condo sales

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Builder confidence in the condominium market eroded significantly in the first quarter of 2007, fueled by an overwhelming supply and stricter mortgage lending rules, the National Association of Home Builders reported.

According to the latest results of the Multifamily Condo Market Index (MCMI), the component that tracks current conditions in the condo market stood at 23.1 in the first quarter, down nearly 14 points from this time a year ago. A rating of 50 generally indicates that the number of positive responses is about the same as the number of negative responses.  more...

Residential construction spending still sluggish

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

The rate of residential construction spending fell behind its year-ago level in April despite inching up from March, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

Last month's $1.19 billion seasonally adjusted rate of construction spending was 2 percent lower than the April 2006 estimate of $1.21 billion but was up slightly from March's estimate of $1.18 billion, according to the report.  more...

Real estate rates steady overnight

By Inman News, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly flat Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.87 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average held at 5.98 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.69 percent. The 1-year adjustable was also up at 5.69 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5 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...

Standards, regulation in place for electronic closings Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Editor's note: More big companies, trade groups and entrepreneurs are investing in technology platforms, back-end systems and software to automate the real estate transaction, but most consumers are still closing deals the old-fashioned way. In this three-part series, Inman News eyes progress on the paperless front.  more...

Eviction derailed when tenant goes missing

By Robert Bruss, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, June 18, 2006.

DEAR BOB: I gave my tenant the required notice to move, confirmed with a receipt of notice. She agreed to move out. But the unit is now locked, no one is there, and her car is parked in the driveway. I phoned several times, but no reply. What options do I have? I already hired a contractor to update the unit, based on the tenant's promise to move out on schedule --Paras R.  more...

Disabled daughter's inheritance dilemma

By Robert Bruss, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, June 18, 2006.  more...

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Going up?

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.
Minutes from the May 9 meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee, released today: Energy and commodity prices keep going up, along with wages, so we are still worried enough about inflation that we're not going to cut interest...  more...

Trulia Charts the Past

By Joel Burslem, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.
Trulia Hindsight is the latest web mashup launched by the real estate search engine Trulia, which allows you to see how cities or towns grow over time. Other mashups from the Trulia team have included Truliaholic and plotornot.com. The map...  more...