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Newport Beach office deal tops $35M

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Voit Commercial Brokerage negotiated the sale of Birch Bayview Plaza, a two-building office project in Newport Beach, Calif., for $35.8 million.

The property comprises 96,067 square feet situated atop first-floor covered parking. The buildings are located at 20401 and 20411 SW Birch St.

Birch Bayview Plaza LLC, a partnership of the Steadfast Companies and McCarthy Construction, who both developed the property and are both tenants in the office complex, sold the property to an unidentified buyer.  more...

Sunglasses maker Oakley expands in SoCal

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

ProLogis has pre-leased approximately 290,000 square feet of distribution space in Ontario, Calif., to Oakley Inc., a producer of sunglasses, goggles and prescription eyewear.

Oakley's new distribution facility will be located at Crossroads Business Park, a master-planned park ProLogis is developing. The facility is targeted for completion in the first half of 2007.  more...

New Jersey's Ridgedale Corporate Center sold

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Ridgedale Corporate Center, a 151,416-square-foot complex comprised of two interconnected suburban office buildings, sold in East Hanover, N.J., for an undisclosed price.

North Jersey Development Group Inc. sold the 19.9-acre property at 711-717 Ridgedale Ave. to an unidentified buyer.  more...

Chicago MLS merger draws closer

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

A judge has reportedly ordered a group of Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois shareholders -- who last year were absent from a vote to consider a consolidation with a rival Chicago-area MLS -- to participate in another vote that will be scheduled within 30 days.

While brokers in several markets have pushed MLSs to pursue consolidations or regional data-sharing agreements with other MLSs, the MLSNI-MAP effort has so far not been a shining example of success.

Five local Realtor associations and boards, representing five of 10 MLSNI shareholders,  more...

Fed keeps federal funds rate at 5.25%

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

There's still a risk that inflation won't stay in check, despite the ongoing downturn in the housing market, members of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee said Wednesday in keeping the short-term federal funds rate at 5.25 percent.  more...

Congress eyes Wall Street's role in subprime lending Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Investors who buy mortgage-backed securities shouldn't be shielded from lawsuits by homeowners who are placed in abusive or predatory loans, consumer groups told lawmakers this week.

In the latest hearing on the troubled subprime mortgage lending industry, members of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday  more...

RE FormsNet acquires REBT

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

RE FormsNet, an electronic forms software provider, has acquired Real Estate Business Technologies LLC in a move said to be the next step in transitioning the industry from paper-based to online home-sale transactions.

Real Estate Business Technologies, or REBT, owns the RELAY transaction management software, a key piece to online transactions that require less paper.

"The acquisition of REBT by RE FormsNet will enable us to take advantage of the economies of scale inherent in operating the two companies as one and will further accelerate meaningful synergies as we move forwar  more...

Home-buying activity picks up

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Applications for home-purchase loans and refinancings increased last week as interest rates dipped, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today in its weekly survey.

The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.6 percent, growing to 680.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 657.2 one week earlier.  more...

Overnight real estate rates sleep

By Inman News, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were unchanged Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.62 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average held at 5.76 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate remained at 5.49 percent. The 1-year adjustable stayed at 5.61 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.8 percent.

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

Using your Web stats wisely Premium Content

By Jessica Swesey, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Editor's note: With some three-quarters of real estate consumers going online to look for property listings, neighborhood information, home buying and selling advice, and tips on how to choose a Realtor, it's become crucial for real estate businesses to gain a sense of where people are going, what they are looking for, and what kinds of information they are contributing to online forums and review sites. In this three-part series, Inman News looks at various aspects of tracking online real estate trends.  more...

Home mortgage provides array of tax breaks

By Tom Kelly, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

If you feel better knowing you can deduct the mortgage-interest portion of your huge annual housing expenses, make sure you know exactly how much you can deduct.

One of the more popular topics I've had with accountants this year is regarding mortgage interest. You can deduct only interest on the original amount of the loan at the time you refinance, plus $100,000. For example, let's say you purchased your home 10 years ago for $100,000 and took out a loan for $80,000. Since then, you have paid the loan down to $20,000.  more...

Seismic retrofit advice deemed 'irresponsible'

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Not long ago, we published a question from one of our readers who was motivated to begin seismically retrofitting his home after seeing the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. We tried to assist by pointing him to three Web sites with information on seismic retrofitting.

He was looking for resources that would help him learn about the process, so he could make informed judgments about recommendations made by professionals. At least at this time, he was not looking for specific instructions on how he could retrofit his house.  more...

Fed up with rising mortgage insurance

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, April 2, 2006.

When Kenisha and Greg Brantly bought their home, they obtained a 100 percent no-down-payment home loan from SouthStar Funding LLC. However, SouthStar required the Brantlys to obtain private mortgage insurance (PMI) to minimize the lender's risk.

The lender arranged PMI from Republic Mortgage Insurance Co. The Brantlys pay a monthly PMI premium of $590 for this insurance.  more...

Selling inherited house hits roadblock

By Robert Bruss, Tuesday, May 8, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, April 2, 2006.  more...

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DOJ, FTC report cites flaws in real estate competition

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Tuesday, May 8, 2007.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice today released a "Competition in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry" report that calls for a repeal of real estate laws, rules and regulations that limit choices for consumers, limit competition...  more...
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