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Jun

11
2007

Credit unions a bigger threat than banks?

By Real Estate Coach, Monday, June 11, 2007.
I was at a dinner last week where the issue of banks entering the real estate brokerage business came up during the conversation. Two of the brokers at the table were particularly concerned about the issue of credit unions being...  more...

More Fuel to the Fire

By , Monday, June 11, 2007.
Jeff Corbett, The Xbroker gives us a particularly topical challenge today in his post; Traditional Real Estate Commission Structure, The 30,000,000,000 Problem. He gives us a link to an abridged version of a paper (PDF) written for the Cornell Program...  more...

Guest Post: Surveying Hyperlocal Web 2.0

By Patrick Kitano, Monday, June 11, 2007.
As I was writing up an article today about real estate marketing opportunities on the new hyperlocal Web sites, I discovered three blogs with recent in-depth articles that survey hyperlocal Web 2.0: Local Onliner - 10 Takeaways on Mapping from...  more...

Investors gain stake in Siena Office Park

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Tenant-in-common investors recently acquired two class A office buildings in Henderson, Nev., for an undisclosed price.

The purchase comprises Siena Office Park Buildings Three and Five, which total more than 101,000 square feet.

R.O.C.S.E.V. Capital LLC sold the properties, which were built in 2002 and 2003, at a total 91 percent occupancy. Major tenants at the time of sale included HQ Global Workplaces Inc., National University and Countrywide Home Loans.

Fairway Apartment deal closes

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

The Fairway Apartment Homes in Grand Prairie, Texas, has sold for an undisclosed price.

WillMax Capital Inc. purchased the 348-unit multifamily complex from KWP Fairways LP., a partnership entity between Kennedy Wilson and Capmark Investments LP.

The property is located at 1450 Highway 360 near the Great Southwest Golf Club, and is less than 10 miles from DFW International Airport.

REIT expands Mid-Atlantic presence

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

A real estate investment trust recently purchased a 268-unit multifamily complex in Norfolk, Va., as part of its strategy to expand in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the country.

Associated Estates Realty Corp. acquired Bristol at Ghent, a four-story mid-rise built in 2006, for an undisclosed price.  more...

GapingVoid creator to keynote Real Estate Connect

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Hugh MacLeod tops the speaker list at this year's Real Estate Connect San Francisco, an Inman News event also featuring dozens of other visionaries and leading executives in both the real estate and technology industries.

Widely known for his insightful and often irreverent gapingvoid.com blog, MacLeod's keynote address is titled "What is happening on the Web?"  more...

Troubled borrowers to get refunds, low-cost loans

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

American International Group Inc. says it's set aside $178 million to settle charges by bank regulators that its subprime mortgage lending subsidiaries failed to adequately evaluate the credit of some borrowers and charged high broker and lender fees.

The agreement covers mortgages originated between July 2003 and May 2006 in the name of AIG's subsidiary, AIG Federal Savings Bank, by Wilmington Finance Inc.  more...

Big jump in overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates shot higher Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5.11 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to 6.29 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate rose to 5.99 percent. The 1-year adjustable stayed at 5.57 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was down to 5.21 percent.

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

Overbuilding, affordability haunt housing market

By , Monday, June 11, 2007.

The same forces that built up the housing boom also played a major role in its drop-off, according to the latest annual housing market report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

"Except in the few areas facing real economic distress, this housing downturn has been driven largely by the market's own excesses.  more...

Blogging series: Jonathan Butler

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Unmasked in March, Inman TV talks to Brownstoner.com's Jonathan Butler.  more...

Unique plan to save ARM borrowers from foreclosure

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, June 11, 2007.

(This is Part 4 of a five-part series. See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 5.)

The federal government is presently under enormous pressure to "do something" about the subprime crisis.  more...

Rethinking your home search

By Dian Hymer, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Most home buyers claim they're picky. And why shouldn't they be? The real estate they buy will be home. It needs to provide more than just a roof over their head. It needs to satisfy emotional needs that aren't easily quantifiable. The home is a reflection of the self, which makes the quest for the right place to buy complicated.  more...

Realtor says raising her commission pays off

By Robert Bruss, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, July 16, 2006.  more...