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Aug

30
2007

Growing fast in a slow market

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Thursday, August 30, 2007.
Phoenician Properties Realty, a real estate company that caters to move-up buyers in the Phoenix area, was the fastest-growing residential real estate brokerage company and ranked 286th on the Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest-growing private companies. The company was...  more...

Conference half full or half empty?

By Jessica Swesey, Thursday, August 30, 2007.
If the rooms are emptier at mortgage lending conferences this fall, that may be because those bodies have fled to default services or REO events. A default servicing news publication says this week that its fourth annual conference on the...  more...

Freddie Mac profits down 45%

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Freddie Mac's second-quarter net income fell 45 percent to $764 million, the company said today, blaming much of the decline on higher provisions for credit losses.  more...

California housing out of reach for first-time buyers

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

A new report released by an industry trade group found that only 24 percent of California households could afford to buy an entry-level home during the second quarter.

Although the percentage is up slightly from 23 percent for the same period a year ago, the California Association of Realtors' First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index found that homes today are more expensive and require buyers to have higher minimum incomes than they did a year ago.

The minimum household income needed to purchase an entry-level home at $504,080 in California in the second quarter of 2007 w  more...

Home prices drop in 15 states during Q2

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Home prices fell in California, Nevada, Michigan, Michigan and Massachusetts during the last year, while Utah and Wyoming saw double-digit price appreciation, according to a house-price index based on repeat transactions involving conforming loans of $417,000 or less.

Nationwide, second-quarter home-price appreciation was essentially flat from the previous quarter at 0.1 percent, the lowest growth since the fourth quarter of 1994, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) said in releasing its House Price Index.  more...

Riverfront Plaza trades for $45.4 million

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

A limited liability company recently sold Riverfront Plaza, a fully leased shopping center in Hackensack, N.J., for $45.4 million.

Riverfront Plaza LLC unloaded the five-building property on Crossroads Cos. Comprising 129,250 square feet, the center is situated on nearly 14 acres on South River Street.

Riverfront Plaza's anchor, ShopRite Supermarket, occupies 70,400 square feet. Other tenants in the center include GNC, H&R Block, Hollywood Video, KFC, Mandee, Radio Shack, Taco Bell and Washington Mutual.

N.Y. apartment sale totals 724 units

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

A&R Fuel has sold a five-property apartment portfolio located in New York's Orange and Dutchess counties for approximately $51.8 million.

Buyers of the properties included four limited liability companies and a real estate company.

Among the properties were:

  • Village Crest Apartments, located at Maloney Road in the town of Poughkeepsie. The 246-unit garden-style apartment complex is situated on 30 acres and was sold to Coolidge Maloney Road LLC.  more...

Phillips Edison adds 193,295 square feet

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Phillips Edison & Co. closed on the purchase of two more shopping centers as part of its plan to purchase 63 Developers Diversified Realty Corp. properties this year.

The latest acquisition, which brings the current total to 60, includes Tops Plaza-Canandaigua in Canandaigua, N.Y., and Pasco Square in West Pasco, Fla. Tops Plaza is a 57,874-square-foot, single-tenant property with additional land for development, and Pasco Square is a 135,421-square-foot center anchored by Beall's Outlet and Dollar General.  more...

Mortgage rates fall again this week

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Long-term mortgage rates slid further this week on cooler July home sales and waning consumer confidence, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to an average 6.45 percent from last week's 6.52 percent, and the 15-year fixed was down to 6.12 percent from 6.18 percent.  more...

Overnight real estate rates creep lower

By Inman News, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down again Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.56 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 6.07 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate fell to 5.74 percent. The 1-year adjustable dropped to 5.97 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up at 4.88 percent.

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

Rural MLSs form network to keep up with changes Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Representatives for an assortment of Realtor multiple listing services operating in rural Northern California communities have banded together to discuss common issues, such as the rise of MLS data-sharing and consolidation efforts in the state.  more...

My lease ended, so where's my security deposit?

By Robert Griswold, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

Question: We live and work in Germany at this time, but own some rental properties back in the United States. We signed a one-year lease for a rental house for our son to live in back in our hometown. We were looking to increase our real estate investments so we decided to buy a property of our own for our son to live in. We notified the owner of his current rental immediately, telling him we wanted to be released from the contract as soon as possible and that there was another person interested in taking over the lease.  more...

Must tax be paid on $1 million property gift?

By Robert Bruss, Thursday, August 30, 2007.

DEAR BOB: Who pays the taxes on a once-in-a-lifetime, $1 million property gift? --John L.

DEAR JOHN: Nobody! When an individual donor gives away up to $1 million in cash or other assets, he or she must file a federal gift tax return with the IRS. But no federal gift tax will be due if the donor has not previously given away more than $1 million tax-free under the $1 million federal gift tax exemption.

Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.  more...