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Wall Street wrecks real estate stocks

By Marcie Geffner, Sunday, September 30, 2007.

Wall Street swung a megaton wrecking ball at real estate stocks in September.

Every one of the 10 companies that comprise the hypothetical Inman Index of real estate stocks suffered a one-month loss and all of the issues have lost at least 10 percent, if not much more, of their value so far this year.

Hardest hit among the 10 companies last month were home builder D.R.  more...

Praying for lower rates and a refinance party

By Lou Barnes, Sunday, September 30, 2007.

Mortgage rates are about the same, just under 6.5 percent, but the ultra-indicator, the 10-year T-note yield, has gradually fallen from 4.7 percent last week to 4.6 percent.  more...

Why mortgage lenders struggle for repeat business

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, September 30, 2007.

I recently returned from a boat tour in Indonesia, and was impressed with the quality of the service provided by the tour company. The employees go out of their way to make the experience a pleasurable one for the customers. Other tour companies we have used in the past were equally good. My impressions are consistent with those of many other travelers with whom I have compared notes.  more...

Home buyers less willing to compromise in slow market

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, September 30, 2007.

Even though the home-sale market is slow, some listings sell quickly. Others don't. What accounts for the difference?

The volume of homes sold is down as much as 20 percent or more in some areas compared to a year ago. Concurrently, the listing inventory has increased 40 percent or more in some markets. The odds of having a quick sale decrease when lower sales volume is combined with more listings of homes for sale.  more...

Is bankruptcy better than foreclosure?

By Robert Bruss, Sunday, September 30, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss passed away on Sept. 26, 2007. This was one of the last real estate columns he wrote. Inman News is publishing Bob's last work as a final salute to the nation's most well-known real estate writer.  more...

Sep

28
2007

No More NetBank

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Friday, September 28, 2007.
NetBank, an Internet bank based in Alpharetta, Ga., goes belly-up (see Inman News.) From the Office of Thrift Supervision: "NetBank sustained significant losses in 2006 primarily due to early payment defaults on loans sold, weak underwriting, poor documentation, a lack...  more...

Bank fails, regulators cite mortgage-related problems

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

Federal regulators have shut down NetBank, an Internet bank with no physical branches, after the bank failed to rebound from "significant losses in 2006 primarily due to early payment defaults on loans sold, weak underwriting, poor documentation, a lack of proper controls, and failed business strategies," according to a Friday announcement.

The U.S.  more...

Palm Springs self-storage gets new owner

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

A limited liability company has sold a large self-storage facility in Palm Springs, Calif., for an undisclosed price.

Palm Springs Self Storage LLC c/o Granite Investment Corp. unloaded the 107,910-square-foot building on buyer Public Storage.

Located at 1000 S. Gene Autry Trail, the 805-unit asset was approximately 60 percent occupied at the time of sale. The project opened in September 2006 and leased approximately 60,000 square feet in its first year of operation, according to a press statement.

Humana leases space for Arizona call center

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

Healthcare insurer Humana Inc. has leased 81,789 square feet of office space at the Tempe Commerce Park building in Tempe, Ariz., for an undisclosed price.

The building, located at 7333 S. Hardy Ave., is owned by INVESCO Real Estate.

Humana will use the space to process customer service calls for its Medicare and mail-order prescription business. The company, which plans to take occupancy in November, will be relocating approximately 100 employees from its Buckeye location, who will eventually be joined by 200 new employees as this operation expands.  more...

California single-family starts down 35% from last year Premium Content

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

Single-family housing starts in California have fallen about 35 percent for the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year, as measured by building permits issued, the California Building Industry Association reported this week.

Building permits issued for single-family units in the state dropped 34.6 percent in August 2007 compared to August 2006, according to data compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board, a nonprofit research center.

Meanwhile,  more...

Home construction spending rate nears 4-year low

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

The residential construction spending rate declined for the 18th straight month in August, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today, hitting its lowest level since November 2003 and dropping 16.5 percent compared to August 2006.

The construction spending report heaps on more statistics reflecting a decline in the U.S.  more...

Goodnight, Bob

By Alison Rogers, Friday, September 28, 2007.

The thing about writers is that we tend to be cranky. The shift from looking inside -- to digging down to find all those wonderful thoughts and metaphors -- to dealing with the outside -- that ever-ringing phone -- is just too harsh, and it happens too often.

So it's always surprising when a writer has a reputation for being nice and good-humored, and it's even more surprising when that writer is approximately three times as productive as any of his competition.  more...

An agent's closer look at Zillow Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, September 28, 2007.

At Real Estate Connect I had a chance to sit down for a one-on-one interview with Rich Barton of Zillow. Love them or hate them, Zillow is now generating about two-thirds as much traffic as Realtor.com. Can your business afford to ignore such a powerful place to advertise for just pennies?  more...

Real estate rates end night mixed

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

Movement in long-term mortgage interest rates varied Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.57 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 6.11 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate sank to 5.73 percent. The 1-year adjustable fell to 5.71 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was down at 4.83 percent.

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

Freddie Mac reaches $50 million settlement with SEC

By Inman News, Friday, September 28, 2007.

Calling it another milestone in putting an accounting and management scandal behind it, mortgage repurchaser Freddie Mac said Thursday it had reached a $50 million settlement with government regulators over the company's restatement of three years of earnings.

In the settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac neither admitted nor denied allegations that the company violated federal securities law by deceiving investors about ups and downs in the company's earnings.

The SEC's  more...

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