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Jan

4
2008

Deadstick landing

By Matt Carter, Friday, January 4, 2008.
Does Fed chairman Ben Bernanke see himself as the pilot of the U.S. economy, attempting to make a deadstick landing aboard the U.S.S. Housing Market? Before the invention of the ejection seat, pilots taking off and landing from aircraft carriers...  more...

What is a lead?

By Jessica Swesey, Friday, January 4, 2008.
null The folks at 1000Watt Consulting debuted this video of people -- consumers we presume -- speaking frankly about their real estate needs. The jist is that people are people, not leads. Marc Davison, a partner with 1000Watt and Inman...  more...

Office space traded in Houston's Uptown

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Two office buildings in the Galleria/Uptown area of Houston, Texas, have sold to affiliates of The Ellman Cos. of Phoenix for an undisclosed price.

The properties, 1001 and 2425 West Loop South, which comprise an aggregate 503,503 square feet of space, are located on the east side of Loop 610, a major freeway.

Fuller West Loop LLC sold both facilities.  more...

Ad agency moves to Boston

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Transwestern Investment Co. recently inked an agreement to lease 100,000 square feet in Boston to a full-service advertising agency relocating from Wenham, Mass.

Mullen will be moving its corporate headquarters to 40 Broad St., bringing 420 employees to the building's top four floors. The building has been undergoing significant capital improvements, and project completion is scheduled for next month.  more...

Hines buys Renaissance Square

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

A joint venture has sold the 965,508-square-foot Renaissance Square in Phoenix, Ariz., to a subsidiary of Hines for an undisclosed price.

The Pauls Corp. and GE Asset Management together inked a contract to sell the two-building office complex to Hines' U.S. Core Office Fund LP. The Core Fund is an investment vehicle organized to acquire a geographically diverse portfolio of core office buildings nationwide.  more...

Missouri fines two First American title companies $240K

By Matt Carter, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Two title insurance companies under the First American Corp. umbrella have agreed to pay $240,000 in fines for allegedly failing to make sure that independent title agencies writing policies on their behalf used the correct rates.

First American Title Insurance Co. and Land Title Insurance Co. of St. Louis allowed title agencies to use incorrect risk rates, or rates not filed with the Missouri Department of Insurance, regulators said.  more...

'Oh, to be a fly on the oval wall'

By Lou Barnes, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Long-term rates have fallen to the mid-December lows, and show almost every sign of going lower. The 10-year Treasury has reached 3.83 percent, and the lowest-fee mortgages are 5.875 percent.  more...

Federal Reserve to loan banks $60 billion

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

With a surge in unemployment and rising oil prices as a backdrop, the Federal Reserve announced today it will make $60 billion in short-term loans available to banks this month -- half again as much as offered in December -- as the credit crunch shows few signs of easing.  more...

What I did on my winter vacation

By Alison Rogers, Friday, January 4, 2008.

First, let me announce that my BlackBerry did not work for seven days, and I did not die.

OK, I had Wi-Fi.

But in general, I told all my clients I was toddling off, and I toddled off, and I think if anything I got some respect for vacationing. Did it make me seem wealthy or enviable? I don't know. But I do know the world did not end.  more...

More declines in overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued lower Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 3.89 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.66 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate slid to 5.17 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate was down at 5.4 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.37 percent.

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

2008 turnaround expected for California

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

The economist for a building industry group in California reports that his "crystal ball has a slightly more optimistic scenario" for 2008 than many other forecasts, and he predicts "a modest turnaround" in the state's housing market next year.

That admittedly contrarian view by Alan Nevin, chief economist for the California Building Industry Association, includes an anticipated 15.3 percent increase in single-family housing permits this year compared to 2007.

The state's economy "will have a soft landing in 2008 and begin its return to normalcy by mid-2008," Nevin's  more...

2007 layoffs in finance, mortgage the exception

By Inman News, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Slumping home sales and a credit crunch led to massive layoffs in the lending and financial sectors in 2007, but the number of announced job cuts in all industries actually declined.

The number of announced job cuts in 2007 -- 768,264 -- represented an 8.5 percent reduction from 2006, and the lowest since the year 2000, according to outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Because the Chicago-based firm tracks only publicly announced layoffs, its numbers are not comprehensive but provide an indication of industry trends.  more...

Start 2008 with a clean slate Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Happy New Year! Are you setting goals for 2008? Before you begin, the most important decision you may make is determining which goals from 2007 to keep and which ones to dump.

Have you ever set a goal and not completed it? If so, are you still hanging onto that goal or have you let it go? If you would like to achieve what is really important to you as well as create more space and time in your life, now is an ideal time to begin by cleaning your slate of old goals.  more...

Bathroom remodel bad for water heater

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, January 4, 2008.

Q: My natural gas, 40-gallon water heater discharges about a quart or quart and a half of water from the relief tube every day. This seems to happen when the water heater turns itself on to heat the water, and has been going on since we had our bathrooms remodeled.  more...

Revivalist architecture stands test of time

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, January 4, 2008.

There are two ways to build. One is to strive for absolute visual perfection, and then wage a desperate and invariably losing battle to preserve it. The other is to accept that perfection is not just unattainable, but also unnecessary, thereby making time's passage an ally instead of an enemy.  more...