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ZipRealty co-founder leads statewide MLS effort

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Scott Kucirek, a former executive for a major Prudential brokerage company and for ZipRealty, a high-tech, publicly traded brokerage company, has been hired to lead a statewide multiple listing service initiative launched by the California Association of Realtors.  more...

Tenants pressure landlord to change smoking policy

By Janet Portman, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Q: We own a fourplex apartment building with long-term tenants in every unit. The couple upstairs has asked us to implement a smoke-free policy for the building. They claim that the smoke from their downstairs neighbors enters their unit no matter what they do, through the staircase and even the adjacent windows. The downstairs people are perfectly fine tenants, have no intention of quitting, and tell us that we can't do anything about it. What should we do? --Wes and Judy Z.  more...

What happens when landlord sells my home?

By Helene Lesel, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Q: I have been living for the last 20 years in a month-to-month rental in a single-family residence. The landlord now is selling the property. What type of notice will I be given, 60- or 90-day? Does it go by the close of escrow? What if I stay? Also, is the landlord responsible for any cost in my moving expenses?

A: The answers to your questions depend on the definition of your housing situation and locale. You first need to establish whether you are a bona fide tenant or just an individual renting a room in someone's house. Are you sharing the home with other renters? Is the house a duplex or sharing the lot with another residence?  more...

Sellers, don't skimp on price reduction

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Q: My house just won't sell. It's been on the market for six months. I've reduced the price several times, and my Realtor keeps trying to get me to bring the price down much more, but I think it will make me look desperate to buyers. Should I get a new Realtor?

A: In my experience, lots of tiny price reductions make you look clueless to buyers; a major price reduction makes you look motivated and makes your home look like a potentially good value, which is attractive to buyers.  more...

Zillow rolls out new ad platform

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Real estate valuation and marketing site Zillow.com has launched a new self-service ad platform that allows real estate agents and others to purchase shares ranging from 25 percent to 100 percent of the available ad views related to home searches to geographically target their campaigns within a given ZIP code.  more...

Flat-fee broker seeks expansion of DOJ-NAR settlement

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

A brokerage company that offers flat-fee listing services seeks to expand a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Justice Department and the National Association of Realtors to cover a popular type of online data-sharing agreement among brokers known as Internet Data Exchange, or IDX.  more...

Study: Mortgage rates put pressure on home prices

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Dysfunction in the mortgage markets has made borrowing more expensive and increased the cost of owning a home by 10 to 20 percent -- a situation that is putting more downward pressure on home prices.

That's the conclusion of new research by Columbia Business School real estate professor Chris Mayer, who looked at the relationship between home prices and the "spread" between mortgage rates and 10-year Treasury notes.  more...

Roost grows property-search footprint

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Roost expands search to San Francisco, Seattle
Roost Inc., a real estate search engine, announced the launch of its service in San Francisco and Seattle this week, expanding the company's network to about 5,000 U.S. cities and market areas. Roost.com offers information on resale, new construction and for-sale-by-owner properties.  more...

Fannie Mae sweetens loan workouts Premium Content

By Inman News, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Fannie follows Freddie, boosts workout incentives  more...

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First American gambled, lost on Mercury expansion Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

First American Corp. could wind up with little to show for bankrolling the growth of the title and escrow subsidiaries of Mercury Companies Inc. to the tune of nearly $100 million during the housing boom.

First American is writing off its investment in Mercury, which it had last valued at $37.3 million, after a judge declined to block the sale of Mercury's Colorado title operations to rival Fidelity National Financial Inc.  more...