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Feb

27
2009

The 10 Points List

By Inman News, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Inman News has opened the conversation on a list of reforms for the real estate industry (see "Reforming real estate."  more...

Patina is where the heart is

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, February 27, 2009.

A contractor once told me an interesting story about a house he'd built for a man in Connecticut. Winter was already setting in when he'd gotten the place weather-tight, so as soon as he finished the fireplace, he built a fire in it to keep the house warm. When the owner found out, he demanded that the contractor tear out the bricks inside the fireplace and replace them because they'd gotten sooty. He told the contractor that he was paying for a brand-new fireplace, and he was damned well going to get one.  more...

Icicles in attic a red flag

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Q: This summer we had siding installed around our house and we painted over the ventilation vents (husband's idea). My husband decided to cover the attic vent on top of the roof with a plastic bag because he said it would help seal the house better. I had a weird feeling about this, but I don't know anything about home repairs. Well, now we have a problem with condensation in our attic (that's what I think). He went up there last night and found that there were icicles on the frame.  more...

Obama targets homeowner tax breaks Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Industry groups representing Realtors, home builders and mortgage lenders are up in arms over the Obama administration's proposal to roll back the itemized deduction rate for wealthy taxpayers -- including deductions homeowners can claim on mortgage-interest payments and other expenses associated with homeownership.

The rollback of the tax break wouldn't take effect until 2011, and would apply only to families earning more than $250,000 and individuals making $200,000 or more -- less than 4 percent of taxpayers in 2006.  more...

FTC: Fewer real estate complaints

By Inman News, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Consumers filed 6,573 complaints about real estate professionals with the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies in 2008, down 30 percent from the previous year.

Although consumers are still filing more complaints about real estate professionals than they did at the tail end of the housing boom, a dramatic increase seen in 2007 seems to be waning. Consumers filed more than five times as many complaints about real estate professionals in 2007 (9,381) than they did in 2006 (1,804).  more...

Budget plan strands financial stability

By Lou Barnes, Friday, February 27, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/3012838083/" target=blank>Orin Optiglot</a>.

A strange week, with some encouraging and some not-so-encouraging moments -- on balance, more uncertainty at the end than the beginning.

Mortgage rates rose to just above 5 percent, but we have made that trip up several times after a high-four bottom and then dipped again. The Treasury market was more worrisome: The 10-year jumped to 3 percent upon confusion in the financial rescue and release of President Obama's budget.  more...

Reforming real estate

By Inman News, Friday, February 27, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/spilt-milk/164145237/" target=blank>yoppy</a>.

Inman News has compiled a list of 10 reforms for the real estate industry. The list incorporates ideas shared by readers in our Roadmap to Recovery project, in which we asked you for your input. We were overwhelmed with the response.

The compilation below is our best effort to summarize these reforms. This mold can be reshaped with your input. It is a starting point for evolving discussions. We invite your views on how it can be improved.  more...

Market Leader posts $13.1 million loss  Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Friday, February 27, 2009.

HouseValues.com parent company Market Leader Inc. says it's pinned its hopes for the future on a new platform that helps agents generate and manage their own leads.

Market Leader reported a $13.1 million net loss for 2008 Thursday, despite cost-cutting measures that helped the company maintain positive cash flow from operations in the face of a nearly 36 percent decline in revenue.  more...

New-home sales sink 10%

By Inman News, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Sales of new single-family houses fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000 in January, down 10.2 percent from December's 344,000 rate, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.

According to data, last month's sales rate was 48.2 percent below the January 2008 estimate of 597,000.  more...

Steve Ozonian joins CyberCity board

By Inman News, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Steve Ozonian, a longtime real estate industry executive who resigned last year from flat-fee brokerage company Help-U-Sell, has joined the board of directors for CyberCity 3D Inc., a company that focuses on three-dimensional modeling technology for the real estate industry and other industries (see Inman News), according to a Thursday announcement.  more...