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Credit reporting agency settles FTC charges

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Consumer reporting agency Far West Credit Inc. must pay $120,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it did not follow reasonable procedures to assure the accuracy of the information in the consumer reports it sold to mortgage companies, in violation of federal law, the FTC reported this week.

According to an FTC complaint, Far West creates consumer credit reports for use by the mortgage industry in evaluating consumers for loans.  more...

Deadline for real estate journalism contest nears

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

The deadline to enter the National Association of Real Estate Editors Journalism Awards Program is fast approaching. The competition, open to all press covering real estate and home and design, has recognized excellence in reporting, writing and editing since 1949.

The deadline to enter is Feb. 5, 2006.  more...

Overnight real estate rates stall

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly flat Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield stayed at 4.33 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.62 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate held at 5.19 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 4.51 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield remained at 4.51 percent.

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

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Do-it-yourself video production company hits the 'Spot' Premium Content

By Janis Mara, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

The ad opens on a middle-aged couple hugging in a huge green yard with a red house in the background. As a series of smiling, cardboard-box-toting couples move into new homes onscreen, a narrator says, "You can make that new home a reality ...  more...

The real estate worlds of cyberspace Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Editor's note: This story kicks off our three-part series on virtual real estate worlds. Find out why these worlds are not just games, and what entices people to pay real money for land in cyberspace.  more...

Online travel giant relocates in Chicago

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Transwestern Commercial Services represented Cendant's TDS' Consumer Travel Americas Unit, including the U.S. based Orbitz.com, CheapTickets.com and Lodging.com brands, in its relocation of its global operations to 145,000 square feet at Citigroup Center in Chicago.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.  more...

Historic San Francisco office building faces conversion

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Bayview Sansome Street LLC, a subsidiary of Bayview Financial, L.P., a Miami-based full-service real estate investment and mortgage finance company, in the purchase of the historic Adam Grant Building in San Francisco.

The transaction was valued at approximately $49 million.

114 Sansome LLC, which is controlled by Spear Street Capital of San Francisco, sold the property, which rises 14 stories and features 189,000 square feet.  more...

Manufacturer leases major property in Michigan

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Binswanger recently arranged the lease of an 85,287-square-foot building with acreage in Hillsdale, Mich.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

This fully air-conditioned, one-story building features 7,713 square feet of modern office space, steel panel walls, and a 100 percent wet sprinkler system.  more...

Proposed state law protects against foreclosure scams Premium Content

By Janis Mara, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

A bill aiming to protect consumers from scammers who prey on homeowners facing foreclosure is making its way through the Colorado legislature as lawmakers nationwide seek to combat the problem.

Two other states, Minnesota and Maryland, have recently enacted laws protecting consumers from such scams.  more...

Inman Blog challenge: Market confusion

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Just when you think everything in real estate is going to the dogs, mortgage rates dropped for the sixth consecutive week, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

Inman News has added this latest news to the Inman Blog and is asking readers to discuss what this means.  more...

S.F. Bay Area real estate sales dive

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Home sales in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area declined on a year-over-year basis for the ninth month in a row in December as prices eased from a November peak, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information service.

A total of 9,347 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the region last month, down 3.8 percent from 9,717 for November and down 15.5 percent from 11,068 for December last year, DataQuick reported.

The month-to-month decline is unusual – sales normally increase from Nov  more...

2006 could be good year for nonresidential construction

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Billings at U.S.  more...

Profits sink at real estate loan insurer

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Radian Group reported that its fourth-quarter net income dropped to $104.5 million, down 33 percent from fourth-quarter 2004 when its income was $156 million.

The net income per share for the fourth quarter was $1.24, down 23 percent from $1.62 reported a year ago.

The company had net income of $522.9 million for the entire year of 2005, compared with $518.7 million for 2004, a slight uptick of 0.8 percent.  more...

Real estate rates hit 3-month lows

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

Mortgage rates dropped for the sixth consecutive week despite signs of possibly unsettling inflation data, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.1 percent for the week ended today, down from last week's average of 6.15 percent. This is the lowest the 30-year fixed has been since the week ending Oct. 20, 2005, when it averaged 6.1 percent.

The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.67 percent, down from last week's average of 5.71 percent.  more...

Apartment occupancy slips in 4th quarter

By Inman News, Thursday, January 19, 2006.

RealFacts, a company that tracks multifamily housing community data, reported this week that overall occupancy of apartment communities in its database declined 0.5 percent during the fourth quarter of 2005.

The decline translates to an additional 16,780 empty units at the end of the quarter.

The decline was seen across all markets and regions, with a few exceptions in smaller metropolitan areas, the company announced.  more...

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