Home

Second-home sales fall in 2006 Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, April 30, 2007.

A major slide in investment-home purchases in 2006 compared to the prior year was partially offset by a rise in vacation-home purchases, the National Association of Realtors trade group reported today.

The annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey also found that vacation-home sales increased 4.7 percent in 2006 to a record 1.07 million  more...

Video: InmanWIRE debuts

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

Inman News has launched the first episode of a new weekly series called InmanWIRE, which stands for "Week in Real Estate." Join Managing Editor Jessica Swesey and Inman News Founder and Publisher Bradley Inman for a light look at the week in real estate news.

Episode #1 was filmed on April 27, 2007.

 more...

Residential construction spending rate drops

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

The rate of residential construction spending dropped about 14.2 percent in March compared to the same month last year, while the rate for all construction spending fell about 2 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of construction spending reached $1.19 trillion in March, according to the report.  more...

NAR's top economist moves to Move Inc.

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors trade group, is moving on from this position to assist a secretive project at Move Inc., a company that operates the NAR-affiliated Realtor.com property-search site.

Lereah, who critics have said tends to view the real estate market with rose-colored glasses, will join Move in mid-May to serve as an executive vice president  more...

Flagler to develop Lakeside Five

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

Construction on the final office building at the Flagler Center in Jacksonville, Fla., will begin in June, the developer announced Friday, and a lease has already been signed for 80 percent of the facility.

The building, Lakeside Five, will feature five stories and 142,000 square feet of class A office space. The project's completion is expected in the second quarter of 2008.

Flagler has entered into a lease with insurer Kemper Auto and Home, which will relocate from Belfort Road and occupy approximately 113,600 square feet as its corporate headquarters.  more...

AMC Delancey sells Pennsylvania portfolio

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

Philadelphia-based AMC Delancey Group Inc. today announced it has sold its Heartland portfolio of 12 office, flex, warehouse and industrial buildings in Pennsylvania for approximately $30.5 million.

The portfolio consists of a 102,384-square-foot office/warehouse building in Middleton; a 57,245-square-foot office/warehouse in Mechanicsburg; the four-building, 134,817-square-foot Pennsylvania Business Center in Camp Hill; and the six-building, 271,756-square-foot Fairview Industrial Park in Lewisberry.  more...

Defense contractor lands in New Jersey

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

IMS Health Inc. sold its 130,000-square-foot office building in Totowa, N.J., for an undisclosed price.

The buyer, BAE Systems, had shared the class A space with the owner for several years and was looking to expand its operations. BAE plans to use the space for its New Jersey communication, navigation, identification and reconnaissance operations.

The two-story property, located at 100 Campus Road, includes amenities such as an on-site cafeteria, dry cleaners, ATM machine and security.  more...

Overnight real estate rates get boost

By Inman News, Monday, April 30, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates inched up Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.69 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.77 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate gained to 5.5 percent. The 1-year adjustable sank to 5.59 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield stayed at 4.88 percent.

Rates and bonds 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...

Virginia Realtors slam Ted Truitt Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, April 30, 2007.

A Virginia Association of Realtors campaign, which calls attention to the Realtors' Code of Ethics, gives Ted Truitt a bad name.

Truitt is a sort of ethical nightmare -- a real estate guru who celebrates questionable behavior and mocks the best practices.

Decked out in a white suit, orange shirt and bad tie, Truitt offers a humorous, highly animated and totally interactive online training session in ethics at the TedTruitt.com Web site.

The spoiler: He's a fictional character portrayed by an actor.

While real  more...