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$130M Sacramento purchase

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

A joint venture between Hines and Sterling American Property Inc. has acquired an 18-story office building in Sacramento, Calif., for $130 million.

The 383,238-square-foot, class A property is home to several government agencies, including the California State Controller's Office and the California Department of Insurance. Built in 1984, it is located at 300 Capitol Mall, and includes an attached 761-car parking garage.

Occupancy at the time of sale was 98 percent.

Big Indiana industrial deal

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

KTR Capital Partners recently acquired a 594,000-square-foot warehouse in Greenfield, Ind., for an undisclosed price.

The property, Building 105 of the Mount Comfort Commercial Park, was sold by an unidentified entity. The cross-docked facility has 32-foot clear ceiling heights, 54 exterior dock doors with 46 additional knock-out panels, and 46 available trailer stalls.

KTR will have the ability to expand the current building by 378,000 square feet, creating a total of 972,000 square feet of bulk warehouse space, according to a press statement.  more...

REIT adds nearly 400,000 square feet

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

US Industrial REIT II purchased a 399,500-square-foot distribution facility in Atlanta, Ga., for an undisclosed amount.

Panattoni Development Co. sold the property, locatedc at 5810 Trade Center Court, at 100 percent occupancy.

The recently completed building is located in the I-20 West/Fulton submarket, and is leased to Southwire Co., a wire and cable manufacturer. Its products include utility cable products, building wire and cable, metal-clad (MC) cable, cord products, industrial power cable, copper and aluminum rod and continuous casting technology.

Connecticut nixes new venture by former MLN exec

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Connecticut regulators say they won't issue a mortgage broker's license to a company headed by a former executive of bankrupt subprime lender Mortgage Lenders Network USA.

The new company, InHome Capital LLC, filed an application with the state Department of Banking on May 16. In denying the application this week, Banking Commissioner Howard Pitkin said MLN had allegedly failed to close 1,500 loans it issued commitments for.  more...

Ex-NFL star indicted in mortgage fraud scheme

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

A former NFL defensive lineman is among five people indicted for their alleged roles in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme in Texas.

The indictment charges that the defendants -- including two bank loan officers, an appraiser and a developer -- obtained $42 million in fraudulent loans from three Houston banks between 1999 and 2001.

Prosecutors said the scheme relied on inflated appraisals and shell companies to divert loan proceeds from the sale of apartments that had been converted into condominiums.  more...

Mortgage lending cuts into Wall Street banks' profits

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Wall Street investment banks Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers reported a drop in revenue from mortgage underwriting, although second-quarter profits were still up at two of the three firms.  more...

Fewer borrowers using private mortgage insurance

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

After surging in March, the number of borrowers using private mortgage insurance fell in April, an industry group reports.

Members of the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America issued 161,100 private mortgage insurance policies in April, down 12.4 percent from March, MICA said in a press release.  more...

Fed's 'Beige Book' offers snapshot of housing markets Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Reports from the nation's 12 Federal Reserve banks show continuing weakness in residential real estate and construction, with most districts characterizing housing markets as soft or weak, and no districts reporting an increase in new home construction.

The latest "Beige Book" report -- a summary of comments the Federal Reserve has received from businesses including real estate firms and mortgage bankers -- provides anecdotes and observations that go beyond statistics in describing market c  more...

Overnight real estate rates mostly higher

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up again Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 5.22 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 6.42 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 6.09 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up to 5.6 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield gained to 5.3 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...

ActiveRain on Inman TV

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Matt Heaton and Jonathan Washburn of ActiveRain join Inman TV and talk about real estate and blogging.

Derivatives help put Freddie Mac $211 million in the red

By Inman News, Thursday, June 14, 2007.

Mortgage repurchaser Freddie Mac reported a first-quarter loss of $211 million Thursday, which the company attributed primarily to losses on derivate investments it uses to hedge against changing interest rates.

The loss amounted to 46 cents per share, compared with net income of $2 billion, or $2.80 per share, for the same period in 2006.

Freddie Mac helps mortgage lenders make loans by repurchasing mortgages on the secondary market, and by guaranteeing loans securitized and sold on Wall Street.  more...