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New Jersey deals surpass $11M

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Two New Jersey apartment communities have sold for a total of $11.3 million to different buyers.

In the first deal, Connolly Properties purchased Watchung Gardens from NYC-based PLP Management for $7.5 million. The 102-unit asset, located at 802 E. Front St. in Plainfield, was fully occupied at the time of sale.  more...

300,000 square feet sold in Phoenix

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Broadreach Capital Partners, in joint venture with The Hileman Co., has acquired Grace Court, an approximately 300,000-square-foot office complex in Phoenix, Ariz.

National Government Properties sold the asset for an undisclosed price.

Situated on nine acres, Grace Court is comprised of three existing buildings and two additional buildings currently under construction. Among the existing buildings is the historic Grace Court School. Originally built in 1911, the two-story, 33,000-square-foot building was recently renovated to accommodate an office user.  more...

Quail Point multifamily sale

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

The Quail Point Apartments in Phoenix, Ariz., have sold for $15 million.

New Castle Investments LLC of Phoenix purchased the property from Phoenix-based Pro Properties.

The complex, built in 1988 and located at 3045 N. 67th Ave. contains 264 units totaling approximately 196,206 square feet.

According to Todd Braun, senior director with Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona, which brokered the deal, the property "offers a great opportunity for increased rental rates following some capital infusion."

Arizona House expected to greenlight appraiser licensing bill

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Arizona legislation that offers licensing exemptions for property-valuation Web sites is expected to receive final approval today from the state House of Representatives -- the last stop before the governor's office.

The bill would specifically exempt any "Internet Web site, automated valuation or other software program or other means of comparative market analysis" from appraiser licensing requirements in the state when they provide estimated real estate values, as long as there is disclosure "that the estimate is not an appraisal," the  more...

Zaio to buy N.Y.-based Real Info and appraisal firm

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Canada's Zaio Corp. says its U.S.-based subsidiary will purchase two affiliated businesses -- the appraisal firm Kirchmeyer & Associates and real estate information provider Real Info Inc.  more...

Real estate Americano

By Marc Davison, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Have you ever stood at Starbucks and asked yourself how they managed to take a 60-cent cup of flavored water and sell it for four dollars?

I have. Usually after I ask myself how real estate decided to devalue itself during the greatest economic upswing in American history.

Tall drip to go

The coffee-shop business is worth dissecting. Like real estate, its core ingredient, coffee, comes from outside sources.  more...

California, Florida at highest risk for home-price drops Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Cities in California and Florida dominate a list of areas where a private mortgage insurer expects home prices are the most likely to decline in the next two years.

Eleven of the 15 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) facing a 50 percent or greater chance of a price decline are in those two states, according to PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.'s latest Market Risk Index.  more...

Washington consumers get more discount real estate options

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Online real estate buyers' service BuySide Realty has expanded its national footprint to Washington, marking the sixth state for the company that launched a little over a year ago.

Joseph and Avi Fox, brothers who paved the way for online stock brokerages in the late 1990s, in April started BuySide Realty, which gives home buyers access to property listings, licensed real estate agents and technology used to make and manage offers via the Internet, among  more...

U.S. housing permits, starts fall in May

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

The rate of building permit authorizations for new housing units fell 21.7 percent in May compared to the same month last year, and new housing starts were down 24.2 percent, the U.S.  more...

Builder confidence weakest in 16 years

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Builder confidence in June slid to its lowest level since February 1991 as concerns about subprime mortgage lending and rising prime mortgage rates soured the outlook for recovery, according to an industry index.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures builder perceptions and expectations for home sales for the next six months, dropped to 28 this month from a reading of 30 in May.  more...

Economist expects U.S. home prices to fall 10% Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, June 18, 2007.

Turbulence.

That is the one-word title for the latest U.S. economic forecast by David Shulman of the Anderson Forecast at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"This is not a recession, but it is certainly close," Shulman writes in the forecast, released today.  more...

Real estate rates drop overnight

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates slipped again Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5.14 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 6.35 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate dipped to 6.04 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down to 5.56 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 5.25 percent.

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

Midsize bank outsources post-closing process to India Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, June 18, 2007.

As the real estate and mortgage lending industries move toward paperless closings, headway is being made at both ends of the process.

While many lenders now use sophisticated loan-origination systems, there's almost inevitably a stack of paperwork to contend with at closing.  more...

Blogging series: Transparent Real Estate

By Inman News, Monday, June 18, 2007.

Inman TV talks to Pat Kitano, author of the Transparent Real Estate blog, about real estate brokers adapting more to Web 2.0 business practices online.  more...