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Indiana's Millennium portfolio sold

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

A 714-unit apartment community in Bloomington, Ind., recently sold to a joint venture for more than $55 million.

Chicago-based Scion Group and ASB Capital Management purchased the student housing community from an unidentified seller.

The community consists of 45 residential buildings plus maintenance buildings and the formal clubhouse. Also included are an indoor swimming pool, fitness facility, aerobic dance studio, racquetball, an 8.6-acre park within 10.5 acres of nature conservancy, and a working greenhouse to assist in the on-site landscaping.

STAG announces Ohio, Kentucky acquisitions

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

STAG Capital Partners recently acquired 256,026 square feet of warehouse and manufacturing space in two states as part of a 15-year sale-leaseback transaction with Polyair Corp.

The total value of the deal was not disclosed.

Polyair, which manufactures and distributes protective packaging products, sold 153,708 square feet of space in Youngstown, Ohio, and 102,318 square feet in Bardstown, Ky. The company will continue to fully occupy both buildings.  more...

Cabinet maker sells factory, signs leaseback

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

The Kearny Industrial Fund partnership recently purchased a 160,561-square-foot warehouse/manufacturing building in Temecula, Calif., for $13 million.

In the sale/leaseback transaction, Walker Wood Products, a family-owned and -operated cabinet manufacturing company serving home builders throughout Southern California, signed a 10-year lease for the entire space.  more...

Feds oppose appeal by former Homestore CEO

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

In a court brief, federal prosecutors oppose an appeal by former Homestore CEO Stuart Wolff for a new trial.

Wolff, who was convicted in June 2006 for his role in a multimillion-dollar accounting fraud that nearly collapsed Homestore, now known as Move Inc., was sentenced to a 15-year prison term and ordered to pay a $5 million fine and an additional $8.6 million in restitution.  more...

Mortgage guarantees on Indian lands extended through 2012

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

Congress has reauthorized and President Bush has signed legislation that's intended to increase home ownership among Native Americans by guaranteeing private mortgage loans on Indian lands.

The Native American Home Ownership Opportunity Act of 2007 is a five-year reauthorization of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 184 Loan Guarantee Program, which provides a 100 percent guarantee for mortgages on Indian lands.  more...

Governor to have final say on Arizona appraisal bill

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

It's up to Arizona's governor to decide the fate of a bill that would clearly exempt automated home-valuation Web sites from appraiser licensing requirements in the state, as long as those sites provide clear disclosure that their estimates are not appraisals.

The Arizona House of Representatives voted 55-4 Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 1291, which followed a 28-0 state Senate vote on Monday. The bill contains an emergency clause that would make it effective immediately with Gov.  more...

Home loan apps decline

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

Fewer borrowers chose to take out loans for home purchases and refinancings last week even as long-term mortgage rates ended a monthlong climb, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The drop-off in activity pushed the market composite index -- a measure of mortgage application volume -- down 3.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before.

Applications for refinancings declined 4.2 percent from the first week of June, and the index that tracks home purchases was down 3 percent.

Borrowing costs on long-term loans were fairly calm in the latest  more...

PMI's market risk index fine tuned for changing market Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

Whether you're buying your first home, your 100th investment property, or facilitating such transactions as a real estate broker or lender, imagine having a crystal ball that reveals home prices two years from now?

There is no such crystal ball, of course. But PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. publishes a periodic risk index that helps consumers and real estate professionals gauge the odds that prices will fall in the top 50 housing markets.  more...

Another slide in overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates slipped again Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5.08 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 6.29 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate dipped to 5.99 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down to 5.55 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 5.2 percent.

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

Dominion Enterprises on the rise Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Tuesday, June 19, 2007.

Editor's note: Marketing experts expect a continuing migration of real estate advertising dollars online, so it's no surprise that a growing list of companies are seeking to capitalize on the online marketing trend. Some companies are focused around a single Web site, while others are approaching the industry from many fronts and with many sites to draw both real estate professionals and consumers. In this three-part special report, Inman News analyzes three large companies that each have multiple real estate holdings and Web sites.  more...