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Coldwell Banker dials in with iPhone interface

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate on Tuesday announced a redesign for its ColdwellBanker.com Web site and navigational tools that are customized for display on iPhones.

The Web site "automatically recognizes that it is being accessed by an iPhone, and will serve up the special iPhone interface," the company announced -- no software downloads are required for the custom interface.  more...

8 Democrats back bailout alternative Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

Eight House Democrats Tuesday proposed an alternative plan for unfreezing credit markets without putting taxpayers at risk that includes dropping "mark to market" accounting rules for mortgage backed securities and allowing the FDIC to buy "net worth certificates" in troubled banks.  more...

Real estate industry sells 'rescue' plan Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

Backers of a plan to allow the government borrow up to $700 billion to buy troubled assets from banks and financial institutions insist that it's been miscast as a taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall Street, even as opponents rolled out a competing proposal to unfreeze credit markets by .

Supporters of the bipartisan plan voted down by the House Monday, including real estate industry trade groups, say the cost to taxpayers is likely to be significantly less than $700 billion and that the government may even make money on the deal.  more...

Life after a failed bailout Premium Content

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

Editor's note: The following is a collection of real estate professionals' responses to a real estate-related question.

QUESTION: What will happen to the U.S. economy and the housing market if Congress does not approve the proposed bailout plan?

 

Kevin Tomlinson
Realtor
EWM Realtors
Miami Beach, Fla.

For the first time, many people have expressed that they are "scared."  more...

'Let's not get fooled again'

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

Editor's note: The following is a reader comment made on the Sept. 26 Inman News column, "Bailout incites 'grassroots rage.'"  more...

Home-price index drops a record 16.3%

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

An index that tracks home-price changes in 20 U.S. metro areas dropped a record 16.3 percent in July compared to the same month last year.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price 20-metro area index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, measured a 29.9 percent year-over-year price drop in the Las Vegas metro area -- the most substantial drop on the list.  more...

Fidelity offers public search sites for MLSs

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

Fidelity National Financial Inc. is offering a new public face for multiple listing services, in the form of customized online property-search portals. The company's Cyberhomes MLS Portal allows MLSs to customize and brand public-search sites that are powered by frequent updates of MLS-supplied information.  more...

Canadian company acquires GMAC Home Services Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, September 29, 2008.

GMAC Home ServicesLLC, which operated one of the largest real estate brokerage companies in the United States and also offered relocation and mortgage operations, has been acquired by a Canadian company.

GMAC Real Estate, which ranked fifth in the nation for its company-owned brokerage operations, has been acquired by a Canadian company, Brookfield Residential Property Services.  more...

House urged to revisit bailout vote  Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, September 29, 2008.

Observance of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah will likely prevent the House from immediately revisiting its vote to reject legislation that would have empowered the Bush administration to buy billions in frozen assets from banks and financial insitutions.

In the mean time, congressional leaders will continue to work out a compromise -- which two influential senators think may have more to do with House opponents coming to realize the potential repercussions to their vote than any fundamental changes to the bill itself.  more...

Goomzee releases mobile virtual tours

By Inman News, Monday, September 29, 2008.

Goomzee, a real estate marketing and technology company, has announced the launch of a new tool that allows prospective buyers to view property slideshows on mobile devices. The Mobile Virtual Service (MVT) platform enables buyers to request mobile slideshows featuring up to eight photos. A demo of the new feature can be viewed by sending a text to 44133 and entering code 10056 as the message.

Goomzee also offers Realty Connect, a service that uses text-messaging technology to deliver property details to consumers' mobile devices.  more...

VFlyer offers custom branding for property ads

By Inman News, Monday, September 29, 2008.

VFlyer, a real estate technology company that offers tools for real estate professionals to build property ads and distribute property listings information to a variety of sites, is offering more options for custom branding for its members. The company's Theme Editor tool, first released in 2007, has been updated to include a range of stock images for a number of brokerage companies, including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, RE/MAX and others.  more...

House rejects bailout Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, September 29, 2008.

The House of Representatives today rejected a plan to borrow up to $700 billion to buy "toxic" assets from banks and financial institutions, with opponents deriding the plan as a taxpayer funded bailout of Wall Street.

After a passionate three hour debate in which supporters of the bill warned of the dire consequences of inaction, House lawmakers voted 228 to 205 against legislation that was intended to mollify critics of the Bush administration's original plan.  more...

Citigroup swallows up Wachovia

By Inman News, Monday, September 29, 2008.

In the latest consolidation of the banking industry brought about by the credit crunch, Citigroup Inc. will absorb up to $42 billion in losses on loans on Wachovia Corp.'s books to acquire the Charlotte, N.C.-based company's banking operations.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is on the hook for losses above and beyond that amount, but does not expect to draw on its Deposit Insurance Fund.  more...

Survey: Obama better for housing?

By Inman News, Monday, September 29, 2008.

A new survey published Friday -- conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of real estate Web site Zillow.com -- found that between the two major presidential candidates, 58 percent of Americans think Sen. Barack Obama will better address the current state of the housing market than Sen. John McCain (42 percent).  more...

Alternative plan derails bailout

By Inman News, Friday, September 26, 2008.

President Bush is reportedly personally lobbying Republicans who have staged a revolt against the administration's plan to borrow $700 billion to buy up toxic assets from banks and financial institutions, and said publicly today that "we got a big problem" that requires prompt action by Congress.

House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio is demanding "serious consideration" of an alternative plan in the which banks and other investors holding frozen mortgage assets would pay the Treasury Department to insure them.  more...

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