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19
2007

Starts, permits and confidence sag

By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Wednesday, September 19, 2007.
The latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, released this week, tied an all-time low set in 1991 -- the index dates back to January 1985. The index for September was 20 -- a score below 50...  more...

Staying on message

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.
Last fall, as home sales were slowing but prices hadn't begun their descent, the National Association of Realtors launched a national campaign to persuade consumers that it was "a great time to buy or sell a home." A few things...  more...

Government lurches into action

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.
More than a year after the housing market started showing weakness, several months after mortgage lenders started going belly up, and a few weeks after the resulting credit crunch started looking like a threat to the world's financial markets and...  more...

G REIT sheds Arizona business park

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

Eaton Freeway Industrial Park, a four-building commercial project in Tempe, Ariz., has sold for more than $7.8 million.

The property, which contains 62,163 square feet and was constructed in the mid-1980s, has buildings located at 2502 W. Huntington Drive, 2507 W. Geneva Drive and 3020-3030 S. Park Drive.

Santa Ana, Calif.-based G REIT Inc. sold the property to Providence, R.I.-based Gilbane Development Co.

At the time of sale, the property was 100 percent occupied by multiple tenants.

House, Senate versions of FHA bill must be reconciled

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

A day after the House of Representatives passed legislation that would expand the pool of borrowers eligible for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a Senate committee issued its own, scaled-back version of the bill.

The House bill approved Tuesday in a 348-72 vote would raise the limit on loans eligible for FHA backing from $362,000 in high-cost areas to as much as $729,750 --175 percent of the conforming loan limit -- and also eliminate the current 3 percent down-payment requirement.  more...

OFHEO bumps up caps on Fannie, Freddie loan portfolios Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

Government regulators are giving mortgage repurchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac leeway to buy or securitize an additional $40 billion in home loans during the next six months -- less than increases sought by the GSEs and some lawmakers.  more...

School Street space sells in D.C.

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

A five-story office building in Washington, D.C., recently sold for nearly $25.7 million, brokerage Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. announced this week.

Willett Cos. purchased the class A property located at 475 School St. from an investment team lead by Meritage Properties.

Extensively renovated in 1996, the 57,759-square-foot property was fully occupied by Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems at the time of sale.  more...

Valley Forge office deal completed

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

NNN Healthcare/Office REIT Inc. has acquired an approximately 106,000-square-foot office building in Valley Forge, Pa., for an undisclosed price.

The asset, located at 2750 Monroe Blvd., is a two-story, single-tenant property that includes an accessory building used for storage that totals more than 3,400 square feet. Located on a 10.5-acre parcel in the Valley Forge Corporate Center, the property was built in 1985, extensively renovated in 2001, and includes 540 parking spaces.  more...

SecondSpace partners with big Florida developer

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

A Florida developer has turned to a new online marketing push as competition for buyers grows tighter and increasingly Web-based due to many of those buyers coming from overseas.

The St. Joe Co., which owns about 500 miles of waterfront land in northwest Florida, has entered an agreement with SecondSpace Inc.  more...

MLSAlliance gains new member in Northern California

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

A Realtor group in the San Francisco Bay Area announced this week that it has signed an agreement to join the California MLSAlliance, a data-sharing effort with 11 other MLS organizations in California.

The MLSAlliance system, launched last month, is available to about 165,000 brokers and agents from 47 local real estate associations in the state.  more...

Refis push home loan apps higher

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

Home loan applications continued higher last week, driven by a strong increase in refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total mortgage loan application volume, was up 2.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, according to MBA. The greatest growth was seen in the index that tracks refinancings, which rose 4.6 percent from a week earlier, followed by a 0.9 percent gain in the purchase loan index.  more...

Housing starts, permits hit lowest level since 1995

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

Housing starts and building permits in August dropped to the lowest rate since June 1995, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of building permits dropped to an estimated 1.31 million in August, down 24.5 percent compared to August 2006, and the rate of housing starts fell 19.1 percent to 1.33 million.  more...

House passes FHA modernization bill Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

The House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday that would expand the pool of borrowers who can take advantage of FHA loan guarantee programs, which have become the centerpiece of the Bush administration's efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.  more...

Judge dismisses portions of Illinois antitrust complaint Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

A U.S. District Court judge dismissed portions of a real estate broker's antitrust lawsuit filed against multiple Illinois brokerage companies, real estate professionals and Realtor associations while allowing the broker to amend the original complaint and proceed with other aspects of the lawsuit.

Judge Elaine E. Bucklo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois cited a U.S.  more...

Dip in overnight real estate rates

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 19, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates dropped Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.47 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 6 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate sank to 5.68 percent. The 1-year adjustable, however, gained to 5.7 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up at 4.75 percent.

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

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