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Mar

31
2008

Calling all RESPA nerds

By Matt Carter, Monday, March 31, 2008.

After checking out the cool ways people are using the "Technology, Tools and Tidbits" group on the Community page of the new Inman site last week (see previous post), I decided it would be fun to create a new group on RESPA reform (OK, maybe not FUN -- nobody is quite that dorky -- but useful and informative, perhaps).  more...

Reports: Rise and fall of home values has a lot to do with original value

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, March 31, 2008.

A March economic report by PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. includes a brief analysis: "House Price Declines Have Been Bigger for Lower Priced Homes." This item in the report cites data from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index, which provides price data in two tiers -- upper-value homes and lower-value homes -- for 17 metro areas.  more...

Des Plaines deal tops 145,000 square feet

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

Brokerage Marcus & Millichap recently closed the sale of a large multitenant office building in Des Plaines, Ill., for a price of $11.6 million.

Siete 7 LLC purchased the 145,482-square-foot property from 999 East Touhy LLC, an entity controlled by the principals of Marc Realty.

Located at 999 East Touhy Ave., the five-story office asset is situated on a 5.97-acre lot with frontage on the Northwest Tollway (Interstate 90) as well as easy access to the Tri-State Tollway (I-294).  more...

Buyer pays $7.2M for Hamilton Square

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

Brokerage NAI Hunneman recently announced the nearly $7.2 million sale of Hamilton Square, a 61-unit apartment complex in Foxborough, Mass.

Oak Ridge Apartments Limited Partnership sold the 4.4-acre property, located at 135 Chestnut St., to Universal Realty Corp. Hamilton Square offers 57,740 rentable square feet and 122 paved parking spaces.

Built in 1965, Hamilton Square is comprised of seven ranch-style units and 54 townhome-style units, situated in a seven-building apartment complex. The unit mix features two- and three-bedroom units.  more...

Waterford I office building bought as investment

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

A limited liability company has purchased the Waterford I office building in Midlothian, Va., as an investment for more than $6.9 million.

2820 WL Group I LLC paid $147 a square foot for the approximately 47,000-square-foot building, which is located at 2820 Waterford Lake Drive.

The class A facility, sold by Continental Waterford LLC, was 100 percent leased at the time of sale.  more...

Report: Reorganize regulation of financial system Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, March 31, 2008.

The Bush administration has put forward a sweeping plan for reorganizing the regulation of the financial system that would include national licensing standards for mortgage brokers and the elimination of federally chartered thrifts.

Many of the major aspects of the plan unveiled today by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would require congressional approval, and are not likely to be achieved during President Bush's final year in office, Paulson acknowledged.  more...

Live chat software launches in real estate

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

In today's tough real estate market, brokers are looking for all sorts of ways to connect with consumers -- especially online -- and an interactive software company is offering technology that aims to do just that.

WebsiteAlive, a provider of live chat software, has created a version of its platform for real estate sites and is partnering with LuxuryRealEstate.com to offer it to real estate companies.  more...

Zillow report: Homes with higher values see steeper drops

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

High-value homes tend to decline in value at a steeper rate than lesser-value homes in a declining market, according to an analysis by real estate valuation and marketing company Zillow.

The analysis is based on a review of the company's estimates of home values over time -- the company refers to these estimates as Zestimates. The company broke homes into five categories of home values, each representing 20 percent of the market, to analyze differences in the performance of each market segment.  more...

Embattled HUD secretary to step down April 18

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson announced today he will step down next month in the face of investigations involving allegations of favoritism and calls from Democrats for his resignation.

Jackson's resignation, effective April 18, leaves open the possibility that HUD will be led by an interim chief in the final months of a lame-duck administration, even as the department implements a major expansion of FHA loan programs and pushes for an overhaul of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA.  more...

Nightly real estate rates go nowhere

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were unchanged Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 3.44 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average stayed at 5.75 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 5.27 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate, however, gained to 5.32 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was down at 4.32 percent.

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

Mortgage concepts every buyer should know

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, March 31, 2008.

Home purchasers sometimes get into trouble because they are not clued into the sequence of steps involved in financing their purchase. These are qualification, preapproval, approval and lock.  more...

Major home remodel may not pay off

By Dian Hymer, Monday, March 31, 2008.

Several years ago, if your home no longer suited your needs, you bought another one that worked better. Generally, listings sold quickly, so many homeowners bought first and then sold the old home. Today's challenging residential real estate market makes this process more risky. For some homeowners, it's impossible due to tight credit markets.  more...

Will refinancing to lower rate really save money?

By Benny Kass, Monday, March 31, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: I bought my condo 18 months ago. The interest rate on my 30-year loan is 6.25 percent. Should I consider refinancing to a lower rate? I plan on staying here and paying off the loan so it seems even if I save some money on a lower interest rate I will be extending my loan and paying more/longer? --Scott

DEAR SCOTT: Since you've had your loan for a relatively short time, the costs to refinance your loan may not outweigh the benefits of a lower interest rate.  more...

Conforming loan limit won't fall with home prices Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, March 31, 2008.

In a reversal of past policy, federal regulators say they won't lower the $417,000 conforming loan limit to keep it in line with falling home prices.

Adopting a stance taken by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing downturn of the early 1990s, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has ruled that the conforming loan limit will move in only one direction: up.  more...

Foreign buyers fuel second-home sales, while U.S. buyers hold back Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, March 31, 2008.

Sales of vacation properties fell 30.6 percent in 2007 compared to the prior year, with investment-property purchases down 18.1 percent, according to an Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey report released by the National Association of Realtors.

Total sales of new and resale homes used as primary residences, by comparison, dropped 10 percent from 2006 to 2007, survey results revealed.  more...

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