Monthly Archives: October 2010

CHICAGO, LONDON, SINGAPORE - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new report from Jones Lang LaSalle announces that CEO Colin Dyer has joined 1,000 other business leaders in signing the Cancun Communiqué on Climate Change, which sets out the case for action on climate change with renewed urgency.

Harrison, AR - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today celebrated the awarding of a $542,349 Self-Help Housing grant to the Northwest Regional Housing Authority of Harrison, to help 33 low-income families build their own homes. The grant is made possible through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Grant Program.

EUGENE, OR - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. welcomes Terry Thomas to the growing group of real estate professionals, who are updating their realty websites with the customizable IDX Broker software. These innovative IDX solutions enable thousands of properties to be seamlessly displayed online. Thomas and his custom IDX solution sync Metrolist Sacramento listings directly to his page. By extracting this raw listing data, a multitude of homes are available for clients of Thomas or other Sacramento, California home seekers to search through conveniently on his website.

EUGENE, OR - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lisa Sheppard and IDX, Inc. have teamed up to bring Bay Area Real Estate Info Services (BAREIS) listings directly to Northern California potential buyers who are beginning their property search online. Sheppard has synced her website with BAREIS properties in an effort to simplify the home search process for her clients and for herself. By adopting an IDX solution, Sheppard has revolutionized the online home search. Now, home seekers can find their dream property without ever leaving their home or the convenience of the IDX enabled website Sheppard manages.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and Broadway National Bank are pleased to announce they have awarded a $152,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant to Methodist Mission Home (MMH) to assist with phase II of its $5.5 million capital campaign.

DALLAS, TX - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (Bank) today reported net income of $27.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. For the nine months ended September 30, 2010, the Bank reported net income of $82.4 million

CHICAGO, IL - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Luxury Portfolio Fine Property Collection® announced the creation of the first automated 3-D tours of its luxury home listings. These tours are available on its award-winning website, LuxuryPortfolio.com, in a new section called LP3-D. The program was developed using technology licensed from GeoData Technologies and is the first application to integrate high resolution aerial imagery and property photos, 3-D terrain and local data into a multimedia, 3-D tour experience.

McLean, VA - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), which found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate rose slightly for the second consecutive time in six weeks. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate also rose slightly while the 5-year ARM set another low, and the 1-year ARM tied last week’s low.

McLean, VA - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) today announced it has hired REO Training Solutions, Inc. to instruct new listing brokers and other vendors on HomeSteps'® policies, procedures, business guidelines, and best practices. HomeSteps is the real estate sales unit of Freddie Mac and markets a nationwide selection of Freddie Mac-owned homes

McLean, VA - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) released the results of its third quarter cash-out refinance analysis.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Foundation will present its first Thought Leaders Symposium, 2020: A Vision for Commercial Real Estate, on November 9 in conjunction with the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies and its Masters of Professional Studies in Real Estate Program. The symposium will bring together some of the best and brightest minds in commercial real estate in a forum with the academic community and graduate students in the real estate program to explore the future of commercial real estate in 2020. Leaders in the commercial real estate industry will examine environmental and energy issues as well as real estate finance in this thought-provoking program.

Washington, DC - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency today reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 4.55 percent based on loans closed in September. This is a decrease of 0.10 percent from the previous month.

Chicago, IL - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Whether they are helping a family achieve the dream of homeownership or volunteering time to those who need a helping hand, Realtors® share a common goal of building and strengthening communities. The individuals named as this year’s REALTOR® Magazine Good Neighbor Award winners are leading examples of Realtors®’ commitment to communities, whether in their own backyard or halfway around the world.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. house prices rose 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from July to August, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.5 percent decline in July was revised to a 0.7 percent decline. For the 12 months ending in August, U.S. prices fell 2.4 percent. The U.S. index is 13.6 percent below its April 2007 peak.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today new, stronger affordable housing regulations that protect victims of domestic abuse as the nation concludes National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

NEW YORK, NY - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Bracha Group, a luxury real estate group of Prudential Elliman in New York City, sold a three-bedroom, three and half bath condominium at 15 Central Park West, one of Manhattan’s newest premier parkside dwellings last Thursday, October 7, 2010.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The latest National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) remained essentially unchanged at 40.8 in the third quarter, compared to 40.7 in the second quarter. An RMI below 50 indicates that more remodelers report that market activity is declining than report that it is increasing; so, on balance, it was the sentiment of remodelers that the market was still declining in the third quarter. The RMI has been running below 50 since the final quarter of 2005.

CLEVELAND, OH - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force operating under authorization of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Ohio's Organized Crime Investigations Commission announced Fred Loewinger pleaded guilty to 25 felony mortgage fraud related offenses on October 27, 2010 for his participation in financing the purchase of 20 houses with $1.4 million in fraudulent loans. Loewinger, 62, of Strongsville, owned Fast Mortgage Services, Inc. and conducted his fraudulent activities as a licensed mortgage broker and loan officer. This case was investigated by the Cleveland office of the FBI in connection with their participation in the Mortgage Fraud Task Force

San Diego, CA - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Create Your Own Wordpress Real Estate Lead Machine

October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Obama is defending the so-called “rights” of international banks, to throw Americans out of their homes, arguing that halting foreclosures will weaken the economy. Not even Herbert Hoover had a policy of throwing people out on the street. This sort of malicious, murderous insanity, by Obama, will continue killing Americans, unless this failure of a human being is removed from office by the 25th Amendment

HARRISBURG, PA - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- PHFA honored the work of the state’s private sector housing counselors yesterday at the Hilton. These counseling agencies extend the work of PHFA by helping state residents with questions about homeownership and home foreclosure, working to inform consumers so they make educated housing decisions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Crescent Resources earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for Circle at South End. Silver is the highest level of certification among existing North Carolina apartment communities. Circle at South End also received the Green Project of the Year merit award from Multifamily Executive magazine.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mitigation specialists are in North Carolina assisting residents as a result of the severe storms and flooding from Tropical Storm Nicole

MADISON, WI - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Carlos R. Solis and Marty G. Mendez were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley in prosecutions stemming from a federal mortgage fraud and tax fraud investigation.

October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ms. Caldwell, you and the Department of Treasury deserve substantial credit for pushing an industry towards mortgage modifications and preventing avoidable foreclosures when that industry failed to appropriately act. In this way, Treasury’s HAMP program has shown great potential. Thanks to your work, we have a new industry standard that has kept more people in their homes than otherwise would have been able – certainly more than HAMP’s monthly reports demonstrate on their own.

October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A 46-year-old Golden Valley man pled guilty earlier today in federal court in Minneapolis to orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of more than $2.5 million from lenders nationally. The scheme centered on obtaining fraudulent loans for the purchase of 24 homes in the Twin Cities. Appearing before United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen, Zack Zafer Dyab pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection to the crime. Dyab was indicted along with Julia Alexander Rozhansky, age 46, of Minnetonka, on December 8, 2009

Des Plaines, IL - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Weather and other disasters are unpredictable, and that’s why it’s important for homeowners to be aware of their options when disasters strike. Whether that disaster is wind-, water- or snow-related damage, negotiating with insurance companies, contractors and state officials can be difficult. The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) is offering tips for homeowners affected by disasters to get their home back in shape and avoid home restoration scams.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 22, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3.1 percent compared with the previous week.The Refinance Index increased 3.0 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3.9 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3.5 percent compared with the previous week and was 30.3 percent lower than the same week one year ago

WASHINGTON, DC - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, which seeks to increase the availability of workforce housing in high cost communities by harnessing the power of the private sector, today announced Diane Leneghan Tomb, president and chief executive officer of Tomb & Associates, LLC, as the newest member of its national advisory board

Detroit, MI - October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Parade Company and Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s largest online mortgage lender, have partnered to create the first-ever “Where’s Clownie?” contest to promote the 84th America’s Thanksgiving Parade®. The promotion, which kicks off Sunday, October 24, will engage Metro Detroiters in a scavenger hunt leading them to some of downtown Detroit’s treasures along the parade route on Woodward Avenue to find hidden, large-scale Fatheads (life size wall graphics) of Clownie, the Parade Company’s mascot.