Monthly Archives: August 2010

OLYMPIA, WA - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following concerted efforts to prevent unnecessary foreclosures, the Washington Attorney General’s Office and a group of other state attorneys general and banking regulators say they’ve seen improvements in programs designed to help homeowners.

Tampa, FL - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With Hurricane Danielle churning out in the Atlantic, and the recollection of the massive destruction wrought by Hurricane Andrew on this date 18 years ago, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) urges residents to take the necessary precautions to minimize wind and water damage from potential hurricanes.

ORLANDO, FL - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of existing condominiums in Florida rose 11 percent in July, with a total of 5,557 condos sold statewide compared to 4,991 units sold in July 2009, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.Eleven of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing condo sales in July, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $87,200; in July 2009 it was $108,500 for a 20 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $181,300 in June, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR

Batavia, IL - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congressman Bill Foster (IL-14) joined representatives from the DeKalb County Housing Authority to celebrate the completion of the water pipe replacement project at Golden Years Plaza, which received $551,289 in stimulus funding to complete this long overdue renovation

SPRINGFIELD, IL - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- After nearly a full year of home sales gains statewide, the rush to meet the homebuyer tax credit deadline combined with weak job and economic reports led to a lull in Illinois home sales activity in July. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in July 2010 were down 29.7 percent, totaling 8,135 homes sold compared to July 2009 sales of 11,566 homes. The median price in July 2010 was $160,000, down 4.3 percent from $167,185 in July 2009. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

LINCOLN, NEB. - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Nebraska Department of Economic Development has awarded Keith County Housing Development Corporation, a non-profit 501 (c)(3), $80,900 in Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Funds to purchase, rehabilitate and resell a home in Ogallala to a family earning at or below 100 percent of the Area Median Income.

Albany, NY - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Statewide sales of existing single-family homes in New York State fell by 50 percent in July compared to the record-setting June total, which was bolstered by buyers who closed before the then-June 30 federal homebuyer tax credit deadline.

SACRAMENTO, CA - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing production in California continued to increase in July as a result of strong performance in the multifamily sector, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

RESTON, Va. - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- This month, the City of Los Angeles joined the Commonwealths of Virginia and Massachusetts, and the State of Connecticut, in accepting the MERS® System as an alternative to the City’s registry of foreclosed properties and property preservation contacts for vacant properties.

Research consortium led by Penn State to receive up to $122 million in federal funding for "Energy Innovation Hub" at the Philadelphia Navy Yar

BOSTON, MA - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Monday, August 23, 2010 - As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's Massachusetts Recovery Plan, Governor Deval Patrick today announced that the state will target $1,700,033 in federal weatherization assistance recovery funds to replace old, inefficient heating systems in buildings operated by 13 public housing authorities throughout the Commonwealth. These upgrades will create jobs, deliver clean, efficient warmth and lower heating costs for tenants of family public housing developments in Barnstable, Carver, Concord, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Framingham, Franklin, Haverhill, Lowell, Norton, Sandwich, Sudbury and Wrentham."Today's awards will not only help keep our environment clean, but these heating system upgrades will boost business, put people to work and improve conditions for families living in state public housing," said Governor Patrick

BOSTON , MA - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has obtained consent judgments against five defendants that perpetrated an unlawful foreclosure rescue scheme against multiple homeowners facing foreclosure that stripped and retained hundreds of thousands of dollars of the victims' home equity.The judgments, entered against Primary Mortgage Resource, Leo Desire, Sr., Robert Marks, Pierre Joseph and Daphne Mompoint, provide for payments of restitution to victims and civil penalties to the Commonwealth and prohibit the defendants from engaging in certain activities that facilitated the scheme

Washington, D.C. - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate today announced over $25 million in newly approved Gulf Coast rebuilding projects to assist communities as they continue to recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita—the latest in a series of Gulf Coast recovery projects that have totaled more than $2.5 billion since the start of the Obama administration.

Houston, TX - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Houston-based Argus Software, Inc. has renewed a 13,635 square foot office lease at The Lakes on Post Oak, located at 3050 Post Oak Boulevard in Houston's Galleria/Uptown area. In addition, Sudhoff Properties of Houston, Inc. has signed a new lease of 4,216 square feet at the same building.

Scottsdale, AZ - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Arizona luxury home builder Cullum Homes (http://cullumhomes.com/aboutus.asp) and developer Paradiso Development Corporation today announced that Cullum Homes has been selected as the exclusive builder for the luxurious Village at Paradise Reserve community located at 40th Street and Lincoln Drive, in Paradise Valley. Nestled within the exclusive high-end custom home community of Paradise Reserve, the Village will include 32 uniquely spectacular new homes in a guard-gated, private setting that are selling between $1.5 and $2.5 million. Single and two-story floor plans are available ranging in size from 3,352 to 5,100 square feet.

EUGENE, OR - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. is pleased to announce the latest addition to the growing group of real estate professionals upgrading their websites, Win Sasse, Principal Broker of All/Pros Realty, Inc. in Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a member of the Real Estate Information Network (REIN), his newly enabled IDX solution extracts raw listing data from REIN and displays it seamlessly on the page Sasse employs. Delivering potential buyers with the most comprehensive and efficient home search experience is now made simple for Sasse and his associates, thanks to the IDX Broker software his website now hosts

EUGENE, OR - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sarasota, Florida real estate agent Valerie Telfair has adopted the IDX, Inc. premier software, IDX Broker, to create a quick, efficient and well-designed real estate website. As a Michael Saunders Agent, Telfair has long provided her potential buyer clients with a variety of properties to search through. Now, Mid Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS) listings are available directly on the website of Telfair, making the online home search process all the more simple and easy for home seekers around Sarasota

EUGENE, OR - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Morgan Lane Marin and Tracy McLaughlin have enabled the IDX, Inc. premier IDX Broker software on her professional real estate website, giving her clients a unique and comprehensive online property search process. With the homes on the Bay Area Real Estate Info Services (BAREIS) seamlessly integrated onto her website, McLaughlin offers home seekers a specialized home buying experience, beginning with the dynamic tools synced on her website. Never before has finding a home in Marin County, California been easier or quicker than now on the IDX enabled search page of McLaughlin

Washington, DC - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its mid-year ranking of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers as of the end of June 30, 2010. Topping the list of firms is Wells Fargo with $462.8 billion in U.S. master and primary servicing, followed by PNC Real [...]

Washington, DC - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the home buyer tax credit but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors

Denver, CO - August 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- RE/MAX has further broadened its international reach into two new countries: Bolivia and Tunisia.

Portland, OR - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Oregon’s Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden commended a federal Recovery Act grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today that will help fund “green” renovations at a housing development for Portlanders afflicted by mental illness.

BURLINGTON, VT - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- On July 1, Sarah and Thad Launderville realized their dream of becoming homeowners when they moved into their new house on Williamstown’s Pleasant Street.

August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Six Delaware emergency and transitional shelters for the homeless received a financial boost from the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) to continue to bring needed services to the homeless in lower Delaware. A total of $100,348 in federal funds was awarded to homeless providers through a competitive application process in which DSHA has participated for twentythree consecutive years

ORLANDO, FL - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida Realtors® and four other state Realtor organizations successfully negotiated with Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the new Gulf Coast Claims Facility handling the British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill Fund, for a special allocation for real estate professionals’ claims for loss of income or loss of sales due to the Gulf oil spill.

SACRAMENTO, CA - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) announced that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the current situation of mortgage foreclosure scams occurring around the country, and an analysis of the government’s efforts to prohibit such deceptive financial practices.

SACRAMENTO, CA - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The pace of new-home sales across California continued to see lackluster demand conditions in June, the California Building Industry Association reported today

WASHINGTON, DC - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Veterans in the Gulf States impacted by the recent oil spill may qualify for delayed mortgage payments if their mortgages are already guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- WHAT: Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 2nd Quarter 2010 National Delinquency Survey (NDS) Media Conference Call. Conducted quarterly since 1972, MBA's National Delinquency Survey covers more than 40 million loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties, representing more than 80 percent of all first-lien residential mortgage loans outstanding in the United States.

WEST DES MOINES, IA - August 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- If you have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because your home was damaged by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding, that have occurred since June 1, the next step in the process is to have your home inspected, according to state and federal disaster officials