Monthly Archives: September 2010

AUSTIN, TX - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- While vacation rentals have long been popular among families and groups traveling together, HomeAway®, Inc. – the world’s leading online vacation rental marketplace – finds in its latest “HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report” the appeal of vacation rentals to business travelers also continues to grow in popularity.

AUSTIN, TX - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- HomeAway – the world’s leading online vacation rental marketplace – today announced the winners of its “Great American Road Trip Sweepstakes.”

Washington D.C. - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- September 28, 2010 marks the three-year anniversary of ConsensusDOCS - the only consensus standard contracts written by a broad coalition of the construction industry. In just three years, ConsensusDOCS has been the clear leader in advancing best practices and fair contracts. In 2007, ConsensusDOCS published the first standard integrated project delivery (IPD) contract, a new project delivery method which incorporates lean principles. In 2008, ConsensusDOCS wrote the first contract to address the legal risks with building information modeling (BIM), which is revolutionizing the industry. In 2009, ConsensusDOCS published the first contract to comprehensively address green building construction.

Jackson, MS - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- EastGroup Properties (NYSE-EGP) announced today that it will hold its Third Quarter Conference Call and webcast on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time. On the call, David Hoster, President and CEO, and Keith McKey, CFO, will review the third quarter results and discuss EastGroup's current operations

WALTHAM, MA - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that single-family home sales in August went down for the second month in a row compared to the year before. Single-family year-over-year median prices went up for the 10th straight month as condominium median prices crossed the $300,000 threshold for the first time since MAR has been tracking median prices.

EUGENE, OR - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Prestige Boston Realty and Timothy Sherman have joined forces with IDX, Inc. to update and transform the real estate website Sherman hosts. Home seekers can now scan the IDX Broker enabled page to search through Massachusetts MLS (MLSPIN) listings quickly and efficiently, thanks to the IDX solution Sherman has adopted. With the dynamic tools made available to Sherman, his clients and those just browsing the Boston real estate market, the online property search has been revolutionized. Homes around the Boston Back Bay and surrounding suburbs are now seamlessly displayed on the search page Sherman supports

EUGENE, OR - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Stacey Nelson of The Real Estate Firm has adopted the IDX, Inc. dynamic IDX Broker software, in an effort to supply Portland, Oregon home seekers with a unique and comprehensive online search process. Regional MLS (RMLS) listings are now synced directly with the website of Nelson, displaying thousands of up-to-the-minute property listings conveniently on his page. With the powerful search capabilities his IDX solution supplies to his clients, he has revolutionized the way Portland area home seekers find homes.

Washington, DC - September 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 4.65 percent based on loans closed in August. This is a decrease of 0.13 percent from the previous month.

September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Recently, the Harry Norman, Realtors® Sandy Springs office had their second opportunity to prepare and serve a home-cooked dinner for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald house in Atlanta

Washington, DC - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Researchers from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) are available to speak to members of the media on the 2009 American Community Survey data, which is expected to be released Tuesday, September 28.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released the attached paper, "A Review of Statistical Problems in the Measurement of Mortgage Market and Credit Risk" conducted by Professor Anthony M. Yezer of the George Washington University and sponsored by MBA's Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA).This paper examines the fundamental assumptions within the statistical analysis of discrimination and credit risk and the impact these flawed models had on the mortgage market ranging from false findings of discrimination to incorrectly detecting the future rise of default rates. Serving as a valuable resource to identify the flaws that continue to be overlooked in today's analyses, the paper promotes the improvement of the measurement of mortgage market discrimination and credit risk for a more accurate assessment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New research from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reveals that the benefits of housing-related tax deductions, such as the mortgage interest deduction, generally decline in value as individuals age.Using Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income (SOI) data, NAHB was able to report for the first time how various tax deductions are used by different age groups. The analysis demonstrates that the biggest beneficiaries are younger households, who typically have large mortgages, small amounts of equity in their homes and growing families.

Washington, D.C. - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Susan Collins recently joined her colleagues, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), in introducing bipartisan legislation that would set targets for utilities to obtain an increasing percentage of electricity supplies from renewable sources

Washington, DC - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today announced that applications from Ohio homeowners are now being accepted for funds made available through the Administration’s $172 million Hardest Hit Fund for Ohio.

CANTON, OH - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Congressman John Boccieri (D-Alliance) today announced the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded more than $240,000 to Domestic Violence Project, Inc. (DVIP) of Canton as part of the Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking, or Sexual Assault Program.

COLUMBUS, OH - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) announced the launch of Restoring Stability:

Atlanta, GA - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- On September 22, 2010, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance’s (“Department’s”) Notice of Intent to Revoke Annual License issued to United Funding Mortgage Corporation d/b/a Vertical Mortgage Company, license number 20332, formerly located at 6485 Shiloh Road, Building B, Suite 102, Alpharetta, Georgia 30005, became final.

Las Vegas, NV - September 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Applications are now being accepted from small business owners interested in support services, mentoring assistance and below-market-rate office space offered through a new business development program.

CHARLESTON, WV - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The last three years have not been comforting to struggling neighborhoods. Unemployment has risen, credit has tightened, foreclosures have created blight and a soft commercial market has p...

Hartford, CT - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney Richard Blumenthal announced today his office is investigating defective foreclosure documents filed by GMAC/Ally Finance, Inc. in Connecticut and demanding the company freeze all foreclosures in the state.

EUGENE, OR - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jay Carter and IDX, Inc. have teamed up to bring thousands of property listings to Austin, Texas home seekers. Now, Austin MLS (ACTRIS) listings are easy to find and tour virtually on the IDX enabled website of Carter. Never before has a simpler or more effective online solution created an easier-to-use real estate search process

EUGENE, OR - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. welcomes the latest real estate professional to adopt IDX Broker software, Kevan Pewitt of Houston Prime Realty in Houston, Texas. Pewitt has enabled the powerful IDX solution, which extracts raw listing data from the Houston MLS (HARMLS) and seamlessly integrates them among his own listings. Potential buyers in Houston can now quickly and efficiently scan thousands of properties on the real estate website Pewitt hosts, making it the logical first step for home seekers searching for homes online

Washington, DC - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage features that are restricted in the Dodd-Frank Bill such as longer terms, interest-only periods and flexible payment designs are quite common in other countries and are not associated with higher rates of default, according to a study released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The study entitled, “International Comparison of Mortgage Product Offerings”, which was conducted by Dr. Michael Lea, Director of the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate at San Diego State University and sponsored by MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA), examines the predominant mortgage designs and characteristics that exist in different international markets and how they have performed prior to and during the crisis. The study examined 12 developed countries with distinctly different mortgage market and product configurations

LOS ANGELES, CA - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today directed Ally Financial, Inc., formerly known as GMAC, to prove immediately that it is complying with state law or, if it cannot, to cease and desist from foreclosing on California homes.

Washington, D.C. - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) have selected the recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The AIA Healthcare Awards program showcases the best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research. Projects exhibit conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital.

San Francisco, CA. - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- International law firm Nixon Peabody LLP announces the arrival of partner Allan E. Low. A resident in the firm’s San Francisco office, Mr. Low will be a member of the real estate practice group focused on real estate finance, transactions and real estate development projects. He joins Nixon Peabody from Luce Forward in San Francisco

WASHINGTON, DC - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of the Obama Administration’s continuing effort to provide quality housing counseling to the nation’s homeowners, buyers and renters; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced the availability of more than $5.1 million in grants for housing counseling training. HUD’s goal is to fund eligible organizations to deliver training in the full spectrum of counseling services. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan made the announcement while meeting with borrowers and homeowners receiving counseling at an event in Oakland, California.

Washington, DC - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attainable and sustainable homeownership should be the goal for restructuring the secondary mortgage market, said National Association of Realtors® President Vicki Cox Golder today at a Regional Conference on Housing Finance Reform. The conference, held in Cleveland, was sponsored by the administration and focused on the future of the nation’s housing finance system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chief economists from the American Petroleum Institute (API), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will address the state of the U.S. economy based on their respective industries. The economists will be available to answer questions. API Chief Economist John Felmy will provide an overview of the current state of the economy and discuss U.S. gasoline and diesel fuel demand and their implications. API represents the oil and natural gas industry, which supplies a majority of America’s energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and comprises 7.5 percent of the U.S. economy.

Houston, TX - September 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- CB Richard Ellis has closed on two office leases at Lakes on Post Oak, located at 3050 Post Oak Boulevard in Houston's Galleria/Uptown area. Both leases combined total 12,631 sq. ft. and include a 6,662 sq. ft. new lease to Dahill and a 5,969 sq. ft. new lease for the Houston offices of Neptune Holdings. The 17-story Class A tower is situated on 28-acres with a four-acre lake and is part of a 3-building complex.