Monthly Archives: September 2010

WASHINGTON, DC - September 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded the City of New Orleans $1,042,684 to create a training program to help minority-owned businesses compete for contracting opportunities in federal and state-funded disaster recovery programs. The grant is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program

Albany, NY - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Statewide sales of existing single-family homes in New York State increased in August from July by 3.7 percent, but remained 30-percent below the August 2009 total, according to the preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of REALTORS.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) today announced a seller assistance incentive on Fannie Mae-owned properties listed on the company's REO website, www.HomePath.com, and expands the initiative to offer an incentive to real estate agents and brokers. Qualified homebuyers who will be owner-occupants can receive up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price that can be used toward closing cost assistance, including a home warranty, if desired and available. In addition, selling agents representing owner-occupants will receive a $1,500 bonus. Eligible offers must be submitted on or after September 23, 2010, and must close by December 31, 2010. The sale must close within 60 days of the offer being accepted.

ORLANDO, FL - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 1 percent in August, with a total of 13,997 homes sold statewide compared to 13,908 homes sold in August 2009, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Statewide existing home sales in August increased 3 percent over statewide sales activity in July.Ten of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales last month, while 13 MSAs posted increased existing condo sales. Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $134,000; a year ago, it was $146,500 for a decrease of 9 percent. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less

CHARLESTON, IL - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sixty-eight new affordable apartments for seniors broke ground today in Charleston on behalf of the administration of Governor Pat Quinn, the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) announced. An estimated 52 construction jobs will be created.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois home sales made gains in August from the previous month as buyer affordability conditions soared; slower activity is anticipated due to seasonal factors and fewer buyers in the immediate pipeline following the tax credit. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in August 2010 totaled 8,390, an increase of 2.6 percent from July’s 8,181 home sales; year-over-year home sales are down 21.9 percent compared to August 2009 sales of 10,740 homes. Year-to-date sales remain positive, up 9.2 percent January through August 2010 with 73,598 sales compared to 67,390 home sales for the same period in 2009.

EUGENE, OR - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Las Vegas properties just got easier to find online, thanks to the partnership between IDX, Inc. and real estate professional Laura Arcuri. The IDX solution employed on her website now allows home seekers to quickly and effortlessly scan thousands of Greater Las Vegas MLS (GLVAR) property listings right from the convenient real estate website Arcuri hosts. The five unique search functions IDX Broker uploads onto her site give potential buyers a dynamic tool to help narrow the GLVAR listings and match them with their dream property.

EUGENE, OR - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. is pleased to announce Eric Brooks of Keller Williams Realtors has adopted a customized IDX solution for his real estate website. Now, home seekers around Fairfield, California can scan through the Bay Area Real Estate Info Systems (BAREIS) quickly and efficiently on the search page of Brooks. Never before has it been simpler for potential buyers to connect with area agents and brokers to begin the property search process online.

HERNDON, VA - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Three keynotes addressing the impact of the economic and political landscape on commercial real estate will address the nearly 1,000 attendees expected to attend NAIOP's Development '10: The Annual Meeting for Commercial Real Estate, held October 27-29 at the Peabody Orlando in Orlando, Fla.

McLean, VA - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate and the 15-year fixed-rate were unchanged; shorter-term rates were mixed.

Washington, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding decreased in the second quarter, to $3.24 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) analysis of the Federal Reserve Board Flow of Funds data.Declines were driven by drops in commercial and multifamily mortgages held in CMBS and loans held by banks and thrifts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Robert E. Story, Jr., CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) hailed yesterday's passage in the Senate of legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30, 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the September edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard (www.hud.gov/scorecard), a comprehensive report on the nation's housing market. The latest housing figures show continued signs of stabilization in house prices. Although existing and new home sales declined in July, recent data shows housing starts rebounded in August.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital in Charlotte, Michigan. The $36.6 million loan is made possible through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering $19.6 million in grants to prevent and correct housing-related health and safety hazards in low-income housing and to support programs for the control of asthma among residents in federally assisted multifamily housing

Washington, D.C. - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nonprofit community development corporations working to stabilize communities in the wake of the national foreclosure crisis share a deepening apprehension that tight mortgage credit standards will hamper their ability to sell newly rehabilitated, formerly foreclosed properties, according to a snapshot survey conducted at a recent meeting during the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Philadelphia.

Washington, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Existing-home sales rose in August following a big correction in July, according to the National Association of Realtors

Washington, DC - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congress needs to act quickly to reauthorize and strengthen the National Flood Insurance Program for the long term to prevent undermining the fragile real estate market, the National Association of Realtors® testified to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs today

Anaheim, CA - September 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest national commercial real estate providers with regional expertise, has closed a $4 million sales transaction for a 45,250-square-foot industrial building located at 5500 La Palma Ave. in Anaheim, Calif

Houston, TX - September 22, 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

Albany, NY - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The State's main housing agencies have been integrated under a single leadership structure to form a new organization well-equipped to respond to the growing need for affordable housing in New York.

WASHINGTON, DC - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it has approved the demolition of 100 sub-standard public housing units at the Lake Monroe Terrace public housing development in Sanford, Fla. and approved the Sanford Housing Authority’s (SHA) request for 86 rental assistance vouchers for current residents. The vouchers will give these families an opportunity to find long-term housing in a safe and habitable home

LOS ANGELES, CA - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- California home sales edged up 1.8 percent from July, but were down 14.9 percent from August 2009, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. The statewide median home price also increased 1.2 percent from July and was up 8.6 percent from a year ago.

SACRAMENTO, CA - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Total housing production in California continued to rise for the fourth month in a row in August even as single-family production posted the lowest monthly total since February 2009, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Metro Commercial Real Estate, Inc., the Philadelphia region's premier full-service retail real estate company, has negotiated a lease for the region’s largest home furniture and manufacturing company, Ashley Furniture, to occupy the former 33,000-square foot Circuit City at Lincoln Court located at 102 Alan Wood Road in Plymouth Meeting. The store is scheduled to open in December.

San Francisco, CA – September 22, 2010 – The August issue of REALTOR® Magazine posted the industry’s Top 100 Companies across the nation, both in sales volume and transactions. Zephyr Real Estate once again achieved national prominence as No. 82 in sales volume, up a notch from its 2009 position. Even as a local independent real estate firm in just one market area, Zephyr maintains a healthy and vibrant position in competition with larger, national brokerages

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded two grants totaling $3,800,000 to the Rockford Housing Authority through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grants will be used to help increase energy efficiency and decrease environmental impact of Rockford’s public housing properties

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman André Carson issued the following statement on today's event highlighting the 32 residences that will become homes for homeless families as part of the 2012 Super Bowl Housing Legacy Project on Indianapolis' near eastside.

September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Rep. Tim Walz (MN-01) and Rep. John Boozman (AR-3) introduced bipartisan legislation to help prevent veterans with VA home loans from becoming homeless due to foreclosure. The legislation mandates that the VA notify its homelessness case managers within seven days of a VA home loan going into default and that the case manager assigned put in place a plan to prevent the veteran from subsequently becoming homeless due to the foreclosure

Washington, D.C. - September 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) announced today that Maryland will receive $1,615,600 in emergency funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), in addition to the $6,387,721 the state received in January. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Edwards joined her colleagues in a letter urging President Obama to release the emergency funding. LIHEAP helps eligible families pay for home heating, cooling, and other energy costs, as well as helping with weatherization costs