Monthly Archives: November 2010

COLUMBUS, OH - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) today announced the launch of the New Home Sweet Home Program that allows homebuyers to obtain a conditional loan reservation to lock their mortgage interest rate during new-home construction. The New Home Sweet Home Program is an extended lock option for homebuyers who purchase a new home and want to use OHFA's first-time homebuyer programs. By allowing for a conditional loan reservation, a lender can offer a rate lock for up to 180 days while a builder completes the construction of the home. The interest rate at the time of reservation will be set at .25% higher than OHFA's standard rate which is currently 4.25% for unassisted loans and 4.75% for loans with down payment assistance.

November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- “Today I sent a letter to FHFA Acting Director DeMarco asking him to provide a full and clear accounting of taxpayer dollars being expended for lawyer’s fees and related legal activities for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including former executives who are the subject of ongoing class action lawsuits. Now that the taxpayers are on the hook for the operations of Fannie and Freddie I want to be certain that their money is being used in the most responsible manner possible. Among other things, I am concerned that the taxpayers are stuck picking up the tab for ongoing legal counsel for the very executives who drove the GSEs into conservatorship in the first place.

Monkton & Ferrisburgh, VT - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly 200 acres of productive farmland have been permanently protected through conservation, the Vermont Land Trust announced today. The Vermont Land Trust, the Town of Monkton, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and the Claflin family worked together to conserve the Claflin's family farm.

November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The proposal would readopt the Division on Civil Rights’ rules pertaining to Advertisement Relating to Real Property, with certain amendments. The rules proposed for readoption set forth the prohibitions against advertisements by housing providers that express discriminatory preferences for prospective tenants or purchasers based on certain protected characteristics, such as race, national origin or creed. Upon readoption, the Division proposes amendments to clarify that the rules govern advertisements in both print and electronic form, and to include civil union status and gender identity or expression as protected characteristics to conform the rules to recent amendments to the Law Against Discrimination. The proposed readoption with amendments appears in the November 15, 2010 edition of the New Jersey Register.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- October continued the trend of median price growth in the majority of Illinois counties, sales were lower due to seasonal and residual tax credit factors; year-to-date sales remain positive even as the economy and foreclosures slow the recovery. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, year-to-date total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) statewide are up 0.1 percent January through October 2010 with 89,050 home sales compared to 88,989 home sales for the same period in 2009; year-to-date sales are up 4.6 percent in the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA). For the month of October, statewide home sales totaled 7,325, down 34.2 percent from 11,129 home sales in October 2009.

MOLINE, IL - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) officials today celebrated the groundbreaking of 69 affordable rental homes financed through the State of Illinois to help Moline families live near the workplace. An estimated 51 jobs will be created with the construction of Moline Enterprise Work-Live Lofts

CHUBBUCK, ID - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Chubbuck woman and her six children have much to be thankful for this holiday season. Ten years ago, Carey Jennings and her children were homeless. Now, they have moved into their new home just in time for the holidays with the help of the Homeownership Voucher (HOV) program. The family was eligible for this program because of their participation in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance program through Idaho Housing and Finance Association’s Idaho Falls branch office. Jennings, who has received rental assistance for nine years, began to tally up how much she could have put toward a mortgage with the rent she had spent in that time. “Being a single mom, doing it on my own wasn’t an option,” Jennings said. “The extra assistance gave me the opportunity to buy a home.”

Atlanta, GA - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- On November 19, 2010, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance’s (“Department’s”) Amended Notice of Intent to Revoke Annual License of Mortgage America, LLC, located at 3720 Farragut Avenue, Suite 500, Kensington, Maryland 20895, mortgage lender’s license number 22659, Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System number, 119791, became final

ORLANDO, FL - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Statewide year-to-date existing home sales in Florida showed positive momentum in October: 143,398 single-family existing homes sold for a 7 percent increase over the same period a year ago, though uncertainty over job growth, restrictive credit and foreclosure issues had a dampening effect on housing activity last month, according to industry analysts. The latest housing data released by Florida Realtors® also reported a 33 percent rise in statewide year-to-date condominium sales compared to a year ago, with a total of 59,966 units sold

November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers today, proposed Congress use money from so-called congressional earmarks to help reinstitute the homebuyers tax credit as a means of addressing the state and country’s sagging real estate markets. The program provided an $8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time homebuyers and a $6,500 tax credit for repeat buyers. In the first quarter of this year, the tax credit led to a six percent increase in all home sales and a forty-two percent increase in the sale of new homes. But the program expired earlier this year. Following are excerpts of his prepared remarks

PITTSBURGH, PA November 23, 2010 – The Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) of Pittsburgh today declared the results of the recent election to fill seats vacated by Directors whose terms expire on December 31, 2010. The election includes two member director positions for Delaware, one member director position each for Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and two non-member independent director positions

SACRAMENTO, CA - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Having fallen in September after four straight months of gains, total housing production in California continued to decrease in October, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

LOS ANGELES, CA - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- California home sales declined in October, from both the previous month and previous year, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)

Detroit, MI - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s largest online lender and a top-five retail mortgage lender, announced it ranked highest in “customer satisfaction” among all home loan lenders in the United States in a benchmark study of the mortgage industry by J.D. Power and Associates, the global marketing information services company.

Washington, D.C. (November 18, 2010) – Patrick “P.J.” Harrigan of Franklin American Mortgage Co. has been named the chairman of the Mortgage Action Alliance Steering Committee, the grassroots advocacy affiliate of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)

McLean, VA - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today issued the company's Monthly Volume Summary for October 2010. The summary, available on the company's Web site at www.FreddieMac.com/investors/volsum, provides information on Freddie Mac's mortgage-related portfolios, securities issuance, risk management and delinquencies, including data on seriously delinquent mortgage loans in related mortgage Participation Certificate (PC) pools.

Mission Viejo, CA - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Orange County is pleased to announce the appointment of its new relocation manager, Rich Fleischer. Since joining Coldwell Banker Southern California in September, Fleischer has been charged with managing relocation services throughout Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Diego Counties. Fleischer manages a staff of twelve relocation professionals who assist corporations, relocation companies and brokers who are relocating families into and out of California and around the world.

Washington, D.C. - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As the days grow colder and consumers gear up for another winter, many are looking for ways to beat the season’s high monthly energy costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average U.S. household spends about $1,900 per year on home utility bills. With so much of a consumer’s monthly income spent on energy this winter, NeighborWorks America urges consumers to reduce their utility costs by weatherizing their homes this winter.

EUGENE, OR - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, IDX, Inc. welcomes Argelia Barba to the growing group of real estate professionals updating their websites with IDX Broker software. Now, the revolutionary IDX solution is updated to meet every real estate need of Barba. Her website is synced to the El Paso MLS (EPMLS) giving her the ability to display thousands of El Paso area property listings with an unprecedented ease and speed. The listings even update themselves automatically, making the EPMLS on the search page of Barba the most up-to-date property listings available online

Washington, DC - November 23, 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 4.49 percent based on loans closed in October. This is a decrease of 0.06 percent from the previous month.

EUGENE, OR - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. welcomes Dallas, Texas real estate agent Jim Striegel to the growing network of real estate professionals adopting the innovative and customizable IDX Broker software for their websites. The personalized IDX solution Striegel now employs syncs his website with North Texas Real Estate Info Systems (NTREIS), bringing thousands of detailed property listings to the fingertips of potential buyers around the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The revolutionary website Striegel now hosts has forever simplified the online property search.

Washington, DC - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Existing-home sales retreated in October on the heels of two strong monthly gains, according to the National Association of REALTORS

November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General John Kroger today announced the conviction of a Medford-area developer and mortgage broker in a complex real estate Ponzi scheme to defraud investors

November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With only 39 days left until the state’s new hard property tax cap takes effect and with no meaningful property tax reform legislation again on today’s General Assembly Board list, Assembly Republicans said Assembly Democrats are inaccurately portraying to the public their legislative efforts in advancing Governor Christie’s property tax reform Tool Kit

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta today joined local officials to dedicate 55 Harvey at Providence Square, a 53-unit affordable senior housing community located in New Brunswick’s Transit Village area. The HMFA, an affiliate of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), helped finance the project by providing $7.4 million in federal tax credit funds toward development costs

BEDFORD, N.H. - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- At a recent meeting, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s Board of Directors approved the commitment of more than $6.9 million in federal HOME Investment Partnership and other funds for two development projects that will add 24 units of new affordable rental units to the state’s housing supply and preserve 162 existing affordable rental units. In addition, these projects will retain or create approximately 185 construction-related jobs during these challenging economic times

La Quinta, CA - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is pleased to welcome top producing agent, Janine Stevens. Working out of the La Quinta office, Stevens has been a real estate professional successfully representing buyers and sellers in luxury residential real estate since 1989.

Chicago, IL - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The affordability of a classic single-family home has improved by 66 percent in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago real estate market over the last five years, according to a review by RE/MAX employing the traditional measure of home affordability developed by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) is reminding Missourians that heading into Black Friday, those new gift cards and gift certificates may one day become Unclaimed Property. The key is keeping the physical card or certificate. Even if a gift card or certificate expires, any remaining value is required to be turned over to Treasurer Zweifel after five years and can be searched for at www.ShowMeMoney.com. Nearly $60,000 in gift card and certificate credit has been returned to Missourians from Unclaimed Property since January 2010, and more than $5.2 million is waiting for account owners

November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has received 110 applications from developers for the construction of new affordable housing developments and the rehabilitation of existing properties. MHDC administers the federal and state low-income housing tax credits and federal HOME monies to developers who provide affordable housing, designed to serve low- and moderate-income populations in the state of Missouri.