Monthly Archives: May 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- HUD’s failure to keep pace with the volume of multifamily mortgage applications is exacerbating the nation’s shortage of workforce housing, jeopardizing the thousands of jobs created by new apartment construction and reducing the new revenues the program could be generating for the federal government.

Washington, DC - May 25, 2011 - (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 4.80 percent based on loans closed in April. This is a decrease of 0.04 percent from the previous month.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Idaho and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following flooding, landslides, and mudslides storm during March and April.

May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest national commercial real estate providers with regional expertise, has closed a $1.9 million sales transaction for a 42,700-square-foot industrial building located at 7260 Sycamore Canyon Boulevard in Riverside, California.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing affordability during the first quarter of 2011 rose to its highest level in the more than 20 years it has been measured, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) data released today.The HOI indicated that 74.6 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2011 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. This eclipsed the previous high of 73.9 percent set during the fourth quarter of 2010 and marked the ninth consecutive quarter that the index has been above 70 percent. Until 2009, the HOI rarely topped 65 percent and never reached 70 percent.

May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- WHATg>: Vermont will be recognized nationally for its outstanding work in producing affordable housing and creating sustainable living environments

PITTSBURGH, PA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A resident of Richland Township, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 27 months in prison and two years of supervised release on his conviction of wire fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the creation of the California Attorney General's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, staffed by Department of Justice attorneys and investigators charged with protecting innocent homeowners and bringing to justice those who defraud them.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Buellton man was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for defrauding banks by nearly simultaneously seeking home equity lines of credit from four different federally insured financial institutions. Larry P. Corbi Jr., 36, who resided in Marina del Rey during the course of the scheme and has since relocated to the Central Coast, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer. In addition to the prison term, Judge Fischer ordered Corbi to pay $356,644 in restitution.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mitigation specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in Memphis Lowe's and Home Depot stores this week. They will answer questions and offer home improvement tips and proven techniques to prevent and lessen damage from future disasters.

NEW YORK, NY - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- On behalf of Morgans Hotel Group, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels today announced the sale of the Morgans and Royalton Hotels in New York. FelCor Lodging Trust purchased the two hotels for $140 million. Leading the Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels team on this transaction was Executive Vice President Jeffrey Davis with Vice President Gilda Perez-Alvarado.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A second man who was employed as an inspector with the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal bribery charges for taking thousands of dollars in bribes to approve work done at residential construction sites in South Los Angeles, even though the work had not been inspected.

San Francisco, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Oliver Burgelman, long-time agent at Zephyr Real Estate, has created a new web tool to demonstrate how the real estate market in San Francisco is trending. The website, allows viewers to instantly see on a San Francisco map whether the average price per square foot is increasing or decreasing. This unique market-trends tool shows properties currently available for sale in all of San Francisco, or by one of the 10 MLS districts, by neighborhood or by a customized “price square” of the viewer’s choosing.

Jackson, MS - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- While other parts of the state are dealing with the aftermath of the flooding and tornado natural disasters, Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney and the Mississippi Insurance Department (MID) remind coastal Mississippians that hurricane season begins in a little over a week. Preparations for a forecasted active, 2011 Hurricane season need to begin now, during National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 22-28, 2011.

May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- On May 25, NLIHC President and CEO Sheila Crowley will testify in support of the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) at a hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) titled, “Transparency, Transition and Taxpayer Protection: More Steps to End the GSE Bailout.” The hearing will be at 2 pm in room 2128 of the Rayburn House office building.

New York,NY - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Wemi:t LLC, a New York-based real estate company that acquires and develops high-end boutique residential properties, has announced the transformation of a 19th century townhouse at 170 East 80th Street into an exquisite 13,000-square-foot modern mansion. The magnificent property is listed for $35 million through exclusive broker Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens.

WASHINGTON, D.C - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- “Today’s report shows that the banking industry continues to gain strength. For a year now, asset quality has steadily improved, loan losses have declined, and capital is at record highs. This forward momentum helps solidify the base for making new loans to bolster growth in the expanding economy. “Banks added nearly $25 billion in equity capital during the first quarter and total industry capital is now more than $1.5 trillion. Banks also have set aside more than $218 billion in reserves to cover possible loan losses. Capital plus reserves gives a total buffer protecting the industry of more than $1.7 trillion. This demonstrates strong industry-wide improvement and a continued build-up of underlying strength. In addition, the industry capital-to-assets ratio – a key measure of financial strength – continues to remain very strong and ended the quarter at an all-time high.

Scottsdale, AZ - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A mere eight weeks after opening two model homes at The Village at Paradise Reserve, Cullum Homes is proud to announce that Phase One of the luxury new home community just west of 40th Street on Lincoln Drive near Paradise Valley has sold out. Two homes in Phase Two have also been sold.

ORLANDO, FL - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Hearing “the check is in the mail,” is welcome news for 113 well-deserving young people who live in communities across Florida. Why? It’s because the announcement means that these students — high school graduates about to enter their first year of college and others already enrolled in a college, or university — recently were notified they are recipients of scholarships through the Florida Realtors® Education Foundation Inc.A not-for-profit corporation established by the state Realtor association, the Florida Realtors® Education Foundation Inc. provides real estate-related educational scholarships and grants. The Foundation’s Board of Directors awarded $263,000 in scholarships to help pay for higher education expenses for these students in the 2011-2012 school year. All recipients are Florida residents and will be attending community colleges, four-year universities, graduate programs or law schools. Many students said they hope to pursue careers in real estate.

FRESNO, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill sentenced Wrenl Burge, 40, of Fresno, to 41 months in prison and Albert Lewis Ellis, 46, also of Fresno, to 33 months in prison for a scheme to falsify mortgage loan documents. Burge was ordered to pay $1,011,524 in restitution, and Ellis was ordered to pay $548,178 in restitution to the mortgage lenders.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- ABA Housing Partners Foundation announced today its partnership with Texas Bankers Association to build a Habitat for Humanity home in San Antonio, Texas. The two groups will work together to raise donations from bankers across the country to fund the foundation’s first build in the Southwest at the American Bankers Association’s Annual Convention in October 2011

Torrance, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, the nation’s largest broker-owned commercial real estate services firm, closed the $1.8 million sale of a 22,400-square-foot industrial property at 5217 Industry Ave., in Pico Rivera, Calif. Senior Vice Presidents Jeff Bethel of Lee & Associates’ City of Industry office and Peter D. Bacci of Lee & Associates-Central Los Angeles represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction. Daniels Western Meat Packers, Inc., a meat and food products supplier since 1953, purchased the property in an all cash deal from Burke & McCoy Family Trusts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 7.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000 units in April, their best pace since December of 2010, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. The report also showed that the nationwide inventory of new homes for sale continued to fall to just 175,000 units in April, which is a new record low."The fact that new-home sales have now risen for two consecutive months is certainly welcome news following an all-time low sales number in February," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev. "That said, builders are still contending with a great deal of competition from foreclosed properties for sale in certain markets, and in places where this is not an issue, it remains extremely difficult to obtain credit to build new homes."

May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The first quarter of 2011 has seen a dramatic resurgence in the Newark office market, especially in the central downtown district. We have seen companies moving here from Manhattan and the other New York boroughs, including Staten Island, as well as from the New Jersey suburbs. In particular, there has been a great deal of activity involving new leases in the 5,000- to 8,000-square-foot category.

EUGENE, OR - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. and Marty Maradiaga have joined forces to present Southern California home seekers with access to thousands of up-to-the-second real estate listings. Maradiaga has adopted IDX Broker software, giving him the ability to host an innovative, five-tiered approach to the online property search process. The California Real Estate Technology Services (CARETS) database, which lists and displays thousands of area properties, is now seamlessly integrated and linked to the website of Maradiaga. The IDX enabled search page Maradiaga hosts has revolutionized the way potential California home buyers find homes online.

RALEIGH, N.C. - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Safe-rebuilding specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in Lumberton, Jacksonville, Fuquay and Wake Forest beginning Thursday, May 26, to provide free rebuilding information and answer questions about how to strengthen property against future storm damage.

EUGENE, OR - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- IDX, Inc. is pleased to welcome Wilmington, North Carolina real estate agent Tricia Delp to the growing network of agents and brokers that have chosen to integrate the innovative IDX Broker software onto their website. Delp now supplies thousands of Wilmington Regional MLS (WRARMLS) listings to area home seekers, giving them a unique and thorough database of listings for them to utilize throughout their search. With the dynamic search page Delp now hosts, as well as the IDX Broker application for iPhone, her clients are always connected to the easily accessible database on the website of Delp. Never again will a Wilmington buyer experience a complicated or time-consuming online real estate search, when they work with Delp and her professional website

Washington, DC - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The improving economy and job creation mean growing demand for commercial real estate, according to the National Association of Realtors®

RIVERSIDE, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real Estate Mortgage Network, Inc. (REMN), a national mortgage lender based in River Edge, N.J., continues to grow its retail presence in California with the addition of a new branch in Riverside. Coming on the heels of the company’s recent addition in San Diego, this new office will better help REMN service the Inland Empire’s future and existing home owners, real estate professionals, as well as residential builders.

CHICAGO, IL - May 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- For the fourth consecutive time, Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) has been recognized as the best overall provider of corporate real estate services by the Watkins 2011 Survey of Corporate Real Estate Service Providers. Of the 23 providers evaluated by the largest users of commercial real estate services, Jones Lang LaSalle was rated #1 overall and in several key categories, including use of cutting-edge technology, financial strength, reputation, and geographic scope.