Monthly Archives: July 2011

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. - July 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Commercial real estate owner/operator Prism Capital Partners, LLC is set to break ground this summer on Phase I of The Parkway Lofts, a multifamily adaptive reuse in Bloomfield and East Orange, N.J. The project will convert a 114-year-old, 365,000-square-foot former General Electric Company warehouse property, located on the Garden State Parkway, into 361 loft-style apartments. At build out, the 14.5-acre site will be transformed into a distinctive, high-density residential village also featuring 150 for-sale townhomes, a clubhouse and other lifestyle amenities, to be built as part of Phase II.

Chicago, IL - July 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- June home sales in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market displayed a distinctly split personality, according to an analysis of sales data by RE/MAX.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new Federal Trade Commission Rule will strengthen consumer protections by banning deceptive claims about consumer mortgages in advertising or other types of commercial communications. The Rule is designed to create a level playing field for legitimate businesses to compete in the marketplace.

Washington, DC - July 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Existing-home sales eased in June as contract cancellations spiked unexpectedly, although prices were up slightly, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Torrance, CA - July 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Experts with the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate say population growth and demographic shifts – particularly the ongoing maturation of a diverse, well-educated Gen Y – will drive improvements in the real estate market over the next 10 years

New York , NY - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today appointed Victor A. Gonzalez as the first public housing resident to be named a member of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Board. In April 2011, the City announced it would add a new seat on the Board, creating a new Resident Board Member position. More than 600 residents from all five boroughs applied. Gonzalez’s appointment is effective July 20, 2011, when he will join NYCHA Chairman John B. Rhea, Vice Chair Emily Youssouf and Board Member Margarita López at his first board meeting. NYCHA board members form the Authority’s governing body and are responsible for voting on contracts, resolutions, policies, motions, rules and regulations and administrative matters.

Washington, DC - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Mike Turner, Co-Chair of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, has introduced legislation to encourage homeowners to preserve homes of historical significance across the coun...

WASHINGTON, DC - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Green Affordable Housing Coalition kicks off its first forum Wednesday, July 20, convening experts in housing preservation, finance, and green retrofits for a discussion on how to address challenges and barriers to finding the financial support needed to “green” existing affordable housing. Key issues to be discussed include what green retrofit financing sources are available now, what financing sources are still needed, and what roadblocks could interfere with much-needed green retrofits of multifamily affordable housing.

La Jolla, CA. - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The number of California homes that went into foreclosure fell to a four-year low last quarter, the result of a more stable housing market as well as policy changes in the mortgage servicing industry, a real estate information service reported.

OLYMPIA, WA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act Mediation Program begins Friday, July 22. The program, a result of bipartisan legislation (SSHB1362, Chapter 58, Laws of 2011 (PDF)*) during the 2011 sessio...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court has temporarily halted a telemarketing operation that targeted consumers trying to sell their timeshare properties. The defendants allegedly charged consumers thousands of dollars, falsely claiming they had buyers lined up for sales that supposedly would be reviewed and approved by the FTC. As part of its continuing crackdown on con artists who prey upon financially distressed consumers, the FTC seeks to permanently end the defendants’ deceptive practices and make them refund consumers’ money.

LOS ANGELES, CA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) applauds Gov. Jerry Brown on signing SB 458 (Corbett) into law. SB 458 extends the protections of SB 931 (2010), to ensure that any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as payment in full of the outstanding balance of all loans.

HARTLAND, WI - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --Visionary Apps LLC (www.visionaryapps.com), creators of innovative smart-phone and tablet tools that aim to improve people’s lives, today announced that its popular Complete ForeclosuresSM application (app) for the iPhone and iPad is now exclusively powered by data from RealtyTrac® (http://www.realtytrac.com/), the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties. One of the many new features is the RealtyTrac® Single Property Details Purchase feature which will allow Complete Foreclosures to offer full details on EVERY listing, whereas before some of the property listings only had partial details.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As President Obama and Congress continue their negotiations on a package to increase the debt ceiling, the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) are urging lawmakers to reject proposals to change the tax treatment of carried interest,[1] which would have a devastating effect on affordable housing.

Carson CA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Colliers International, the second largest global real estate services organization, has negotiated a 10-year lease renewal for a property 91,603 square foot building located at 2202 E. Del Amo Blvd., Carson, Calif. The renewal is valued at over $7 million.

CINCINNATI, OH/TEANECK, N.J. - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Encelium Technologies will showcase its innovative energy management and lighting control systems at GovEnergy 2011: A River of Energy Solutions Workshop and Trade Show, Booth #834, from Sunday, August 7 to Wednesday, August 10, 2011, at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the trade show, attendees will get an insider’s look at Encelium’s new Polaris 3D, its next generation of lighting control software for the company’s Energy Control System (ECS).

Torrance, CA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thomas Bryant and Richard Bryant from the Atlanta office of Lee & Associates, the nation’s largest broker-owned commercial real estate services firm, have completed a lease worth in excess of $1.1 million for an industrial property in Suwanee, Georgia. They were able to achieve this within four months of taking the assignment.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides in May and June.

Singapore - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- British comedian and Hollywood actor Steve Coogan won’t need to stay at the local Travel Tavern like his comedy alter-ego ‘Alan Partridge’. He is now the proud new owner of Ovingdean Grange near B...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- PCCP, LLC provided a senior participating loan to Basin Street Properties to finance the REO acquisition of Sequoia Center, a three-building Class A office property totaling 210,000 square feet. The buildings are located within the desirable Redwood Business Park, a 1.1 million square-foot master-planned business park in Petaluma, Calif. Sequoia Center was vacant at the close of escrow, however a 96,000-square-foot lease has been signed with Enphase Energy which will bring the occupancy up to 46 percent by the end of 2011. The property includes a three-story building built in 1998 located at 1400 North McDowell Blvd., a three-story building built in 2000 located at 1420 North McDowell Blvd., and a four-story building built in 1999 located at 5341 Old Redwood Hwy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The majority of those surveyed would squat in a vacant home if things got so bad economically they were forced to do so, according to a new Housing Predictor opinion poll

Pleasanton, CA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The HGA Architects and Engineers-designed Pediatric Clinic at Axis Community Health Center in Pleasanton, Calif., announces its official opening to the Tri-Valley community. By providing full architectural and structural engineering services, HGA’s expansion at the 3,000-SF center helped upgrade the pediatric clinic to a more functional facility and included two new exam rooms, a testing room, a lab, an office and a reception station.

Columbia, MO - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mitigation experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be in Kennett to offer free rebuilding information and answer questions about how to strengthen property against future st...

Washington, DC - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Stability in the housing market will lead to a quicker and greater economic recovery, according to the National Association of Realtors®. In a letter to Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Timothy Geithner, secretary of the Treasury; and Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, NAR offered its recommendations for helping stabilize and revitalize the housing industry and economy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts rose 14.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000 units in June, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. This was the best pace of housing production since the beginning of the year, and was attributable to significant gains registered in both the single-family and multifamily segments as well as every region of the country."Today's numbers are an encouraging sign that builders are responding to improving consumer interest in new homes and apartments by gradually replenishing their extremely thin inventories in places where demand is evident," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev. "That said, the lack of access to construction credit remains an impediment to starting new projects and getting building crews back to work in markets that are improving."

COLUMBIA, MO - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Missourians who suffered damage or loss from the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding and received a disaster loan application from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are urged to complete and return the application by the July 29, 2011 deadline.

San Francisco, CA - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Redfin today released Redfin for Android, a map-driven real estate search application for mobile devices using Google's Android operating system.

EUGENE, OR - July 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Broker Arian Adorno and IDX, Inc. have teamed up to revolutionize the way New Age Properties home seekers search for homes online with a custom IDX solution. IDX Broker software is synced to the search page Adorno hosts, creating a dynamic database of Greater Miami (RAMBMLS) homes. Adorno's Sobe cleints can now easily and quickly experience a comprehensive online real estate search without ever having to leave the convenience of his IDX-enabled website.

ELGIN, IL - July 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A grand opening celebration on June 29 marked the official debut of RE/MAX 1st Choice, 130 W. Lafayette St. in Ottawa, Ill. Broker/owner T. Haeberle and six sales associates welcomed 75 guests, among them Ottawa Mayor Robert M. Eschbach and Boyd Palmer, president of the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Reston, VA - July 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Another ruling from the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division declined to reconsider a non-judicial foreclosure initiated by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), as mortgagee, underscoring former borrowers’ lack of standing under Michigan law to challenge a foreclosure after the statutory redemption period has expired, further limiting the applicability of the Michigan Court of Appeals’ decision in Residential Funding v. Saurman/Bank of New York Trust v. Messner (“Saurman”).