Real Estate Prices » Real Estate News

Home prices up for 1st time in 3 years

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:21:58 +0000

The value of U.S. homes grew on a monthly basis in May for the first time in nearly three years, according to 20-city index released Tuesday.

The month-over-month increase was 0.5%, according to the report from financial data company Standard & Poor’s and economists Case-Shiller. It was the first increase in the monthly index since July 2006.

On an annual basis, home prices in the 20 cities fell 17.1%, but it was the second straight month that the year-over-year decline lessened.

Zell’s Equity International May Open Brazil Real Estate Unit

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:18:44 +0000

Sam Zell’s Equity International may open a real estate financing company in Brazil as record-low interest rates in Latin America’s biggest economy boost demand for alternative investments.

Equity International is seeking partners to grow Brazil’s “still nascent” real estate financing market, Chief Strategic Officer and Vice President of Investments Thomas McDonald said in an interview in Sao Paulo. The real estate investment company hasn’t found a partner yet to begin those operations and may open its own company to provide financing to real estate developers, he said.

Brazil is the “number one country in the world for investments,” billionaire investor Zell said in a CNBC interview July 28. A 5 percentage point cut in Brazil’s Selic interest rate this year to 8.75 percent and a 34-billion real ($18 billion) housing stimulus plan announced by the government in March have boosted demand for residential and commercial real estate investments, McDonald said.

Airways Business Center sells for $7.27M

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:20:26 +0000

Owners of a warehouse at the Airways Business Center in Aurora have sold the property for $7.27 million, according to Adams County real estate records.

County records show that the building, located at 2460 Airport Blvd., includes 162,000 square feet of space and was completed in 2007.

The buyer is El Prado Inn LLC of Santa Barbara, Calif. The four sellers are led by Pacifica Commercial Real Estate Group, also of Santa Barbara, as Pacifica Airways II LLC. Pacifica’s portion of the sales price was $4.75 million.

The three other sellers were California entities located in Altadena, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, which each sold its part of the property for $843,300.

The partners acquired the warehouse in 2008 for $8.56 million from Principal Development Investors LLC of Des Moines, Iowa.

Hypo Real Estate needs more state aid

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:08:04 +0000

Stricken German bank Hypo Real Estate will need more state support even after a capital increase the German government is pushing through to take full control of the lender, its chief executive said.

“There is a need for more capital after the capital increase that the general meeting will address on Tuesday,” Axel Wieandt told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung Sunday paper.

The exact amount had to be agreed with the government’s SoFFin financial sector rescue fund, he added. Caught out by the debt market crisis that exposed its refinancing weakness, loss-making HRE has become Germany’s biggest casualty of the financial crisis.

It has already been propped up by 102 billion euros ($142.7 billion) in guarantees, mostly from the state, for fear its collapse could have a domino effect on the financial system.

Weichert Sees New Housing Bill Aiding an Already Improving Real Estate Market

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:33:39 +0000

Weichert Sees New Housing Bill Aiding an Already Improving Real Estate Market

At the start of the year, James M. Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors(R), one of the nation’s largest privately-held real estate companies, called upon Congress to take action to stimulate the struggling economy amid growing national concern.

Specifically, Weichert proposed a tax credit for home buyers to rejuvenate the slowing housing market. A little more than 6 months later, Weichert’s proposal has become policy as the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed in to law.

“I want to commend Congress and the President for their quick passing of this important legislation. I was particularly pleased to see that this bill included a tax credit for homebuyers. This was something we knew was a critical component in terms of our economic recovery and we lobbied hard, along with the National Associations of REALTORS(R) and others, to make it a reality.”

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act is expected to bolster the housing market – one of the largest and most vital sectors of the overall economy – by providing added incentives and opportunities for homebuyers. The bill provides for a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers while also permanently raising loan limits to increase buyers’ ability to get the financing needed to purchase homes in higher-priced markets.

“The passing of this legislation is great news, particularly for anyone thinking about buying their first home,” said Weichert. “The current market already presents a great opportunity for first-time buyers when you consider interest rates remain historically low, home prices continue to be more affordable than in recent years and there is a large supply of homes to choose from. Now with the added incentive of a sizeable tax credit, it would be hard for me to resist if I was a first-time buyer.”

The new legislation also addresses several issues that have hampered the mortgage industry for the past year and in turn had a negative impact on housing. The recovery act will provide assistance for more than 400,000 homeowners at risk of foreclosure to stabilize the housing supply. In addition, the housing bill provides greater financial backing for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

SOURCE: Weichert, Realtors

Weichert
Doug Hoekstra, 973-397-3578
dhoekstra@weichertrealtors.net