RealEstateRama

Washington, DC - July 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An estimate of senior home equity owned by Americans aged 62 and over stood at $3.2 trillion as of the end of the first quarter in 2011, according to results from the recently released NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI). The index has tracked reverse mortgage market opportunity since 2000 by analyzing and reporting on trends in senior home values and home equity levels.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgages servicers should be required to give every mortgage holder “a good-faith review of foreclosure alternatives” before taking steps to take his or her home, CRL president Michael Calhoun told Congress today.

Northbrook, IL - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Boulder Group’s Research Department has released a new research report providing comprehensive numbers and analysis of the 2nd quarter activity in the National Net Lease Market

Mooresville, NC - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Langtree Real Estate Group announces brokerage operation in Mooresville. "We are very enthusiastic about launching this new venture" says Brad Howard, Langtree Real Estate Group's President & Principal. "Our focus is to offer the region increased value and services. The key difference in our approach compared to other real estate companies is our vested interest in the area. Our extensive work in land development gives us a unique understanding of this region. We are confident there is no one better positioned to provide such services to the Lake Norman Region as Langtree Real Estate Group."

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) has announced details surrounding the 2011 Future Technology Pavilion that will appear on the CEDIA EXPO tradeshow floor.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today published an online newsletter that provides a guide for national banks seeking to invest in solar energy projects under the national bank public welfare investment authority. The on-line newsletter describes how banks have used the public welfare investment authority to invest in funds and other financing vehicles that are structured to pass-through the benefit from the energy investment tax credit to entities such as schools, universities, hospitals, and Federally- subsidized rental housing developments.

Miami, FL - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federated Companies, a leading national real estate investment and development firm, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the contract to purchase seven lots of land totaling 3.25 acres in the Bayside Development area of Portland, Maine. The land is located on Somerset and Elm Streets, is currently owned by the City of Portland and received unanimous approval from the City Council of Portland to be sold to The Federated Companies. The Federated Companies' worked diligently to incorporate the city's concept into the master plan for the mixed-use site which includes housing, retail, a medical office, and a public parking structure. The company will continue to develop the master plan and timeline with the city.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 1 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved $45 million to enable Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) to expand its housing microfinance lending (HMF) – a growing impact investment sector that will help thousands of low-income families around the world build, improve, and maintain decent homes.

COLTON, CA - July 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Inland Empire-based Hodgdon Group, a full-service real estate brokerage, development and construction team, announced today that it has completed the conversion of the former Wickes Furniture building at the Centre Pointe Marketplace in Santa Clarita, Calif., for the opening of an Ashley Furniture HomeStore on July 1, 2011.

Northbrook, IL - July 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Pamida property located at 1500 East Sheridan Street in Ely, MN for $2,650,000.

Herndon, VA - July 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Institute for Building Technology and Services (IBTS) today opened its new Municipal Services Center on Sullivan Road which will be the hub for public service delivery to the city's 27,000 residents.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Research Support Facility (RSF) located on the campus of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been certified LEED® Platinum for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction.

Providence - July 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Community Builders and YouthBuild USA today announced an innovative partnership in Providence that will provide opportunities for low-income young people enrolled in local YouthBuild programs to build and renovate affordable housing and pursue careers in the real estate industry. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, and U.S. Congressman David Cicilline, along with students and local and national YouthBuild leaders, spoke at the event announcing the partnership.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- ForeclosureListings.com has noticed falling and rising trends in foreclosures in recent months. Why? When the supply of homes outweighs the demand for them, the prices shrink. When the values are attractive enough to investors with enough money to withstand the smaller return on the investment, the supply is reduced and the prices sustain at a present level until the next surge of depressed properties are on the market available at discounted prices.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Executives from the private, public and nonprofit sector today joined Events DC (Washington Convention and Sports Authority) and Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) for the launch of Greenspace, NCR, the District’s first green learning and resource center located at Nationals Park in the Capital Riverfront neighborhood. During the event, Greenspace unveiled its plans for a $2 million, 12,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility designed to meet the LEED platinum standard of the U.S. Green Building Council. Leveraging an exceptional network of partnerships, Greenspace intends to build the skills, knowledge and capacity of professionals, policymakers and the public to create ground breaking green communities across the region.

Arlington, VA - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thayer Long, president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute, issued the following statement on in the IBIS World, Inc. research report falsely characterizing the state of the manufactured housing industry.

New York, NY & Greenwich, CT - June 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman and Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) jointly announced today the completion of a $23 million refinancing and arrangement of up to $13 million in construction financing for the City Club Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The loan will allow for the construction of up to 66 additional rooms to be built above the existing small luxury hotel, home to Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne, which occupies a prime location on 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $83,941,360 in grants through the National Farmworker Jobs Program to combat the chronic unemployment and underemployment experienced by migrant and seasonal farmworkers who depend primarily on agricultural labor jobs. A total of $78,253,180 will go to 52 organizations nationwide to provide training, employment and support services for farmworkers and their families. An additional $5,688,600 will go to 16 organizations to provide temporary or permanent housing assistance

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- USAA Real Estate Company, co-developer with Cambridge Development Group of The Preserve on Fredericksburg, announced the sale of the 376-unit Class-A multi-family project located in San Antonio, Texas to an undisclosed institutional investor. Will Balthrope with the Balthrope Group of Institutional Property Advisors, a Marcus & Millichap Company, represented USAA in the transaction. Details of the purchase and sale agreement have not been disclosed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- CRL, the National Consumer Law Center and other groups yesterday filed a joint comment letter on why a new proposal by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency makes no sense, will not stand up in court, and should be withdrawn. [Read the letter: http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/policy-legislation/regulators/comments-to-the-occ-we.html.]