RealEstateRama

February 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An administrator working for the Federal Trade Commission is mailing 1,455 refund checks to consumers defrauded by a mortgage loan modification and foreclosure rescue scam. The FTC alleged, and the court found, that operators of the scam falsely told consumers they would prevent their homes from being foreclosed and negotiate lower mortgage interest rates, monthly payments, and principal balances. The court also found that homeowners got few, if any, loan modifications, and many people lost their homes to foreclosure after paying up to $5,500.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae's latest national housing survey finds that Americans are more confident about the stability of home prices than they were at the beginning of 2010, even though they lack confidence in the strength of the economy:

COLUMBIA, MD - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise), a national leader in community development and affordable housing, today secured $62 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). Enterprise is one of 99 Community Development Entities receiving an allocation of the $3.5 billion in NMTC awarded as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Authorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. This new allocation brings Enterprise’s total NMTC awards to $672 million, $595.5 million of which has previously been invested in low-income communities nationwide, making it one of the largest allocatees of NMTCs in the country

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- … Crescent Resources, LLC hired Charlotte real estate attorney Nina Shor to serve as general counsel and create the company’s in-house legal department. Shor brings more than 25 years of experience to the new post

SPRING VALLEY, NY - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Continuing a comprehensive urban renewal plan to revitalize downtown Spring Valley, Village, County, Town and State officials today joined with representatives of CPC Resources, Inc. and Rockland Housing Action Coalition to celebrate the groundbreaking of a multi-use development featuring affordable housing and commercial space in downtown Spring Valley.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage rates retreated further this week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropping back to 5.09 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.45 discount and origination points

February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kim Armanini of Apollo Home Mortgage and Carole Morgan of StageRight Home Staging were named Affiliate of the Year. The Association cites their outstanding contribution to their industry by participating in local Association and community activities

February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- USAA Real Estate Company is pleased to announce that the Federal Bureau of Investigation Regional Facility located in Chicago, Illinois recently has been awarded The Outstanding Building of the Year Award (TOBY) in the highly competitive Chicago market.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Akinola George, 40, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bank fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank/mail fraud in a scheme that led to $2.4 million in losses.

Washington, D.C. - February 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The NAIOP Research Foundation has made individual state reports available that detail the state's data for commercial construction spending, employment and personal earnings in a 2009 vs. 2007 comparison.

February 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Homeowners in the Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., metro area paid a median of $1,576 in monthly housing costs in 2009, compared with $1,019 for renters, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Renters, however, typically paid a higher percentage of their household income on housing costs than did owners (30 percent compared with 23 percent). These figures come from the 2009 American Housing Survey (AHS), which provides extensive data on the quality and characteristics of the housing supply in selected metropolitan areas around the nation. Data for these areas are published on a rotating basis. In addition to Seattle, data were released today for the New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Northern New Jersey, and Detroit metro areas.

February 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) awarded $36.6 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants in the second round of its 2010 funding competition. The grants approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors in AHP Round B were awarded to 60 projects that address the affordable housing needs of communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington, and will produce or preserve 3,213 housing units that are affordable to lower-income individuals and families. The total amount of AHP funds awarded in 2010 is $69.1 million.

AUSTIN, TX - February 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- HomeAway® , Inc. – the world’s leading network of online vacation rentals – today announced the launch of its HomeAway Vacation Rental Search Application for Android. The app, developed by Mobiata, creators of the popular travel applications FlightTrack and TripDeck, enables travelers to search, filter and share the more than 230,000 global vacation rental listings available on HomeAway.com. Android users can now download the application for free from the Android Market.

NORFOLK, VA - February 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- For Rent Media Solutions™, a leading resource for searching apartments nationwide and a division of Dominion Enterprises, announced today that ForRent.com, the company’s anchor web site, has entered into an exclusive partnership with Oodle, whose Marketplace on Facebook and Oodle.com has more than 14 million monthly unique users. Under this partnership, ForRent.com customers will enhance its presence within the Marketplace by having its listings integrated with its Facebook Page and social graph of fans. This enhanced exposure on Facebook and in Marketplace will drive new leads and referrals to ForRent.com customers.

Des Plaines, IL - February 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly three in four (72 percent) U.S. homeowners agree the home inspection they had when they purchased their current primary residence helped them avoid potential problems with their home, according to a survey released today by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).? Also, almost two in three (64 percent) noted, in the long run, they saved a lot of money as result of their home inspection. As the housing market begins to recover, ASHI encourages homeowners and buyers to hire a certified home inspector and to get a home inspection to help further protect their investment

Washington, D.C. - February 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Three construction industry associations announced that they have joined the ConsensusDOCS Coalition, which creates standard contract documents for use by all participants in the construction industry.

Washington, D.C. - February 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The latest figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association show that reported mortgage delinquency rates moved down slightly in fourth quarter 2010, but more than five million homeowners remain at risk of losing their home to foreclosure.

San Antonio, TX - February 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- US Industrial REIT III, an affiliate of USAA Real Estate Company, announces the acquisition of a 1.1 million-square-foot, Class A bulk distribution facility located in Charleston, South Carolina. The property was acquired from sellers The Rockefeller Group and MeadWestvaco Corporation, joint venture partners. Andrew Merin and Stewart Calhoun of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction with local assistance from Colliers Keenan. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Bloomfield Hills, MI - February 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- PulteGroup, Inc., America’s premier homebuilding company, and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), the leading national independent authority on home energy performance, are teaming to expand the use of home energy efficiency labels already available in a number of PulteGroup communities including Centex, Pulte Homes and Del Webb. Homeowners are saying that having energy efficiency data while shopping helps them to better compare energy savings across multiple homes as well as giving them a better idea about utility costs after purchase.

DALLAS/FT. WORTH - February 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pulte Homes purchased land for the development of 200 homes in the sought-after Waterford Parks community in the city of Allen. The homebuilder purchased the land from Wynn Jackson Development in late 2010 and plans to begin sales in early spring.