Yearly Archives: 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 14, 2007 - Today, the U.S. Senate passed S.2338, legislation aimed at resetting interest rates to refinance without the usual burdens associated with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan, by a vote of 93 to 1. Much of the bill language was taken from the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007 – legislation introduced by U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) last month in order to spur action by the Senate to help ease the foreclosure crisis and increase homeownership opportunities for millions of American first-time home buyers

Dec. 14, 2007 - The Federal Reserve Board should bar prepayment penalties for subprime loans and limit the size and duration of any remaining prepayment penalties, 19 Democratic House Financial Services Committee members said in a letter yesterday to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Dec. 14, 2007 - A Senate counterpart to the House-passed H.R. 3915 was introduced late Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on behalf of Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and a dozen more panel members.

Online real estate firm Redfin offers seven recommendations for selling a home faster and for more money.

WASHINGTON, December 14, 2007 - The FHA Modernization Act of 2007, passed today by the U.S. Senate, would help protect the interest of America’s current and future homeowners by giving borrowers a safer alternative to riskier mortgage products while also helping many homeowners who may be facing foreclosure, according to the National Association of Realtors

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hitwise, a leading online competitive intelligence service, ranked REALTOR.com as the number one search term used in the real estate industry category during the month of November (1). REALTOR.com accounted for 1.56% of all searches on the Internet in the real estate category, far exceeding the next closest ranking term that captured .91% of all searches in November.

While gambles on up-and-coming neighborhoods and new developments paid off for many real estate investors during the boom, housing markets across the country are now awash with unsold condos and suffering from sluggish sales.

The Federal Reserve announced an agreement Wednesday with four foreign central banks to inject billions of dollars into the world’s financial system to make more money available for big banks to lend to smaller ones.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - December 13, 2007 - Wachovia Bank is ranked highest in customer satisfaction for primary mortgage loan originations in 2007, according to the 2007 Primary Mortgage Origination Study.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it had obtained approval from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to distribute $700,000 in monetary damages to 37 persons with disabilities pursuant to the consent decree entered in United States v. Edward Rose and Sons, et al., a case that was resolved by a consent decree entered in the Eastern District of Michigan in September 2005.

ALLAS, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Behringer Harvard announced today that it has closed on the previously announced acquisition of publicly traded IPC US REIT and its portfolio of 34 U.S. office properties. The transaction, valued at approximately $1.4 billion, includes all of Toronto-based IPC US REIT's subsidiaries at a purchase price of $9.75 per unit, of which approximately $600 million is equity and $800 million is outstanding debt.

Annual capital spending by all U.S. nonfarm businesses on structures and equipment varied cyclically, but went from about $1.05 trillion in 1999 to about $1.15 trillion in 2005, according to the Census Bureau’s

Washington, DC - December 12, 2007 - Senator Judd Gregg, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, has offered an amendment to the 2007 Farm Bill that will help millions of American homeowners hurt by the downturn in the housing market. Senator Gregg had filed the amendment in mid-November.

Washington, DC - December 12, 2007 - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announces the launch of the Education Provider Program (EPP). The program will result in an extensive "course catalog" of top-tier green building educational programs, peer-reviewed and approved by USGBC,

New York, N.Y. - December 11, 2007 - Turner Construction Company, the nation’s leading general builder, today announced that construction costs increase in the Fourth Quarter. According to the Turner Building Cost Index, the Fourth Quarter 2007 Index value is 876 which represents a 1.51 percent increase in construction costs over the Third Quarter 2007 and a 7.09 percent increase over the Fourth Quarter 2006 index.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed, increased 0.6 percent in October, marking the second consecutive monthly gain, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

WASHINGTON - December 10, 2007 - Existing-home sales are projected to trend up in 2008, with pending home sales showing a slight near-term rise, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®. However, a recovery for new-home sales is unlikely before 2009.

Real Estate website Fizber.com has launched Google Checkout payments service on their website to speed Real Estate transactions.

WASHINGTON, December 06, 2007 - The National Association of Realtors® today expressed support of President George W. Bush’s efforts to curb the increase in foreclosures due to irresponsible lending practices and complicated mortgage products by allowing modification of certain loans or freezing the interest rates for up to five years

WASHINGTON - December 6, 2007 - Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan issued the following statement today at the Department of the Treasury press conference announcing a plan to assist a key segment of subprime borrowers to modify their mortgages and avoid foreclosures