MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVED STORIES | October 2009

Page
Hong Kong Faces Property Bubble Explosion as Home Prices Rise 28% This Year

Hong Kong Faces Property Bubble Explosion as Home Prices Rise 28% This Year

(HONG KONG) -- Speculators are having a field day in Hong Kong's frenzied home market. The government is fighting hard in this city of seven million residents to keep the price bubble from bursting. Read More

 
Abu Dhabi's Newest 5-Star Resort Opened This Week

Abu Dhabi's Newest 5-Star Resort Opened This Week

(ABU DHABI, UAE) -- Abu Dhabi is on a roll.Amidst the toughest real estate slowdown in decades, Abu Dhabi announced a breathtaking a new five-star luxury resort that epitomizes the culture and roots of the United Arab Emirates. Qasr al... Read More

 
Prudential Douglas Elliman Reports Brooklyn Q-3 Real Estate Market Stats

Prudential Douglas Elliman Reports Brooklyn Q-3 Real Estate Market Stats

(BROOKLYN, NY) -- The number of sales for the quarter surged for the second consecutive quarter, rising 29.3% to 1,847 units from 1,428 units in the second quarter. Despite the increase in activity, the number of sales were 19.6% below the 2,298 number of sales in the prior year quarter. Read More

 
Alex's View of the World

Alex's View of the World

I don't know about you, but I have been following closely the shenanigans that have been going on for the past 18 months at  451 7th Street S.W. in Washington, DC 20410That's the address of the Federal Housing Administration which... Read More

 
The Latest in Luxury Resort & Real Estate News

The Latest in Luxury Resort & Real Estate News

Jack Nicklaus to Open New Punta Mita Bahia Golf CourseJack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course - Tail of the Whale, 19th hole (PUNTA MITA, MEXICO) -- Punta Mita, one of Mexico's most luxurious resort and residential communities, is preparing for the... Read More

 
Q & A with Dottie Herman

Q & A with Dottie Herman

Dottie Herman Q1 - My wife and I fell in love with a home in New Jersey. Next door is an abandoned house that is not visually attractive. We are very torn as we assume that would decrease our resale... Read More

 
Freddie Mac Reports Mortgage Rates Nearly Flat in New Survey

Freddie Mac Reports Mortgage Rates Nearly Flat in New Survey

(MCLEAN, VA) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.03 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending October 29, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 5.00 percent. Read More

 
Devalued $2B Las Vegas Land Deal Could Leave Howard Hughes Heirs Out in Cold

Devalued $2B Las Vegas Land Deal Could Leave Howard Hughes Heirs Out in Cold

(LAS VEGAS, NV) -- Howard Hughes--an enigma alive and a perplexing puzzle in death as well. At least to about 1,000 of his direct and indirect heirs. They could lose sharing up to $100 million in a devalued, 7,000 acre land development in Las Vegas, according to The Wall Street Journal. Read More

 
Ending of First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit Affecting New Home Sales Slowdown, Says NAHB

Ending of First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit Affecting New Home Sales Slowdown, Says NAHB

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- After five consecutive months of increases, sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000 units in September, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department today.Joe Robson... Read More

 
DEAL OF THE WEEK

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Weingarten Closes $160M Joint Venture Deal With JamestownHouston REIT Sells 4 Shopping Centers for $114M to New JVSecond Phase will see 2 More Centers Sold to JV for $46MGermany-based Jamestown Will own 80% of the JV;    Weingarten, 20%Weingarten Sells 100,600-SF... Read More

 
U.S. Government Reports New Residential Home Sales Slip in September

U.S. Government Reports New Residential Home Sales Slip in September

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today that the sales of new one-family houses in September 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000.This is 3.6 percent (±10.2%)... Read More

 
Mortgage Applications Decrease, Says MBA

Mortgage Applications Decrease, Says MBA

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 23, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 12.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. Read More

 
Key Global Hotel Performance Metrics Are Mixed in September

Key Global Hotel Performance Metrics Are Mixed in September

(LONDON, UK & HENDERSONVILLE, TN) -- The Americas region recorded declines in all three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollars for September 2009, according to data compiled by STR and STR Global. Read More

 
NAR Urges Congress to Keep Momentum Going With Housing Tax Credit

NAR Urges Congress to Keep Momentum Going With Housing Tax Credit

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- Consumers are just starting to see the first glimmers of a bright future for the housing market and the overall economy. It's up to Congress to make that glimmer a reality by building on the momentum created... Read More

 
 Third-Quarter Foreclosures Down in 52 Small U.S. Markets But Up in Larger Metro Areas

Third-Quarter Foreclosures Down in 52 Small U.S. Markets But Up in Larger Metro Areas

(IRVINE, CA) -- Numbers don't lie. But you might never know it by just glancing at the text in RealtyTrac's new third-quarter residential foreclosures report released today. Read More

 
Debt-Loaded Dubai Banking on Rising Oil Prices to Re-Fuel Real Estate Blitz

Debt-Loaded Dubai Banking on Rising Oil Prices to Re-Fuel Real Estate Blitz

(DUBAI, U.A.E.) -- Like a Las Vegas gambler who seldom admits failure, Dubai government officials are trekking to London and Frankfurt in the next several weeks to raise the second $10 billion in a $20 billion bond program launched in February of this year. Read More

 
Capmark's $21B Debt Load Triggers Chapter 11 Filing

Capmark's $21B Debt Load Triggers Chapter 11 Filing

(HORSHAM, PA) -- Saddled with an insurmountable debt load of $21 billion, Capmark Financial Group Inc. and 43 affiliates have together filed for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.The Oct. 25 filing was expected by financial industry sources.... Read More

 
Goldman Sachs Report Credits Obama With Average Home Price Rise of 5%

Goldman Sachs Report Credits Obama With Average Home Price Rise of 5%

(NEW YORK, NY) -- A puzzling new Goldman Sachs report credits President Barack Obama's administration with helping to increase the average price of houses by 5 percent in the past few months, then warns that increase may only be temporary.President... Read More

 
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Reports Continued Upward Movement

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Reports Continued Upward Movement

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Data through August 2009, released today by Standard & Poor's for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved compared to last month's reading. Read More

 
Prudential Douglas Elliman Releases Long Island Q-3 Real Estate Report

Prudential Douglas Elliman Releases Long Island Q-3 Real Estate Report

(NEW YORK, NY) -- There were 5,603 sales in the third quarter, 41.6% higher than the 3,956 sales of the second quarter and 5.9% higher than the same period last year. This was the first time in the past year the number of sales increased over the prior year quarter and only the second time since the beginning of 2007. Read More

 
Page