Monthly Archives: May 2011

Washington, D.C. - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Vermont received national recognition for award-winning affordable housing programs on May 3 when the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development announced the Doorknocker Awards at the 20th anniversary of the HOME Program. The HOME Program is a block grant to states and cities used to fund housing affordable to lower-income Americans. The Green Mountain State took home two awards and an honorable mention in the competition, with only 14 awards presented nationally.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- At a time when qualified home buyers are experiencing difficulty in obtaining mortgages because of overly restrictive underwriting requirements, the federal government needs to ensure that a reliable and adequate flow of housing credit is available through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)."If we look to the dramatic increase of FHA's market share over the past few years, we can see how essential the program is for our nation's economic recovery," NAHB First Vice Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., told the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.

CALABASAS, CA - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Porky Products, Inc. one of the largest independent meat and seafood distributors in the country, has signed a seven year lease for approximately 6,000 square feet of office space at 5230 Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, CA, according to Robert D. Erickson, a Principal with Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc., who represented the tenant in the transaction.“

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --A 15-unit multifamily asset here was sold for $2,450,000, among the highest prices paid on a per square foot and on a gross rent multiplier basis in the North Hollywood submarket since 2007, according to Jeff McGuire, Senior Vice President, Special Assets and a Principal of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc, who represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction.

HOBOKEN, N.J. - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- One of Hoboken’s newest luxury rental communities, 800 Madison Street, traded this week. Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group orchestrated the property’s sale from Tarragon Corp. to CB Richard Ellis Investors.

New York, NY - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Flatbush Gardens Tenants Association filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court today against David Bistricer, a principal of Renaissance Equity Holdings LLC, which owns and operates Flatbush Gardens, the sprawling 59-building housing complex in Brooklyn. Renaissance and an affiliated LLC are also named as defendants.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of North Dakota and provide support to homeowners and low-income r...

WASHINGTON, DC - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- HUD’s failure to keep pace with the volume of multifamily mortgage applications is exacerbating the nation’s shortage of workforce housing, jeopardizing the thousands of jobs created by new apartment construction and reducing the new revenues the program could be generating for the federal government.

Washington, DC - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency today reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 4.80 percent based on loans closed in April. This is a decrease of 0.04 percent from the previous month.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Idaho and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following flooding, landslides, and mudslides storm during March and April.

May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates, one of the largest national commercial real estate providers with regional expertise, has closed a $1.9 million sales transaction for a 42,700-square-foot industrial building located at 7260 Sycamore Canyon Boulevard in Riverside, California.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing affordability during the first quarter of 2011 rose to its highest level in the more than 20 years it has been measured, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) data released today.The HOI indicated that 74.6 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2011 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. This eclipsed the previous high of 73.9 percent set during the fourth quarter of 2010 and marked the ninth consecutive quarter that the index has been above 70 percent. Until 2009, the HOI rarely topped 65 percent and never reached 70 percent.

May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- WHATg>: Vermont will be recognized nationally for its outstanding work in producing affordable housing and creating sustainable living environments

PITTSBURGH, PA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A resident of Richland Township, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 27 months in prison and two years of supervised release on his conviction of wire fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the creation of the California Attorney General's Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, staffed by Department of Justice attorneys and investigators charged with protecting innocent homeowners and bringing to justice those who defraud them.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Buellton man was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison for defrauding banks by nearly simultaneously seeking home equity lines of credit from four different federally insured financial institutions. Larry P. Corbi Jr., 36, who resided in Marina del Rey during the course of the scheme and has since relocated to the Central Coast, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer. In addition to the prison term, Judge Fischer ordered Corbi to pay $356,644 in restitution.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mitigation specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in Memphis Lowe's and Home Depot stores this week. They will answer questions and offer home improvement tips and proven techniques to prevent and lessen damage from future disasters.

NEW YORK, NY - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- On behalf of Morgans Hotel Group, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels today announced the sale of the Morgans and Royalton Hotels in New York. FelCor Lodging Trust purchased the two hotels for $140 million. Leading the Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels team on this transaction was Executive Vice President Jeffrey Davis with Vice President Gilda Perez-Alvarado.

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A second man who was employed as an inspector with the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal bribery charges for taking thousands of dollars in bribes to approve work done at residential construction sites in South Los Angeles, even though the work had not been inspected.

San Francisco, CA - May 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Oliver Burgelman, long-time agent at Zephyr Real Estate, has created a new web tool to demonstrate how the real estate market in San Francisco is trending. The website, allows viewers to instantly see on a San Francisco map whether the average price per square foot is increasing or decreasing. This unique market-trends tool shows properties currently available for sale in all of San Francisco, or by one of the 10 MLS districts, by neighborhood or by a customized “price square” of the viewer’s choosing.