Yearly Archives: 2013

WASHINGTON, DC - October 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) announced today that the company issued approximately $5.7 billion1 of multifamily MBS in the third quarter of 2013, backed by new multifamily loans delivered by its lenders. Fannie Mae also resecuritized $1.7 billion of DUS® MBS through its Fannie Mae Guaranteed Multifamily Structures (Fannie Mae GeMSTM) program in the third quarter.

- October 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Workers at 231 10th Ave, a luxury condominium on the High Line, went on strike today. The workers, who make as little as $13 an hour in a building where one-bedroom apartments sell for $1.6 million, have been facing threats and intimidation. The union has filed 10 unfair labor practice charges against the building, owned by Vesta 24 Condominiums, but the federal shutdown has closed the National Labor relations Board, making it unable to provide relief to the workers. The workers felt that striking was their only option.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Spending a few minutes each week caring for your home is essential to ensuring its livability and value now, and getting the best sales price later. Home Maintenance Made Easy: What to Do, When to Do It, When to Call for Help published by NAHB MyHome Press, an imprint of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), explains the small, but significant steps home owners can and should take to keep their home in good working order

Fort Lauderdale, FL. - October 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Stiles Realty announced today that Carolina Business Interiors (CBI), a premier business furniture solutions provider, will open its first retail store in Florida at 337 East Las Olas Blvd. at the Plaza at Las Olas in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The company signed a lease for 2,034 square feet of ground floor office and showroom space in the Las Olas office corridor at the intersection of Third Ave and Las Olas Blvd. Stiles Realty Director of Real Estate Norm Adams, and Realty Associate, Brad Dineen, represented the landlord, Third Avenue Associates, Ltd., in the transaction.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Mortgage Master, Inc. and Washington Federal to pay civil penalties for violating the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), which requires certain mortgage lenders to accurately collect and report data about home mortgage loans. Mortgage Master will pay $425,000 and Washington Federal will pay $34,000 in civil penalties. The CFPB is also releasing a bulletin today that puts mortgage lenders on notice about the importance of submitting correct mortgage loan information under HMDA.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Homeowners frequently see their heating bills rise as fall begins and the weather cools. For this reason, homes with energy efficient and environmentally friendly features are often a priority to prospective buyers. According to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, nearly nine out of 10 recent home buyers said that heating and cooling costs were somewhat or very important when considering a home for purchase.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lawmakers considering the future of the nation’s housing finance system must understand that a “one-size-fits-all” approach will not work. The meaningful differences between the single-family and multifamily sectors, both in how they operate and how they have performed, require different solutions to avoid putting the 35 million Americans who rely on the apartment industry for their housing and the $862 billion multifamily debt market at risk. That was the core message from National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) in today’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

Fairfax, VA - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement noting the irony of Barack Obama calling delinquent mortgage borrowers “deadbeats,”comparing them to Congress questioning whether the nation can continue increasing the national debt by more than $1 trillion a year via the debt ceiling:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In July 2013, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a draft rule called Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH), which was designed to clarify the Fair Housing Act’s 1968 mandate to address segregated housing issues and promote diverse, inclusive communities. The rule is specifically geared towards entities that receive HUD funding and helping them develop fair housing plans. Manna, Inc. submitted the below comment on the draft rule (you can also find Manna’s comment on HUD’s website):

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The doors of YouthBuild programs are kept open with the support from cross-sector leaders who believe that young people are sources of leadership in local communities

DENVER - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- For the fifth consecutive year, RE/MAX, LLC ranked as the leading real estate franchise organization in the Franchise Times Top 200. The survey is based upon annual worldwide sales.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc., a member of the Lee & Associates group of companies, the nation's largest broker-owned commercial real estate provider, has announced its newest addition to the national institutional multifamily sector, Fisher|Berzack Institutional Advisors. With a track record of $5 billion in sales, the group offers specialized brokerage expertise exclusively for institutional clientele, leveraging top-tier talent, a tremendous knowledge base and a vast network of relationships along with Lee & Associates' national platform and extensive resources

Northbrook, IL - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased CVS property located at 1203 South Main Street in Bluffton, Indiana for $3,100,000.

SEATTLE, WA - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- After more than five years of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorship, now is the time to move past the temporary fixes that were put in place during the crisis and create a functional and sustainable housing finance system. But with so many plans being put forward, it can be confusing for consumers to understand how changes to the mortgage finance system might affect them. What is in store for the future of mortgage finance? How will the reform of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) evolve with the housing recovery?

Dallas, Tex. - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Dallas office of Duke Realty Corporation (Duke Realty) announced today that Anna’s Linens, a retailer of home textiles and home decor items, has leased 263,625 square feet in its Point West VI building, a 1,079,475-square-foot industrial building in Coppell, Tex. Anna’s Linens will use the space in Point West VI as a regional distribution center.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- 365 Connect, the New Orleans-based, award-winning online technology platform provider for the multifamily housing industry, announced today that 365 Connect President and CEO Kerry W. Kirby will be the featured speaker at The Tulsa Apartment Association, held October 15, 2013, at the Crowne Plaza Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kirby is a frequent guest speaker and panelist at various industry events and webinars.

DENVER - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Stan Kniss, an accomplished veteran of the residential construction and real estate industries, has joined Kentwood City Properties in downtown Denver as a Broker Associate. Kniss was recognized as the Top Salesperson of the Year in 1999 and 2000 by the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and has personally sold more than $450 million in total real estate sales volume and has facilitated over 500 successful transactions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today that the joint venture between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that will build and operate a new common securitization platform has reached some important milestones. A Certificate of Formation has been filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, establishing Common Securitization Solutions, LLC? (CSS) as a limited liability company. This establishes CSS as a legally recognized entity and marks an important step in creating the joint venture, which is an equally-owned subsidiary of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Development and construction of new commercial real estate – office, industrial and retail buildings – continued its climb in 2012, supporting approximately 2.3 million American jobs and contributing $303.4 billion to the nation’s economy, marking the second year that the sector posted gains since 2007, according to a new report released today by the NAIOP Research Foundation. But industry experts warn that global economic sentiment and uncertainty in Washington and state capitals are dampening a more fulsome recovery in the sector.

Denver, CO - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “RE/MAX”), one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, has completed its initial public offering of 11,500,000 shares of Class A common stock at $22.00 per share, including the full exercise of the option to purchase 1,500,000 additional shares granted to the underwriters. The Company’s Class A common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RMAX” on October 2, 2013