Real Estate News

New home sales take surprise tumble
Effect of the soon-to-expire, first-time buyer tax credit begins to fade
By the Associated Press
October 28, 2009

WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes dropped unexpectedly last month as the effects of a temporary tax credit for first-time owners started to wane.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales fell 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000 from a downwardly revised 417,000 in August. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a pace of 440,000.

Home Prices Rise, Yet Confidence Fades
By Conor Dougherty and James R. Hagerty
The Wall Street Journal
October 28, 2009

Real-estate prices increased for the fourth consecutive month, but consumers are feeling more glum, a disconnect that shows how rising unemployment continues to weigh on households even as the economy improves.

Hilton Debt Load Weighs on Blackstone
Buyout Firm in Talks With Lenders to Slice $5 Billion Off Loans in Bid to Shore Up Hotel Chain
By Lingling Wei and Peter Lattman
The Wall Street Journal
October 28, 2009

Blackstone Group LP has begun talks with lenders to cut up to $5 billion from the $20 billion debt load carried by Hilton Worldwide, as the private-equity firm seeks to protect its single biggest investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bank ‘improperly’ blocks new Muvico deal at Block 37: Freed
By Eddie Baeb and Thomas A. Corfman
Crain's Chicago Business
October 27, 2009

A deal for a Muvico movie theater at Block 37 is in jeopardy after Bank of America Corp. “improperly” refused to approve revised lease terms for the upscale movie theater, according to the developer’s response to the lender’s foreclosure lawsuit.

Bank ‘improperly’ blocks new Muvico deal at Block 37: Freed
By Eddie Baeb and Thomas A. Corfman
Crain's Chicago Business
October 27, 2009

A deal for a Muvico movie theater at Block 37 is in jeopardy after Bank of America Corp. “improperly” refused to approve revised lease terms for the upscale movie theater, according to the developer’s response to the lender’s foreclosure lawsuit.

Home prices rise in most major cities in August
By J.W. Elphinstone, AP Real Estate Writer
October 27, 2009

Home prices rose for the third straight month in August, data Tuesday showed, a key sign for a broad and sustained housing recovery.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities climbed 1 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted reading of 144.5. While prices are down 11.4 percent from August a year ago, the annual declines have slowed since February.

Capmark Seeks Chapter 11
The Wall Street Journal
By Mike Spector, Lingling Wei and Peter Lattman
October 27, 2009

One of the nation's largest commercial-real-estate lenders filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware, the latest sign that problems in that market are far from over.

Wall Street vs. Main Street: Courts Beginning to Side in Favor of Foreclosed Property Owners
By George W. Mantor
October 27, 2009

Agents involved in foreclosures and short sales may need to begin to disclose the possibility of serious property transfer defects associated with these types of lender controlled sales.

If recent court decisions are any indication, we could be headed for an explosion of litigation in this area.

City home sales rise for first time since 2006
Crain's Chicago Business
By Staff
October 23, 2009

Home sales in the city of Chicago posted a monthly year-over-year increase for the first time in more than three years, while sales throughout the Chicago area rose for the third straight month compared with last year, according to the Illinois Assn. of Realtors.

CHICAGO-AREA SALES
Below is a monthly year-over-year comparison of home sales (single-family and condo) in the nine-county Chicago area.
Month 2009 2008 Change
January 2,965 3,927 -24.5%

Is this a $6,900 home bargain?
Detroit's four-figure home prices are unusual, but investors around the country think foreclosed houses are too cheap to pass up. How to tell a great deal from a money pit.
By Lisa Gibbs, Money Magazine
October 22, 2009