Archive for February 2008

Washington, D.C.–U.S. home prices showed an annual decline for the first time in 16 years in 2007, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in Washington, D.C.Home prices fell 0.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the last quarter of 2007, BusinessWeek reports. Prices dropped 1.3 percent from the third to…

New York–The euro hit a new high against the dollar Wednesday as weak U.S. housing results and Federal Reserve comments suggested future rate cuts, The Financial Times reports.Declining consumer confidence and U.S. home prices–coupled with an increase in producer price inflation and comments from the Federal Reserve’s Don Kohn about reduced growth being a greater…

Washington, D.C.–Government-backed mortgage company Fannie Mae said Wednesday that it had lost $3.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Washington Post reports.This year’s loss–$2.1 billion–was related to mortgage defaults, declining home prices and “extraordinary disruptions in the credit markets,” according to Fannie Mae chief executive Daniel H. Mudd. Last year, Washington, D.C.-based Fannie…

Washington, D.C.–President Bush said Tuesday he would veto a bill the Senate Democrats are sponsoring to give homeowners facing foreclosure more bargaining options, The New York Times reported Wednesday.Banks and mortgage lenders also don’t support the bill, which would let bankruptcy court judges alter mortgage terms when restructuring debt in a bankruptcy case. The bill’s…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorReno, Nev.–InsideValuation, a Reno, Nev.-based real estate valuation company that provides valuation reports to the commercial and residential mortgage market, has upgraded its collateral risk-scoring model, InsideRisk.The InsideRisk scoring model was initially developed in 2005 to provide Wall Street investment banks with an additional level of risk rating for properties…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLaconia, N.H.–Black Widow Network, a social networking site for real estate investors that launched in January 2008, allows its members to connect with people in the industry as well as view, post and send investment deals to their contacts.Kevin Skarritt, who is on the board of advisors of the Boston…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNanjing, CHINA–Los Angeles-based Rothenberg Sawasy Architects (RSA) has been chosen to design Venice Water City, a 2.3-million sq.-ft. mixed-use project overlooking the Yangtze River in Nanjing, China.Developed by Suning Corp., the project will include 10 high-rise residential towers and 53,000 sq. ft. of retail.“Because of the site’s proximity to the…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCatskill, N.Y.–The New Jersey office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.), a commercial real estate and capital markets services provider, has arranged $4 million in financing for Catskill Creek Condominiums, a 24-unit condo community in Catskill, N.Y., about 2.5 hours north of New York City. On behalf of Tower Management Service…

Washington, D.C.– Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, has joined Fannie Mae as its vice president and chief economist, where he will lead Fannie Mae’s Economics and Mortgage Market Analysis Department within the company’s Business Strategy Group. He will join the company in April.As chief economist at Fannie…