Archive for April 2008

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorTony Wootton Becomes SVP at YapStoneSan Francisco–Tony Wootton (pictured first from top) has joined YapStone Inc. as senior vice president of business development. Prior to joining Yapstone, Wootton served as vice president and general manager of payment solutions at the Green Dot Corp., the leading provider of financial services to…

By Lisa Iannucci, Green Building CorrespondentOakland, Calif.–Bridge Housing Corp., a nonprofit developer of affordable housing in California, is developing Ironhorse at Central Station, a 99-unit affordable housing project that incorporates numerous sustainable or green building and landscaping features.Ironhorse is located in the Central Station neighborhood in West Oakland. It will open in late 2009, and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Ownersandbuyers.com, New York’s first “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) Web site, has launched recently. The Web site features real estate listings from sellers, allowing buyers to look for property without paying the broker’s fee.It offers people a place to market their home and buy homes via the FSBO model…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorTeaneck, N.J.–Every year, the Industrial and Office Real Estate Brokers Association of the New York Metropolitan Area (IOREBA) showcases the projects of dozens of regional developers and includes a panel discussion on a pressing industry issue. This year, it was “Going Green.”Two hundred members and guests attended IOREBA’s 16th annual…

New York–Senate Democrats and Republicans worked Wednesday to prepare the bipartisan housing bill for debate, CNNMoney.com reports.The bill may be discussed in the Senate on Thursday; it is expected to include funding to help borrowers avoid foreclosures and to help increase activity in neighborhoods with vacancies.Some information was released on Wednesday about the bill, including…

Washington, D.C.–The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits hit its highest level in more than two years, the Labor Department said Thursday.In the week that ended Mar. 29, initial jobless benefit claims grew by 38,000 to 407,000, after seasonal adjustments, The Wall Street Journal reports.The four-week new claims average swelled from 358,750 to…

Canberra, Australia–Affordability for Australian first-time homebuyers is “the worst on record,” according to one treasury official, the Daily Telegraph reports.However, people aren’t finding it difficult to spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, Phil Garton, manager of Treasury’s household and labour unit told the Senate Select Committee on Housing Affordability in Canberra…

Washington, D.C.–Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for the first time said Wednesday that the housing slump, credit crunch and financial crisis could drive the U.S. into a recession.However, when speaking to Congress, Bernanke was vague about the Fed’s next course of action, the New York Times reported Thursday.”A recession is possible,” Bernanke told Congress. ”Our…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorColorado Springs, Colo.–The scarcity of some forms of capital will be responsible in part for lower multifamily production numbers for their companies this year and in the next few years, according to a panel of leading multifamily developers speaking at the National Association of Home Builders’ Multifamily Pillars of the Industry…