Washington, D.C.–Senate Banking Committee leaders announced Monday that they had reached a compromise on a heavily debated housing bill to prevent foreclosures and restructure how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are monitored, CNNMoney.com said.  Under the plan, the Federal Housing Administration will be allowed to insure $300 billion in new loans for borrowers whose lenders write their loan balance down to less than the homes’ appraised value.Arranged by the Banking Committee’s leading Democrat and Republican–Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala.–the bill would create an affordable housing fund that would be used to provide funding for the…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. wholesale prices rose only slightly last month due to reduced food and energy costs–but the core rate of inflation increased at twice the rate analysts expected, The Wall Street Journal reports.Following a 1.1 percent increase in March, the producer price index for finished goods grew 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said Tuesday.Producer prices have risen 6.5 percent on an unadjusted basis in the 12 months ending in April, the Journal said.Energy prices in the wholesale sector fell 0.2 percent in April after a 2.9 percent rise in March; gas dropped 4.6 percent, but…

New York–The U.S. credit crisis will last beyond 2009, and banks will write off more than $170 billion in additional reserves, New York-based investment firm Oppenheimer & Co. said in a research note released Tuesday.”The real harrowing days of the credit crisis are still in front of us and will prove more widespread in effect than anything yet seen,” according to a team of analysts led by Meredith Whitney. “Just as strained liquidity pushed so many small and mid-sized specialty finance companies to beyond the brink, we believe it will do the same with the U.S. consumer.”Along with Kaimon Chung…

Atlanta–Home improvement retailer Home Depot announced a 66 percent quarterly profit decline Tuesday because the housing slump caused it to close stores and reduce expansion, the New York Times reports.Atlanta-based Home Depot’s earnings dropped from $1.05 billion in 2007 to $356 million in the quarter ending May 4. The company is closing 15 stores and eliminated plans to launch 50 new locations, which cost it $543 million.Total sales declined 3.4 percent to $17.9 billion; sales at stores open more than a year dropped 6.5 percent.The average purchase at Home Depot slid 2.8 percent to $57.36 in the first quarter, and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPlymouth, Mass.–Equibase Capital Group LLC recently provided a $1.35 million bridge loan to Abbott Real Estate Development, a residential development firm, based in Boston.The highly-structured loan will be used to support Abbott Real Estate’s acquisition, zoning, and redevelopment of a vacant Wal-Mart located in Plymouth, Mass., into a 150-unit apartment complex on the property’s 5.8 acres of land. The apartment complex, known as Abbott Residences at Cordage Park, is the cornerstone of the Cordage Park Smart Growth District. Abbott Residences at Cordage Park will be a commuter-friendly development adjacent to the Plymouth MBTA station of the…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorOakland, Calif.–PropertyBridge, Inc. recently launched a new edition of its Payments Platform. This version will offer new features, making the electronic payment service more user-friendly, says the company.The new version of PropertyBridge’s Payments Platform improves upon several elements of previous editions, including line item detail for the outstanding balance, saving of payment account information, scheduled reporting functions, customizable homepage announcements, check scanning batch histories and recurring payment reminders through email.PropertyBridge,  an electronic payment service provider for residential real estate management,  works with their clients to customize programs to fit their business goals and objectives. Such tailored…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPhiladelphia–Trump Tower Philadelphia is expected to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification when complete.The 45-story luxury condo project features 225 residences with 363 parking spaces. The project offers 60,000 square feet of amenities including a tranquil spa, fitness center, indoor pool, on-premise restaurant, wine cellar and tasting room, cigar lounge, and business center with conference and screening rooms. Outdoor amenities include a tennis court, outdoor pool, jogging track, putting green and serenity gardens.“We are committed to an eco-friendly development on all levels,” says Donald J. Trump, CEO of the Trump Organization….

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) praised the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 legislation, which was approved by the Senate Banking Committee today. Jerry Howard, CEO of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), tells MHN that the bill shores up the housing industry as a whole. “In that sense, it will be good for the multi-housing industry. Specifically, for for-sale multi-housing, it restores confidence and in case of rental multi-housing, it helps developers find capital.”The House this month approved a similar foreclosure rescue bill. “Both the versions are positive and…

Washington, D.C.–Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. told business leaders Friday that the economy was headed toward a recovery, the New York Times reports.“We are still working through housing and capital markets issues and expect to be doing so for some time,” Paulson said at a Washington Post-sponsored conference in Washington, D.C. “We also expect to see a faster pace of economic growth before the end of the year.”Paulson also said that the stimulus checks being sent over the next few months would greatly influence the economy and help offset housing, capital market issues and increased food and energy costs.Although…

Washington, D.C.–Although many homeowners hope the housing decline that’s been gripping the market for almost two years is almost over, some economists fear it may deepen.The U.S. housing decline has helped freeze credit markets and cause hundreds of thousands of foreclosures–but to avoid a full recession, the economy is going to have to recover without the housing market’s help, according to the Los Angeles Times.”The slowdown we’ve seen in the U.S. economy since late last year appears to be directly linked to the housing crisis and the self-reinforcing cycle of defaults and foreclosures, putting more downward pressure on the housing…