Washington, D.C.–Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said he is close to settling a foreclosure prevention plan with Republican lawmakers, Bloomberg reported Thursday. “We’re very, very close to an agreement,” Dodd said. “I’m still confident we can get there.”A hearing is scheduled for Thursday on Dodd’s plan to have lenders forgive a portion of outstanding home loans and have the Federal Housing Administration insure the refinanced mortgages.Dodd and Senator Richard Shelby, R.-Ala., worked into the “wee hours” to alter the plan, Dodd said. In a CNBC interview Thursday, Shelby said he and Dodd were close to a compromise,…

Miami–In cities such as Miami, Chicago and San Diego, condo owners are finding neighbors who default on their assessments and management companies that go bankrupt can translate into extra fees and maintenance issues, the New York Times reported Thursday.Monthly condo fees are supposed to cover ownership responsibilities such as water and lawn maintenance; but some unit owners have found that in the current economy, some neighbors and management companies are slowing or stopping the payments.The trend is leading owners to taking on some maintenance duties, including building security–and destroying the sense of community in some buildings.Condo market troubles–occurring mostly in…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. industrial production dropped in April and first-time unemployment benefits increased, adding more speculation that the country may have entered a recession, the Financial Times said Thursday.Industrial output fell 0.7 percent last month. Total manufacturing output declined by 0.8 percent–the largest monthly drop in more than two years. Capacity utilization, U.S. factories’ operating rate, dropped 0.7 percentage points to 79.7 percent–the first time it has fallen below 80 since 2005.Because the weak U.S. dollar has provided incentive for exporters, manufacturing was forecast to buck the current economy; but the reduction in domestic demand has caused lay-offs as employers brace…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCamden, N.J./Hatboro, Pa.–The Kislak Co. Inc. has arranged the sale of three apartment complexes totaling over $20.3 million in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.The sales transactions included the $11.891 million sale of Crescent Gardens, a 240-unit apartment property located at 1622 Independence Rd., and Gramercy Park Apartments, a 104-unit rental community located at 2880 Hull Rd. in Camden, N.J. Kushner Properties owned both the properties. At the time of the sale, the properties were 95 percent occupied.The second transaction included the $8.5 million sale of The Garner House, a 102-unit mixed-use complex, located at 50 South…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorBoston–With the theme of this year’s AIA Convention “We the People,” the opening session set the tone for the conference with a philanthropic message and an embrace of affordable housing.AIA President Marshall E. Purnell addressed the goals for architecture as a profession going forward. The earth has a limited number of resources and limited space for waste disposal, Purnell stated, and to that end, architects need to take responsibility and become aware of their footprints. “Imagine the possibilities of American architects serving the world,” he said.Introducing the theme speaker, Purnell stated that the primary responsibility of…

Schott’s Transformation Glass Schott’s latest product, Mirona, an innovative glass that transforms TV and computer screens into mirrors, debuted at the 2008 American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention being held in Boston May 15 and 16.Mirona transformation glass is coated on both sides with an optical interference layer. It turns glass displays, such as computer screens and TVs into mirrors when not in use, but when the display is turned on, the image is displayed flawlessly upon the surface.“Wall-mounted flat screen TVs—now ubiquitous throughout the world—have become the ‘blackholes’ of interior decor, especially when they’re not in use,” says…

Marki Lemons is a broker with Rubloff Residential Properties, a Chicago-based residential real estate firm. Lemons is a native of Chicago’s south side, and with nearly a decade of experience in the industry, has become a well known name when it comes to foreclosures and short sales. In fact, Lemons is known as Chicago’s “Queen of Foreclosures,” among her peers.In the current market, Lemons is witnessing more and more owners of properties valued upwards of $500,000 coming to her for help. This trend has serious implications for the state of the housing market, but could also mean that a burgeoning…

Flintshire, U.K.–Redrow, one of the U.K.’s biggest homebuilders, became the first major homebuilder to eliminate jobs during the housing decline on Tuesday, the Telegraph reports.Roughly 15 percent of Redrow’s workforce–200 people–already have been laid off and more cuts may be on the way, according to the Telegraph. The typically busy spring sales season has been sluggish due to increasingly tighter lending standards. Home cancellation rates had been about 20 percent but recently have “markedly increased,” the Flintshire-based builder said.

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called the status of the financial market “far from normal” Tuesday and warned that no regulation could prevent another liquidity crisis, the Times Online reports.Bernanke, speaking via satellite to a financial markets conference audience, said the Fed was ready to raise the amount lent to commercial banks to keep a steady state of liquidity.Noting that the process could “take some time,” he also encouraged fund management groups and banks to raise new capital for potential future upsets and suggested they enhance their risk management measures.Bernanke’s comments–along with negative U.S. home price results and…

Washington, D.C.–As the U.S. works to recover from the recent housing and credit market fallouts, the Federal Reserve is rethinking the way it handles asset price bubbles–which could result in the Fed using regulation or interest rates to battle increases, the Financial Times said Wednesday.Former chairman Alan Greenspan’s notion that central banks shouldn’t touch asset bubbles, concentrating instead on correcting the aftermath once they rupture, is being reconsidered.The Fed may approach asset bubbles differently, according to the Times, possibly using monetary policy to act proactively or setting interest rates higher when asset prices appear to be rising too rapidly.Although it…