McLean, Va.–Freddie Mac said Wednesday that foreclosures and declining home prices cost it $1.45 billion in credit-related expenses in the first quarter, the Washington Post reports.The expenses were 58.8 percent higher than the previous quarter and were a 452.7 percent increase from the first quarter of 2007.The McLean-based agency said it lost $151 million in the three months ended March 31. By selling more common and preferred stock, Freddie Mac plans to raise $5.5 billion in capital to help meet the troubled housing market’s needs, Chief Financial Officer Anthony S. “Buddy” Piszel said in a news release.

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Time Equities Inc. (TEI), headquartered in New York, recently launched the company’s residential brokerage division, which will offer the company’s existing and new clients access to sales and rental listings in non-TEI New York City and New Jersey properties in addition to all TEI projects.Under the leadership of Roberta Axelrod, director of residential sales, rentals and conversions and Maggie Ocampo, residential brokerage manager, TEI to hire 10 employees for the division. Six people have already been hired and the division is open for business.As members of The Real Estate Boards of New York and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorHyattsville, Md.–Alliant Capital closed a $8,289,500 second loan, collateralized by the Avondale Overlook Apartments, a 247-unit high-rise apartment complex in Hyattsville, Md.The 13-story building, built in 1966, has been substantially renovated and the new loan is being used to pay back the equity partners who bore the cost of the renovation.Renovations included replacement of the roof, elevator cars and equipment, fire alarm system, exit signs, and selected building entry doors. Exterior brick veneer has been tuck pointed, exterior concrete pilasters and upper-floor concrete decks were repaired as required, and new railings have been installed. 193…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–In the past five years, smoking bans have come into effect in many apartment and condo communities as landlords and residents continue to push the cause through a growing and voluntary movement, according to Apartments.com, which recently conducted a national survey of renters on the topic.While the majority of renters surveyed (62 percent) by Apartments.com do not smoke, opinions on whether or not to ban smoking in apartment communities were almost equal on both sides. A slight majority (45 percent) of renters surveyed do not believe that smoking should be banned in apartment communities, while…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAtlanta–Construction on No. 10 Park, Lane Co.’s newest development, has begun. The $60 million luxury rental community, located at Perimeter Center East and Ashford Dunwoody Road, features 312 units. The first residents are expected to move in by the summer of 2009, followed by completion of the entire project in the fall.“The Perimeter area is one of the strongest markets in the metro Atlanta area,” John Bell, development partner for Lane Southeast LLC, tells MHN. “Low apartment vacancies and strong job growth will mean a continued demand for luxury apartments,” he added.The project features one-…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorMinneapolis–Eitel Building City Apartments, a 213-unit adaptive reuse luxury apartment community developed by Village Green Cos., combines modern green building with a piece of the city’s history by incorporating a part of Eitel Hospital into the project.The development’s interior design is more streamlined and Asian-inspired. “We kept the historic elements of the hospital and added to it a more contemporary feel,” says Andrea Roebker, director of public relations for Village Green, based in Farmington Hills, Mich.As an environmentally conscious project, Eitel has an underground tank to filter sediments and control water quality before it leaves the…

London–London’s property market saw the most widespread price drops in 14 years in April due in part to a financial services sector decline and reduced lending, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.The number of residential property agents and surveyors who found prices declined surpassed the amount that reported growth by 94 percentage points in April–the lowest amount since records began in 1994. Bloomberg said.The surveyors’ country-wide reading fell to negative 95.1–the lowest reading since 1978.Last month, banks hiked the cost of their most popular mortgages up to the highest level in eight years, Bloomberg said. By 2011, London…

Washington, D.C.–Central Republican and Democratic Senate negotiators said that they have not been able to reach agreement on a plan to help fix the U.S. mortgage crisis, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.Aides to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and the senior Republican on his committee, Richard C. Shelby, Ala., have been discussing a possible bipartisan plan for a month, but the conversation tapered off on Friday.Dodd announced a separate housing bill Monday to help homeowners exchange risky mortgages for affordable ones with federal government backing. A committee drafting session is scheduled for Thursday.However, Dodd’s bill isn’t likely…

Horsham, Pa.–Luxury builder Toll Brothers Inc. said Tuesday that its preliminary fiscal second quarter results indicated homebuilding sales had fallen 30 percent, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.”The just-completed spring selling season was quite weak in most markets as buyers remained on the sidelines,” chairman and chief executive officer Robert I. Toll said.The Horsham, Pa.-based homebuilder announced preliminary revenues of $817.9 million, a $1.17 billion reduction from a year ago. Land sale revenue for the quarter was $800,000; last year, it was $2 million.In the last six months, sales plummeted 27 percent to $1.66 billion. Toll Brothers’ cancellation rate was 24.9 percent….