Chicago–The Federal Home Loan Banks of Dallas and Chicago ended their merger talks, first announced in August,  due to questions about the Chicago bank’s mortgage securities holdings.The halt  in negotiations is another indication that financial institutions are still suffering from mortgage market troubles. Increased defaults and dropping home prices have cut market home loan values, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.As funding has shrunk, the 12 regional U.S. home loan banks have increased commercial bank lending.The Chicago bank’s capital base, which was at 4.9 percent of assets at the close of last year, may not be enough for its losses….

By Katelyn McWatter, Editorial InternStamford, Conn.–Ceebraid-Signal, the developer of Highgrove—Stamford’s first ultra-luxury condominium development—is bringing art to southern Connecticut, not only through creating elegant architecture, but funding museum exhibitions. Ceebraid-Signal has made a donation in support of the Bruce Museum’s upcoming 20th Century American Prints from the Bruce Museum Collection. The exhibition will highlight the printmaking techniques used by a number of 20th Century artists. “The exhibition is consistent with the image of the condo. Buyers are people who would visit and appreciate the museum,” says Jason Schlesinger, principal of Ceebraid-Signal.Creating a limited number of prints became one of the…

Chicago–Pending U.S. home sales hit their lowest level in February since the National Association of Realtors’ index began–indicating the housing slump is far from over.The NAR seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes declined from a revised January reading of 86.2 to 84.6, according to the New York Times. Because of a one- to two-month lag between contract signings and deal closings, the NAR numbers indicate how March sales may play out.August’s 85.8 reading marked the previous low. In February 2007, the index was 107.6. In 2001, when the index was started, the average level of sales activity…

Santa Monica, Calif.–Coastal properties in Southern California–including parts of Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and Long Beach–are holding value better than mainland homes, according to the Los Angeles Times.In general, beachfront home prices have fallen slightly, but they so far haven’t seen the huge property value drops other areas of Southern California have experienced. The average of median sale prices for 18 beachside areas–selected for their general affordability–in February was $1.08 million, an 8.9 percent decline from August, according to DataQuick Information Systems. In other areas, such as San Bernardino and Riverside county, homes sold in February for half of their…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorCharlotte—To help develop its sustainability initiatives, Crosland LLC, a Charlotte-based real estate company involved in residential, retail, office, land development, and general contracting, has named Jenny Vallimont sustainable manager.Vallimont, a LEED Accredited Professional since 2006, Vallimont leads Crosland’s sustainability team, which is comprised of 16 professionals in multiple business capacities. Vallimont’s first initiative was to create Crosland’s mission statement in regards to sustainability. She has already taken several steps to put the mission into action, including purchasing renewable energy certificates to compensate for 100 percent of the energy Crosland utilizes and establishing a competition to gather…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The cost of rental housing continued to climb in 2007 and into 2008, out-pacing the earnings of those in the low- and moderate-wage workforce, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) annual Out of Reach report released yesterday.The national two-bedroom housing wage climbed to $17.32, up from $16.31 in December 2006. The housing wage is the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn in order to afford the rent on a modest two-bedroom home in his or her community. The two-bedroom housing wage ranges from $29.02 in Hawaii to $9.10 in Puerto…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMacomb, Ill.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage LLC, recently completed funding of a $18,025,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS MBS program to finance the acquisition of two student housing properties totaling 361 units known as Campus Pointe and Campus Manor in Macomb, Ill. The five-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.46 percent.“We were able to close this loan as promised within 30 days to facilitate an acquisition,” says John Edwards, director, in Arbor’s Boston lending office.

Seattle–Private-equity firm TPG, along with other investors, may invest $5 billion in Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc., helping the largest U.S. savings and loan rebound from the national mortgage crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.However, the injection of new capital could weaken WaMu shareholder investments. Over the past year, shareholders have lost 74 percent of their investment.WaMu used subprime mortgages to gain large profits during the housing boom; although the effect of the subprime crisis on large banks and brokerages has received a considerable amount of press, WaMu’s issues reflect the subprime fallout’s effect on main street banks, according to…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWestminster, Calif.–Hendricks & Partners recently arranged the sale of The Trask Apartments, a 52-unit community located at 7731 Trask Ave. in Westminster, Calif., for $8,900,000.The Trask Apartments, which comprises 13 buildings on 2.8 acres, features 36 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units with an average unit size of 1,021 sq. ft. The garden-style apartment community has a private, recently renovated pool area with outside shower, spacious leasing office, fitness center and laundry facility.The average monthly rents at closing were $1,306 for the two-bedroom units and $1,602 for the three-bedroom units.The seller was long-term owner, Trask…