San Francisco–Two out of three homeowners said they would hold off on a planned home improvement this year until the market improves, according to a recent survey by the San Francisco-based Zoomerang research firm.An additional 11 percent said they would scrap the renovation altogether in 2008, USA Today reported Monday. The e-mail survey included results from 2,100 homeowners in 11 metro areas.Lower property values are making it difficult for homeowners to refinance and use cash from their home to renovate. In addition, lower home prices can knock down the amount of money a home renovation can add to a property.Sales…

Tokyo–The Group of Seven finance leaders fear U.S. subprime-related write-offs could reach $400 billion, the Financial Times reports.After the group’s weekend meeting in Tokyo, German finance minister Peer Steinbrück said the G7 is concerned about the write-offs and was prepared to take action to restore financial calm to the global market. “The next 10 days to two weeks will be crucial because we are going to have the first audited accounts [from financial institutions] since the crisis started,” said Mario Draghi, governor of the Bank of Italy and chair of the Financial Stability Forum, an international banking committee.The G7 finance…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMcLean, Va.–Kettler, a McLean-based real estate development and property management company, has launched its new corporate Web site with direct links to portals or sub-sites for various product types. The Web site allows a customer to search for a condominium, apartment or home directly from the home page and still view home-page links which access important corporate information.“We studied the activity of our past Web site traffic and developed the new site based on the activities they performed and the actions they took,” says Jamie Gorski, chief marketing officer. “The site has innovative architecture and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSouthbridge Mass.,–Chozick Realty has completed the sales of a 36-unit condominium in Bridgeport for $2.3 million and a 58-unit apartment complex in Southbridge for $4.9 million. The Patrick Wells Condominiums (pictured) located at 335 Wells St. was originally constructed in 1920 and was converted to condominiums in the 1980’s. Steve Pappas of Chozick Realty represented the owner who operated the complex as a rental community. The property has now been substantially renovated and updated and 85 percent of the units have new appliances, renovated kitchens, baths, common areas as well as new windows, and resident…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorChicago–The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), a nonprofit organization that encourages the financial service industry’s efforts to support underbanked consumers, has made an equity investment in RentBureau, the online system that collects current rental payment histories and provides that information to the multifamily and credit industries. The equity investment will go toward enhancing the use of RentBureau’s proprietary data for enabling consumers to secure credit.CFSI’s investment in RentBureau was made through its Catalyst Fund, a private equity limited partnership, and developed in July 2007 to invest in financial services companies and solutions focused on…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorColumbus, Ohio–Enterprise Community Investment Inc., has invested $9.5 million using New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to assist Columbus Housing Partnership in financing the construction or rehabilitation of up to 700 affordable homes in Columbus, over a period of seven years.Nationwide, Huntington Bank and World Financial Network National Bank, a subsidiary of Alliance Data, along with the city of Columbus and the Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County are investing in the project along with Enterprise.“Columbus Housing Partnership is a long-time partner of Enterprise and we look forward to partnering with CHP to create…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMinneapolis–NorthMarq Capital, Inc., a national real estate investment banking company headquartered in Minneapolis, has arranged mortgage financing for four properties across the U.S. through its regional offices.The company’s Long Island regional office arranged first mortgage financing of $58.8 million for Cunningham Heights Apartments located in Queens Village, N.Y. Financing for the 1,056-unit multifamily property was based on a 10-year term plus a one-year extension with a 30-year amortization schedule. Charles Cotsalas, vice president of Northmarq Long Island, says, “This loan was quoted and rate locked using Freddie Mac’s Early Rate Lock funding which worked like…

LeasingDesk Appoints Strategic Account ManagerIrvine, Calif.–LeasingDesk Insurance Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of RealPage Inc. and a provider of point of lease systems to the multifamily industry, has named Larry Bellack as its strategic account manager. Bellack will be primarily responsible for market share of LeasingDesk’s flagship product, eRenterPlan, within the multifamily industry.Bellack will serve the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions by educating multifamily owner/operators on the importance of utilizing risk mitigation products to safeguard properties and increase NOI. He will also partner with trade and industry associations to expand LeasingDesk brand awareness on national, state and local levels.“In previous sales…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCarrollton, Texas–RealPage Inc., a Carrolton-Texas-based provider of on-demand software and services to the multifamily industry, has acquired WebRoomz, an on-demand leasing system for students and military personnel.The WebRoomz leasing system matches students with compatible roommates and has other capabilities tailored to student housing. By doing so, the Web site reportedly improves the efficiency of the “turn” each year as students and their parents approach student housing communities across the country over a one-week period just before school begins.WebRoomz has invested five years and more than $10 million to build this system. The program attracts students…

Washington, D.C.–Congress approved a $168 billion economic stimulus plan, including taxpayer rebates and business tax breaks, on Thursday, The New York Times reports.The stimulus plan contains several provisions to help the housing market, including increasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s home loan limits for a year to help homeowners refinance or get new mortgages in costly housing markets. The new limits for the government-sponsored finance organizations will be tailored to local markets. The cap for loans the Federal Housing administration can insure also was raised.The stimulus plan was extremely similar to the one passed last week by the House, despite…