Edinburgh–Unlike London’s housing market–and the U.S. market–the Scottish real estate sector is booming, Scotland’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said Thursday.Global credit and financial problems have not affected the Scottish market, the Financial Times reports. In fact, members of Scotland’s Edinburgh-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found a growing difference between Scotland’s housing strength and other areas of the U.K., including the capital, according to a recent study.“The economy is holding up well, and the Scottish property sector is benefiting as a result,” said Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors director Graeme Hartley. “People here have always taken a more sensible…

Nashville– As fourth quarter reports filter in, it’s becoming clear that companies providing building materials ranging from lumber to concrete–such as Nashville-based Louisiana-Pacific Corp.–are still suffering because of the housing decline.Many of residential building’s biggest companies–whose stocks are still at or near 52-week lows–have seen severe profit drops; some have seen large losses. None have indicated a housing recovery will happen this year, according to CNNMoney.com.However, contractors are finding it difficult to cut expenses on current projects because costs for raw materials including metal and wood are increasing.Louisiana-Pacific Corp., which sells a number of different building materials, blamed the decreased…

Washington, D.C.–The director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight– which supervises federally chartered mortgage companies–said Thursday that the stimulus plan’s measure to increase Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s loan limits could take loan money away from less expensive housing, the Washington Post reports.According to James B. Lockhart III, funding one $600,000 mortgage requires as much capital as backing three $200,000 loans.The economic stimulus package Congress approved Thursday would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase or guarantee mortgages greater than its current $417,000 limit for a year. Speaking to the Senate Banking Committee, Lockhart said the higher…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Brooklyn, N.Y.–At a unique locally themed opening party, Savanna Partners, a New York-based real estate development firm, launched its newest condominium project, located at 125 North 10th St. in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.More than 300 people including brokers, developers, prospective buyers and buyers were invited to this Brooklyn-themed event, where everything from the food to the entertainment was locally sourced. The menu featured were mini sirloin burgers with Peter Luger Steakhouse sauce, pizza from Brick Oven Gallery and “DuMac & Cheese” from Dumont along with the Brooklyn Brewery beer and “The Brooklyn,” a beverage consisting of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorClinton, Mass.–NAI Hunneman, a Boston-based provider of commercial real estate services to corporations, institutions and the private market, arranged the sale of Town Lynne Village and Camelot Apartments in Clinton, Mass. for $16.5 million.Micozzi Management, a Boston-based apartment rental, commercial leasing, management and investment company, bought the properties from Clinton Management Corp. and Camelot Management Corp. “These well-maintained garden apartments were a perfect fit for Micozzi Management,” says Robert Tito, executive vice president/principal of NAI Hunneman. “Our client already owns more than 500 units in surrounding communities, making this a perfect opportunity for them to…

Chicago–The housing decline will continue to decrease home prices in 2008, according to the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) monthly forecast, released Thursday.Pre-existing home prices will decline by 1.2 percent this year; just a month ago, NAR predicted the market would improve halfway through 2008 and said prices would remain steady, CNNMoney.com reports.After projecting a record first quarter 5.3 percent drop, NAR now says home prices will fall 6.1 percent in the first quarter. Less pre-existing homes will be sold this year, according to the group, which predicts sales will decrease by 4.8 percent. In 2007, existing home sales…

London–The Bank of England cut interest rates from 5.5 to 5.25 percent after housing and the economy in the U.K. declined, BBCNews reported Thursday.The international credit crisis also influenced the rate cut decision. The bank said in a statement that “the prospects for output growth abroad have deteriorated and the disruption to global financial markets has continued.”Still, even with the central bank’s decision, many U.K. citizens were worried some lenders wouldn’t offer the cut to mortgage customers. However, several banks–including Halifax, NatWest, Nationwide, Abbey and the Royal Bank of Scotland–have said they will reduce their standard variable rates. Other banks–including…

Fort Worth, Texas–D.R. Horton Inc.–the largest U.S. residential builder by volume–announced a fiscal first quarter loss and said it feels the housing decline will continue, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.Horton posted a net loss of $128.8 million, or 41 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31. In the same quarter in 2006, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company’s net income was $109.7 million, or 35 cents a share. Revenue dropped to $1.71 billion, a 39 percent decrease. “Market conditions remained challenging in our December quarter as inventory levels of both new and existing homes remained high while pricing…

S&P Releases Plan to Renovate Its Rating SystemNew York–Standard and Poor’s announced detailed plans Thursday to revamp its rating system, the Financial Times reports.The reform plan contains 27 action points, which center around four main areas. The first involves restructuring New York-based S&P governance procedures to remove any potential conflicts of interest. The ratings agency will appoint an ombudsman and hire an outside firm to oversee compliance and publish its results. The second focus area includes plans to confirm credit rating accuracy by taking factors such as trading liquidity and valuation of securities into account.S&P’s third area of improvement involves…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–151 Wooster St., a condominium complex owned and developed by Michael and Izak Namer of alfa development, will open in New York’s SoHo neighborhood in spring 2008.Located between Prince and Houston Streets, Wooster has ten lofts and one penthouse ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 sq. ft. The price is between $3.75 and $10 million. “As a longtime SoHo resident as well as a practicing artist and developer, it was important to me that 151 Wooster reflect authentic Soho living,” says Michael Namer, principal of alfa development. “Those residents who appreciate classic SoHo want to…