News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPanama City, PANAMA–YOO, an international real estate design and development company, has unveiled plans for YOO Panama, a 56-story luxury condominium tower, set to open in late 2010. The $85 million project, located on Balboa Avenue, borders the ocean and offers views of the Panama Bay, Panama City and the Panama Canal.  YOO Panama includes 234 luxurious one- and two-bedroom residences, each with terraces and floor-to-ceiling windows. The loft-style residences start at 1,378 square feet and the penthouse residences start at 2476 square feet.Each unit features master baths with stone tile floors and shower walls,…

Washington, D.C.–Six mortgage lenders will announce a plan Tuesday to save more homeowners facing foreclosure, The Wall Street Journal reports.The new Project Lifeline plan will provide help for homeowners 90 or more days past due on their mortgages. Some will be allowed to put a 30-day hold on their foreclosure while lenders try to restructure the loans to be more affordable.If a homeowner is already in bankruptcy, paying off an investment or vacation property loan or if a foreclosure date has been set within the next 30 days for a property, the homeowner will not qualify for the new plan.The…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLong Island, N.Y–The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a non-profit affordable housing lender, is providing an $8.475 million construction loan for developing 24 new townhouse-style condominiums in the Village of Freeport, located in Long Island’s Nassau County. The property, once used as a boat marina, was rezoned for residential use in 2003. Each of the new, three-story town homes will contain a two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom duplex apartment with a cathedral ceiling living room, laundry room, two-car garage, deck and boat slip. There will also be an additional 15 boat slips and a parking area for 11 cars…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorMedford, Mass.–The Boston office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP) has secured joint venture equity and debt financing for Station Landing, a mixed-use project in Medford.HFF Senior Managing Director Frederic Wittmann and Real Estate Analyst Carlos Febres-Mazzei represented National Development, a Mass-based development company, to arrange joint-venture equity for the project with Bethesda, Md.-based ASB Real Estate Investments, through its ASB Allegiance Fund. HFF secured a 37-month, adjustable-rate loan through Wachovia Bank. A portion of the loan refinanced existing debt on several components of the project with the remainder providing construction financing for additional development….

Calabasas, Calif.–Mortgage provider Countrywide Financial Corp. announced a partnership Monday with community organization ACORN, which represents low- to moderate-income families, to assist subprime homeowners facing foreclosure, the Boston Herald reports.Calabasas, Calif.-headquartered Countrywide will contemplate extending teaser rates for five years for subprime borrowers with strong payment records and let some borrowers refinance into prime mortgages. ACORN–the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now–will provide home counseling services along with Countrywide’s home retention specialists.The plan is similar to the Bush administration’s Hope Now program, which Countrywide entered into voluntarily in December. However, unlike the Hope Now program–which homeowners must be no…

Mumbai–The U.S. economy will slow extensively for a considerable amount of time, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a speech during his three-day visit to India that the global market needs to prepare for a potential ripple effect from the U.S. slowdown, which could also eventually affect emerging economies, The New York Times reports.Much of the concern revolves around uncertainties such as the continued decline of the U.S. housing market, a potential spending decrease and the possibility of more subprime-related loss disclosures from European banks. “The problem is today we have…

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…