News

Washington, D.C.–The Bush administration indicated it would veto the housing bill House Democrats are sponsoring that would give $15 billion to states to buy and revamp vacant homes, Bloomberg said Wednesday.”The principal beneficiaries of this type of plan would be private lenders–who are now the owners of the vacant and foreclosed properties–instead of struggling homeowners who are working hard to stay in their homes,” the White House said in a statement. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget said that President George W. Bush’s “senior advisers would recommend he veto the bill” if the legislation reached him.States would fix…

London–Homes worth more than £1 million ($1,952,015) have been hardest hit by the U.K. residential market decline, the Mail On Sunday reports.The average prices of the country’s most expensive homes have fallen from 10 to 15 percent since September, according to London-based real estate agency Hamptons.Homes that sell for £200,000 ($390,403) also declined over the same time frame–but only fell 3 percent.A home that sold for £960,000 ($1,873,934) in fall would now only garner £820,000 ($1,600,434)–and the decline could indicate the start of a large U.K. housing slump, the Mail said.

Chicago–The number of homes under contract for sale in March declined to a record low for the second month in a row, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Wednesday.The Chicago-based real estate agent group’s Pending Home Sales Index dropped to 83 in March–a 1 percent decline from the downwardly revised 83.8 February reading, CNNMoney.com said.The March reading marked a 20.1 percent drop from the same period in 2007 and was 35 percent lower than the index’s April 2005 high point.In 2001–the year the index premiered–the reading was 100. The NAR slightly increased its new home sales prediction,…

Washington, D.C.–Productivity–the amount of output per hour of work–grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter, the Labor Department said Wednesday.Labor cost pressures declined slightly–an indication that inflation could be easing, according to the New York Times. In the last three months of 2007, labor costs increased by 2.8 percent; in the first quarter of 2008, labor costs grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent.Rising wages and benefits can help workers; they can also increase inflation as businesses are forced to increase their product costs to fund the higher payroll costs. But if productivity increases,…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Antonio, Boston, Milford, N.H.–Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed funding of three loans totaling $55,692,000 under the Fannie Mae DUS product line to finance rental properties totaling 1,115 units. The four properties, Rolling Ridge Apartments in San Antonio, Woodland Heights and Laurel Hills in Milford, N.H., and 480 and 490 Norfolk St. in Boston, are owned by Boston-based Mayo Group.Each of the three five-year loans amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 5.11 percent. “Arbor was pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Mayo Group, one of Boston’s largest…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–A new monitoring system and database will offer in-depth comparative real estate data analysis reports. The $1 million system, created by Home Quest, a New York-based boutique brokerage, comprises over 10 years of industry information and real estate transactions.“We developed a multi-parameter system that looks at primary and secondary information, giving developers super in-depth evaluations of their projects,” says Max Ribitzky, managing director and vice president of marketing at Home Quest. “Sellers want to know what they’re facing, and this helps them to put a number on the price and see how fast they can…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBucharest, ROMANIA–Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based DMR Architects has been chosen to develop a 200-acre mixed-use project on the outskirts of Romania’s capital city, Bucharest.The unnamed project includes 1,400 residential units (of which 40 percent are condos and apartments while the rest are single-family homes), a school and retail space, as well as parking, municipal buildings and outdoor space. This is DMR’s first project in Romania, though it has completed various design work for companies in China, Nigeria and throughout the Middle East.The developer, Talisker, had seen some of DMR’s projects and contacted the firm to help…

By Anuradha Kher, Online news Editor New York–Real estate developer Gotham Organization has just launched a rooftop summer music series. On May 5th, Gotham’s Open A.I.R: Artist In Residence concert series debuted with a performance by Crush Management and Interscope recording artist Charlotte Sometimes on the rooftop terrace of the 48-story Atlas, located at West 38th Street and 6th Avenue. David Picket, president of the fourth-generation Gotham Organization, is broadening the focus of the 90-year-old development and construction company to bring high design, music and culture to Manhattan living.  “We create environments that are as much about design, entertainment and culture…