Regions

Dublin–Although Irish building material company CRH, which operates in 30 countries, said its growth this year may slow, the company expects its 2007 pre-tax profits to be up 19 percent, according to The Telegraph.Pre-tax profits were forecast at £1.4 billion after the U.S. housing market declined, which was counteracted by cost cuts, higher material prices and continued growth in Europe.Although Dublin-headquartered CRH anticipates tough times in the U.S. housing market this year, just 30 percent of its U.S. business was exposed, according to Chief executive Liam O’Mahony.CRH spent £1.6 billion in the past year to purchase a Swiss builder and…

By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerWashington, D.C.–Nonprofit community revitalization organization NeighborWorks America, based in Washington D.C., announced it has been named in the recent FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act to administer a $180 million national counseling program to help reduce home mortgage defaults and foreclosures. Under the legislation, NeighborWorks America will provide grants for housing counseling intermediaries approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and to qualifying state housing finance agencies.NeighborWorks also will provide foreclosure counseling training courses.According to the legislation, NeighborWorks America must grant at least $167,800,000 to qualifying organizations that provide mortgage foreclosure mitigation assistance–primarily in areas…

Montgomery, Ala.–Miami-based real estate company Alterra Capital Group has announced the sale of a 120-unit multifamily property in Montgomery, Ala. to an unnamed private investor on the West Coast for approximately $4.3 million.Hidden Creek Village in Montgomery–formerly known as Woodley Downs Apartments–was abandoned and nearly vacant when Alterra acquired the property in 2005 for $1.5 million.The company invested an additional $500,000 in renovations, leaving Alterra with more than $2 million in net profits from the sale. Hidden Creek now features new signage and fencing, a new leasing center, a playground/gazebo area and a refinished swimming pool.The complex’s one-, two- and…

Madison, Wis.–House prices would have to lower by a significant amount to rebalance with U.S. rents, according to a study by two current and one prior Federal Reserve economists.Assuming rents rose 4 percent a year, home prices would need to drop 15 percent over the next five years, The Wall Street Journal reports.The study, which tracks rents and home prices back to 1960, is by Andreas Lehnert and Robert F. Martin, staff economists at the Fed, and Morris Davis, an economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a staff economist at the Fed until 2006.Rents historically have been around 5…

New York–The U.S. housing slump raged on during the fourth quarter of 2007–but not in Manhattan, where reports from four major real estate brokerage firms released Thursday showed property sold for record prices.The average New York apartment price rose 17.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 to 2007, hitting $1.4 million at the end of the year, according to brokerage firm Prudential Douglas Elliman.The number of apartment sales increased by 3.2 percent, compared with the same time period in 2006, The New York Times reported Thursday. Apartments also sold faster than a year ago by an average of 18…

Boston–Facing potential legal action from unhappy customers, State Street Corporation will create a $618 million reserve, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.State Street will take a $279 million charge to cover any subprime-related legal costs resulting from customers who feel its Global Advisors section may not have handled underperforming fixed-income investments as they wished.Some investment strategies were affected by subprime mortgage market exposure and liquidity issues and that it will “vigorously” defend itself against the claims, according to the Globe.Fiscal 2007 earnings per share will be between $3.42 and $3.45, based on a revenue increase of more than 30 percent from…

Cleveland–Following the lead of other regional banks, Cleveland-based National City announced Wednesday it would cut its dividend and fire employees in the wake of the mortgage market chaos,Forbes reports.In the third quarter, National City’s mortgage business–plagued by rising customer defaults–lost $152 million, reducing the company’s profits by 80 percent from 2006.As a result, National City has reduced its mortgage offerings. On Wednesday, the bank announced it would eliminate 900 employees from National City Mortgage.National City stock also has suffered from its subprime woes. Shares tumbled 56.5 percent in the past year, leaving an unusually high annual dividend yield of more…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorSanta Ana. Calif.— Grubb & Ellis Co. predicts that transaction volume for commercial real estate will decline by as much as 25 basis points this year. The company says in a statement that “buyers should return to the investment market in greater numbers this year as all-cash and low-leverage buyers including institutions, REITs and foreign investors step up with purchases.” All the same, transaction volume is expected to fall short of the 2007 record, the company predicts.“Even in the absence of a recession, the U.S. economy is likely to expand at a sluggish pace,” says Robert…

By Matthew Marin, Associate EditorChicago–Finding its mark with design-savvy buyers looking for a sophisticated city residence with high-end finishes and spacious floor plans, Superior 110, a high-rise condominium development in Chicago, is about 50 percent sold with first deliveries available in fall 2008, announced the project’s locally based JFJ Development.Superior 110, a 27-story, glass-and-steel building, features 62 units, offering floor plans of one bedroom plus a den to three bedrooms plus a den, one-and-a-half to three-and-a-half baths, and 1,150 to 2,820 square feet of living space. Base prices start in the $500,000s, and parking is available for $40,000 to $48,000…

By Keat Foong, Executive EditorDedham, Mass.—Hebrew SeniorLife announced it has closed on the biggest tax-exempt bond issue in U.S. history for the development of a non-profit continuing care retirement community (CCRC). The $457 million in tax-exempt bonds will be used to fund the development of NewBridge on the Charles, a state-of-the-art CCRC located on the 162-acre Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Campus in Dedham, Mass. “This financing will help us bring to reality a unique new community and health care facility that will expand our ability to serve older adults in the Boston area,” says Len Fishman, president and…