Regions

Washington, D.C.–Construction spending plummeted at the most severe rate in 14 years in January, the Commerce Department said Monday.Total construction spending fell by 1.7 percent–its fourth decline in a row–at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.121 trillion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The government also adjusted its December spending results from an estimated 1.1 percent drop to 1.3 percent.In January, residential building spending declined 2.9 percent to $462.8 billion. Revised December data showed building fell by 2.5 percent; the original estimate was 2.7 percent.Residential construction was 19.4 percent lower in January than in January 2007. Nonresidential construction spending…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–A 13-story, 66,530-sq.-ft. luxury residential tower, located at 110 Greenwich St., is on the market for sale through real estate investment services firms Eastern Consolidated based in New York and Marcus and Millichap based in Encino, Calif. The deadline for bids is March 5th at 3pm.Eastern Consolidated Senior Director Robert F. Ortiz and Senior Associate Paul J. Nigido are partnering with Senior Associates Michael Forrest and David Shorenstein of Marcus Millichap in the sale of the property, which could potentially be converted to a condominium, corporate residences, a hotel or offices.“Apart from the conversion…

Gainesville, Fla.–Fore Property Co., a real estate developer, builder and manager based in Washington D.C., has begun construction at Marta at Magnolia Park, a 204-unit luxury apartment community in Gainesville, Fla.Located east of Interstate 75, in northern Gainesville, at NW 39th Ave. and NW 51St St., the new luxury community is being developed on a 19.14-acre lot.Marta at Magnolia Park will consist of one- and two-bedroom apartments, which will range in size from approximately 805 sq. ft. to 1,210 sq. ft. Prices will range from $960 to $1,210.Each apartment will include nine-ft. ceilings with crown molding, intrusion alarm, washer and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorPune, INDIA–Yoo by Starck, a global design-focused real estate development company, is entering the Indian market with a $400 million condominium project spread over 21 acres in Pune, a city situated few hours from Mumbai in the western state of Maharashtra.Though Yoo is not releasing any information regarding the project in the U.S, the company held a press conference in Pune last week where it revealed plans for Yoo Pune, a 400-unit project to be designed by architect and designer John Hitchcox and built in collaboration with Pune-based developer, Panchshil Realty.Yoo Pune will feature condos…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor New York–Phoenix Realty Group, a New York-based real estate fund manager, is acquiring and renovating 15 affordable housing buildings with 362 units, located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, for $96 million.All the apartments will be preserved as affordable housing, and 95 percent of them will be subsidized with long-term Section 8 contracts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).“These projects are very important within the community and have a huge impact on the neighborhood,” Ron Orgel, Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) managing director, tells MHN. “We believe that the preservation of affordable…

Washington, D.C.–The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced recently that it would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase and hold more home loans in their portfolios. While this is a step forward in helping ease the mortgage credit crunch, more needs to be done, the National Home Builders Association (NAHB) said in a statement. “We applaud OFHEO for taking this step to help inject more liquidity into the mortgage markets by giving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac added flexibility to invest in the housing market,” says Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB. “However, OFHEO,…

Washington, D.C.–Claiming it would hurt mortgage lenders and prolong the housing slump, Senate Republicans blocked a Democrat-sponsored bill to assist the troubled housing industry Thursday, the Washington Post reports.The Senate failed to gain the necessary 60 votes to end a proposed housing bill filibuster. The bill earmarks billions of dollars for local communities to purchase subprime mortgages and would allow a revision of bankruptcy laws to let judges cut interest rates for low-income homeowners.The mortgage industry has expressed disapproval of the bill; President Bush Thursday said that he wanted to give the $168 billion stimulus bill a chance to “kick…

Chicago–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a crowd at the Economic Club of Chicago Thursday that he does not support a government-backed homeowner bailout, the Chicago Tribune reports.Less than 2 percent of home mortgages are in foreclosure, Paulson said.”So, while some in Washington are proposing big interventions, most of the proposals I’ve seen would do more harm than good,” he said. “I’m not interested in bailing out investors, lenders and speculators. I’m focusing on solutions targeted at struggling homeowners who want to keep their homes.”In addition, Paulson said homeowners are responsible for asking for help, and that if a home’s value…

Charlotte, N.C.–Top executives from Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America and Wachovia–as well as executives at JPMorgan Chase in New York–have seen an increasing number buyers walk away from mortgages in recent months, The New York Times reported Friday.The homeowners are more interested in getting out of their current mortgages than in renegotiating or defaulting. Some companies, such as San Diego-based You Walk Away, surrenders homes to banks for a $995 cost to homeowners.Shrinking downpayments–last year, the median downpayment showed a 20 percent drop from 1989, according to a National Association of Realtors survey–and heavy borrowing to cover closing costs and…

New York–American International Group declared almost $15 billion in subprime mortgage-related writedowns and losses Thursday, the Financial Times reports.The New York-based insurer’s net loss for the fourth quarter was $5.29 billion as a result. Full-year earnings were reduced by more than half to $6.2 billion.AIG expects the U.S. housing market to stay soft and feels credit market chaos will continue, said chief executive Martin Sullivan.Nearly $11.5 billion of the writedowns were connected to AIG’s dealings in collateralized debt obligations (CDO), which are often backed by subprime mortgage bonds. The company also posted $3.3 billion worth of charges due to the…