Regions

Washington, D.C.–Mortgage applications dropped in the week ending Feb. 15, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association.The market composite index–which gages mortgage loan application volume–in the group’s weekly survey was 822.8, a decline of 22.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, the Boston Herald reports.The index was up 33.9 percent on an unadjusted basis from the same week in 2007, the MBA said.

New York–A weaker housing market and lower stock prices drove the index of leading U.S. economic indicators down by 0.1 percent last month–its fourth monthly drop in a row, the Conference Board said Thursday.The leading index has declined 2 percent from July 2007 to last month, its biggest six-month free-fall since 2001, according to MarketWatch.However, the coincident economic indicator index–which measures the current state of the economy–increased by 0.1 percent in January, showing that the economy is not yet in a recession, the New York-based Conference Board’s labor economist said. The leading index change indicates weak growth in the future….

Sandy Dunn Named 2008 President of NAHBWashington, D.C.–Sandy Dunn, a West Virginia homebuilder who has provided affordable housing to Mountain State residents for more than three decades, has been elected as the president of the 235,000-member National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) for the year 2008. Dunn is president of Point Pleasant, W.Va.-based B.J. Builders Inc.“Our primary objective in 2008 will be to work with the nation’s lawmakers and administration to implement policies that will resolve the credit crunch in housing finance markets and revitalize home building as the engine of economic growth,” says Dunn.  “Concurrently, we will strive to ramp…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDallas–Prescott Realty Group, a Dallas-based real estate company, and CityView, a national institutional real estate investor, are partnering to fund FortyOneEleven Newton Townhomes, a 60-unit community located one block from Oaklawn Avenue.Former San Antonio Mayor/U.S. HUD Secretary and Executive Chairman of CityView Henry G. Cisneros who was present at the opening of the project, said, “We are thrilled to provide new housing options for this city. As cities continue to grow and attract a more diverse and younger workforce, these markets will have to find ways to provide new means of housing. “Even during slow…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorJohor, MALAYSIA–Kota Selat Tebrau (KST) and Oakwood Asia Pacific, provider of serviced apartments, will develop Oakwood Residence Johor, a 235-unit serviced apartment complex located at Danga Bay, in the south of the Malaysian peninsula.Danga Bay is part of the up-and-coming Iskandar development region and provides extended-stay accommodations for business travelers or consumers in need of luxury temporary living.The development comprises a podium and three tower blocks of 22 to 40 stories. Oakwood Residence Johor will occupy one of the three towers. The other two 40-story residential towers, known as Tower A and B, will feature…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorColumbia, Md.–Enterprise Community Investment Inc., an affordable housing finance and investment company, will now provide U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Section 538 Rural Development loans and will deliver Federal Housing Administration (FHA) multifamily and healthcare loan products as a HUD-approved Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) lender.Enterprise will also provide proprietary non-agency construction and permanent financing for multifamily properties in addition to its Fannie Mae DUS products.“Enterprise is committed to offering the multifamily and commercial permanent debt products and services that developers need to support their work to revitalize and stabilize communities,” says Lamar Seats, senior vice…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorFederal Way, Wash., Atlanta–Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA), the privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm headquartered in Atlanta, has arranged the sale of Silver Shadow apartments in Federal Way, Wash. for $13,450,000, as well as the 269-unit multifamily community, The Stratford, located in Atlanta for $28.5 million.Silver Shadow apartments, located at 27606 Pacific Highway South, is a garden-style complex built in 1989. It consists of 11 two- and three- story buildings with 44 one-bedroom units, 72 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units. Building amenities include a clubhouse, heated indoor pool, spa and exercise room.  “The…

Arlington, Va.–Although analysts feared high subprime loan resets would bring payments to unrealistic levels and increase foreclosures, many borrowers are defaulting before their rates reset, CNNMoney.com reports.Defaults for subprime loans given in 2007, which are still due for a reset, rose to 11.2 percent n November–twice the rate of 2006 subprime loan defaults 10 months after issuance, according to Michael Youngblood, an analyst at Arlington, Va.-based financial firm Friedman, Billings Ramsey.The relaxed lending rules of recent years could be to blame. Borrowers were given adjustable-rate mortgages they could barely afford even with the low initial rates. After a few years,…

Paris–France’s biggest bank, BNP Paribas SA, posted a 42 percent fourth quarter profit drop due to the reduced value of securities damaged by the troubled credit markets–but BNP Paribas fared better than many other European banks in the subprime breakdown, Bloomberg reports.In line with estimates BNP Paribas released in late January, net income declined from 1.72 billion euros in 2006 to 1.01 billion euros ($1.47 billion). The bank wrote down 589 million euros on leveraged loans and debt backed by bond insurers; it also earmarked 309 million euros connected with U.S. loans and securities.However, BNP Paribas’ subprime-related expenses of 1.2…

Washington, D.C.–Mortgage rates have crept up in recent weeks and businesses are experiencing a credit crunch as restrictive as the August credit collapse–despite two Federal Reserve short-term interest rate cuts in January, The New York Times reports.The Fed is now facing stagnant growth, higher oil and food costs and increasing inflation. Consumer prices leapt 4.3 percent higher last month compared to 2006–the biggest spike in two years, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday. Central bank officials said a few hours after the price report that they’d reduced their growth outlook for 2008 to 1.3 to 2 percent and…