Real Estate Journal

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

California broker ties jumbo miles to jumbo mortgages [Digg]
2007-10-17 19:52:00
CHICAGO (Reuters) - In Southern California , a jumbo mortgage can now land you on a jumbo jet. In a bid to draw high-end buyers to the region's floundering housing market, Beverly Hills-based real estate brokerage, Incentive Real Estate Inc, said on...
More About: Miles , Digg , Mortgages , Broker

Deflationary Abundance
2007-10-17 16:37:00
I wrote an article for the BHB and discussed the four stages of any viable technology. I also posed the question as to its relevancy with real estate and the Redfin model. Here's the quote:Stage One: Critical Price The price of any new technology is stratospheric at first (the first DVD player was priced over $1,200 at first). Then, as the production increases and the acceptance from consumers takes hold, the price begins to decline to a “critical price� that opens the “flood gates� of demand. This critical price coincides with the efficiencies in production to meet the spike in demand for the product. Stage Two: Critical Mass The product was initially very costly to produce, but the increased demand has driven the production costs down to take advantage of economies of scale. The “critical mass� coincides with more efficient production avenues that help drive market share for the product. Stage Three: Displacement The product was originally conceived as an alternative ...
More About: Abundance , Flat , Deflation

Real Estate Journal: Be Careful What You Wish For
2007-10-17 05:39:00
Real Estate Journal : Be Careful What You Wish ForLinks for a couple of questions on LinkedIn and the article written - Is Barack Obama in your network?
More About: Real Estate , Real

How to Build Effective Teams, by Christine Comaford-Lynch | the art of lead
2007-10-17 05:31:00
You need a great team in order to succeed. You don't need to have that great team in place fromthe get-go because building a great teams takes time. Discusses how to build/support/retain thatteam, how to find your team members, and who your extended team membersshould be.
More About: Teams , Build , Effective , Christine , Lead

OFHEO NEWS RELEASE
2007-10-16 20:09:00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 16, 2007 NO DECLINE IN 2008 CONFORMING LOAN LIMIT Additional Comments Sought on a Revised Loan Limit Guidance New Mortgage Market Note on Historical Trends in Conforming Loan Limit Washington, DC ? The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced today three actions regarding the calculation of the conforming loan limit, which establishes the maximum mortgage loan value eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. OFHEO Director James Lockhart announced that, based on provisions in the proposed guidance, the current conforming loan limit will not be reduced for 2008. If the index used to calculate the maximum loan level should increase, the amount of the increase in 2008 would be reduced by the decline calculated in 2006 of 0.16%. Under no circumstance, however, would the maximum loan level for 2008 drop below the 2006 and 2007 limit of $417,000. OFHEO Director Lockhart also announced that OFHEO has tran...
More About: News , Release

Fashon Valley Mall v. NLRB
2007-10-16 01:44:00
One of the more interesting articles that I found this weekend is the ongoing legal struggle between property owners (more specifically large shopping mall owners) and the advocates for ?free speech?. There is a current case in front of the California Supreme Court that attempts to limit the private property rights of owners that their ability to control business practices on their properties. The tenants (and we?re talking about tenants like Target, Macy?s, etc.) have a right to conduct business on the properties that they lease from large shopping center owners. When someone attempts to pass out a flyer on private property or protest an "unfair" trade practice, the landlords argue that they (and their tenants) have a right to conduct business on private property. This latest case, Fash ion Valley Mall v. NLRB, stems from a 1998 incident in which a Teamsters Union affiliate involved in a dispute with the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper was distributing leaflets outsi...

Be Careful What You Wish For
2007-10-15 22:47:00
A funny thing happened on the way to writing this entry over the weekend. I received a blast email from the President of Rice University to all alumni about the status of new construction plans on campus (and a request for continued Alumni financial support). So, I decided to write back. As I replied to the president, I commented about the absence of a group affiliation with the university on the LinkedIn professional social networking site. Then I received an email from the President and the Alumni Director asking me to take it upon myself to get this ?ball rolling?. So I did. One of the best features of LinkedIn is the ?grab? button in the Outlook Toolbar (see my article in the Real Estate Journal). Over the last five days we?re over 200+ alumnus in the group.
More About: Careful

Want To See Where The Delinquencies Are?
2007-10-11 05:41:00
I must say that the Wall Street Journal has done a great job in allowing us spectators (and participants, whatever the case may be) to visually see the progression of the subprime delinquencies around the country. The interactive map allows you to scroll over a county and see the delinquency rate for that quarter. The map will go back in time to Q1 2005 until Q2 2007.One interesting note is the "light" shaded areas on the West Coast (delinquencies from 0% - 1%) in 2005 will then turn more shaded thru 2007, while the Central Valley turns to a bright shade of crimson (I'll let you figure out what that one means - affectionately coined as "blood alley") during the same time period.The map really shows the extent of the problem as it permeates across the nation.
More About: Deli

An Important Turning Point Coming? US Dollar is the KEY [Digg]
2007-10-10 19:10:00
The markets are like a puzzle (and a moving/changing one). You must put all the pieces together, and attempt to decipher the whole view. I will not go into the details of these articles, but only make a brief comment on them.
More About: Dollar , Digg , Point , Turning Point , Doll

CLTA Debuts California Title Website
2007-10-10 02:06:00
Sacramento Business Journal reports that the CLTA and the Calif ornia Insurance Commissioner's office has debuted a Title insurance website, TitleWizard, to allow consumers to compare title insurance rates. My first run was a residential refinance on my home and Old Republic Title was about $500 cheaper than 1st American. Then I ran a purchase of my house and the rates were $700 cheaper across the board than for a refinance (assuming that I was the Seller, of course).Too bad for commercial brokers and agents, the website doesn't factor in rates on commercial deals (I thought I was on to something).Anyway, worth the look..
More About: Website

Subprime crisis far from over: S&P [Digg]
2007-10-09 19:23:00
By Saikat Chatterjee and Anurag Joshi MUMBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. subprime housing crisis will not peak until 2009, rating agency Standard and Poor's said on Tuesday, adding it had underestimated the extent of fraud in the industry. S&P...
More About: Digg , Subprime , Crisis , Rime , Prim

Google Basewide? One Step Away in California
2007-10-08 02:27:00
This is one of those "outlandish and inconceivable" notions that occurred to me as I was scanning a few news sites this weekend. Hey, if Jim Cramer can speak in generalities and sound bites on CNBC and induce the Fed to drop rates, then here's my two cents as I see a couple of dots that could be connected some time soon.Question: If Jason McCarthy, who is the Development Manager of Real Estate for Google (Google Base), were to make a Redfin-type deal with Countrywide in Calif ornia , what would be the impact?Scenario: Google Base is attempting to deliver relevant real estate content to the consumer in a format most potential buyers are familiar with and aiming to be the prominent provider of property information aggregation; a new MLS system, if you will, with inventory provided by the agents and owners themselves at no charge.Redfin is a new brokerage concept that hires in-house (employee) agents to oversee the listing transaction of an owners' home for a one (1%) percent fee, whic...
More About: Step

Technology... A Terrible Thing To Waste
2007-10-06 09:44:00
Below is my first article for BloodhoundBlog.. Hopefully as a new contributor to the forum I will be able to provide some insight on the commercial side of the business. Without going into the history of the Site To Do Business and its involvement with the CCIM Institute (I?ll save that one for a later date), I wanted to point out that one of the most helpful, most talked about (at least within the inner circles of the Institute) and worth every penny of this designee?s annual dues is the Site To Do Business (?STDBonline?) website. Simply, STDBonline is an information resource site geared towards the commercial real estate professional with over 20,000 subscribers to date. It is offered as a subscription service for non-CCIM designees, but included as an exclusive membership ?perk? once you become a CCIM candidate ?on the way to the pin? ( another topic to be discussed later). For those in Silicon Valley and Bellevue pushing the residential side of the real estate technology chase ...
More About: Technology , Waste , Thing

BloodhoundBlog Contributor
2007-10-05 21:48:00
Thanks again to Greg Swann @ BloodhoundBlog for allowing me to become a contributor to their forum. Now it's time to get to work.
More About: Hound

House passes debt forgiveness tax bill [Digg]
2007-10-05 07:14:00
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation providing tax relief to homeowners facing a foreclosure. Under the bill, which was approved by a vote of 386-27, any debt forgiven to homeowners...
More About: Digg , Debt , Forgiveness , Bill

Tuesday Top 10 List
2007-10-03 07:14:00
After several busy days of appointments and follow-up (one of the keys in any business), I wanted to post a top ten list of interesting articles this Tuesday evening as I attempt to catch-up:3 Things Your Customers Won't Tell You.. Unless You Ask (good topic);Real Estate Gambling In Nevada (1 of every 4 loans was stated - gamble responsibly);The Worst Recession in 25 Years (to come and why);10 Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Money (good information);Google Docs Rocks (didn't know that Google housed doc sharing);US Scrap Metal Prices (good to know when you're evaluating Industrial property);An Essential Management Checklist for Real Estate Companies (always good info at NetGain);Financial Models for Underachievers (always good info from Guy Kawasaki);How to Help Your Company Focus on Risk (good topic); and,Alan Haft's 10 Commandments of Investing (good information).
More About: Top 10 List , List

Where Is The Commercial Recognition?
2007-09-27 19:54:00
Just a short gripe after reviewing Inman's 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate report from September 17, 2007. Where is the commercial real estate recognition? The CCIM network is the pinnacle designation (a little self promotion, I know) of the commercial practitioner and I know that the national committees (along with the regional boards) spend a tremendous amount of time "getting the word out" about our differentiation in marketplace.The problem is that the residential side is the 800 lb. gorilla in the room and it's "political action committee" (NAR) spend considerably more time (and money) hitting the Inman's of the world to promote the residential side (and its ancillary components) of the business.Our network (CCIM) must meld into the discussion with these ancillary components, because if a company/community/blog/network that is less than 18 months old (page 28, Most notables, Active Rain with 49,000+ active members and 1,400+ online at any given time) can receive I...
More About: Commercial , Recognition

Autumn Winds of a Changing Market
2007-09-26 19:31:00
As I mentioned on Aug 22, one of the greatest benefits of the CCIM network is the network of professionals we have in this industry, and their tireless assistance in providing expert market research for many of our posts. Last evening I received a detailed report on the effects of the "credit crunch" on the commercial markets and the implications of these changes as we move forward. Thanks again to Jim Nowak, CCIM from San Clemente, CA with Site Systems, Inc. for the information. I've asked Jim (as well as any other CCIM) to be a guest contributor to our forum.Due to liquidity and valuation issues surrounding securitized debt backed by sub prime mortgages in the US home market, an increased perception of risk on the part of lenders has spread throughout the global financial system creating the current ?Credit Crunch.? Below are ten of the possible implications for the commercial real estate sector. Sales volume will drop until a new price level is achieved and friction between s...
More About: Market , Changing , Winds , Autumn , Chang

So Where Are We In The Housing Bubble?
2007-09-26 06:48:00
So I'm reading Diana Olick's blog on CNBC about the housing bubble and she's voicing her frustration with the repeated "on camera" question: Have we hit bottom yet?To which she replies, it depends on the market (and since I'm in the thick of it here just north of Stockton, CA, I have to agree) with most notibly California and a majority of the West Coast having seen the largest percentage drop around the country over the last month. Great, nothing I haven't heard.. honest reporting.. time to move on.. BUT wait, she puts a link to the Zillow blog at the bottom of the page for some regional stats.Now if you click on the image, it will take you to the Zillow "Zindex" site that has the interactive data for 66 MSA's from around the country. Each vertical bar represents a city's year over year housing appreciation (red) or depreciation (blue) - the green bar represents the "Zindex" for the full MSA in that market. Interesting visual format.You can slide the mouse over each bar in t...
More About: Housing Bubble , Housing , Bubble

"Qui Tam" Suits - Interesting discussion
2007-09-25 04:49:00
Interesting topic from the Housing Bubble Blog in one of the comments from Thomas:On this topic, anyone who likes to read absurdly long posts can check out the following, which I recently submitted as a prospective column to a SoCal newspaper: Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate?s life for me. As financial markets reel from the biggest credit contraction in at least a decade, the world is getting a good look at just how buccaneering a business the mortgage industry got to be during the late boom. Amid the general fingerpointing, a basic truth is emerging: The real estate market can handle stated-income loans, or teaser-rate mortgages ? but not both. Stated-income loans, in which the borrower?s income isn?t verified, aren?t called ?liar?s loans? for nothing. Until recently, though, financial reality placed a limit on how shameless cheaters could get. Since mortgages generally had to be fully serviced from the beginning, if a borrower?s ability to make the payments was overstated, he tended to def...
More About: Interesting , Suits , Discussion , Suit , Eres

Commercial CAP Rates on the Rise
2007-09-22 23:50:00
For all of the talk that Commercial Brokers spoke about bifurcated markets (residential on the decline and commercial strong and steady), there is evidence that commercial pricing among all assets classes is starting to drop. Institutional investors aren't staying away because of the "credit crunch", they are staying away because they fear prices will drop another 10-15% by year end (echoing what Sam Zell was discussing in the last post about a "confidence crunch" vs. a "credit crunch").A recent article from RetailTraffic reiterates these sentiments from the 4Q of 2007 with rising CAP rates on all commercial asset classes due to the tightened credit and underwriting guidelines for commercial deals. This translates to lower pricing models and higher CAP rates moving forward:In July, investors closed the smallest number of commercial real estate deals since August 2006, at 930 transactions valued at more than $5 million, Real Capital Analytics researchers told Bloomberg.com. ...
More About: Rise , Rates

The "Grave Dancer" Speaks
2007-09-22 22:03:00
In a recent Forbes article, real estate investor turned newspaper owner, Sam Zell, discusses the "confidence crunch" that the country is currently involved in with Peter Linneman from the Wharton School:"We're not really in a 'credit crunch.' I think we're in a 'confidence crunch,'" said Zell, funder of the Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton. "I would argue the excess liquidity that existed eight weeks ago still exists today. It has a different risk premium on it, but the actual amount of liquidity has not changed."Zell said the slump should come as no surprise: "Over the last three years, people were flippant. They bought anything they wanted and were proud that they didn't do due diligence. I think they have all been chagrined and are scared out of their minds."Linneman noted that Zell is known by the nickname "the grave dancer." According to Zell, the term grew out of the headline of an article he wrote, describing his strategy of profiting from dis...
More About: Grave , Dancer

Do Your Tenants Take Advantage of Federal Contract Opportunities?
2007-09-19 05:11:00
If you're an investor in this market and see your tenants having cash-flow issues in their businesses, then you're always on the look-out for small business seminars and conferences that help your tenants create more revenue and ultimately help your ability to collect rents.Below is an email that we received for the Northern California GovLink Conference and the FTC's push to help small business secure federal contracts in their businesses. The site has many useful links and helps small business understand the growth opportunities with federal contracts. The conference has many federal decision makers available for "question and answer" sessions with small business owners.Space is limited, register now for the GovLink Conference 2007 - Linking you to Federal Opportunities on October 23-24, 2007. This highly-packed, two-day conference provides the opportunity to hear from high level government representatives, to network with federal agencies, prime contractors and small busine...
More About: Contract , Tenants , Tena , Unit

Did You See The Front Page of The Paper? Yeah.. Which one?
2007-09-18 08:01:00
Ever wanted to see the front page of today's paper? Which one you ask? ALL of them. Newseum has a page that is constantly updated with an image of today's front page from literally every newspaper on the planet (556 from 9/17/07).Tiger Woods was on the cover of today's Manila Standard Today. But my favorite is the pictorial for the Global Warming at the bottom left.Or, there is OJ's mug shot on literally 200+ newspapers from his ordeal in Vegas. Good Luck buddy.Or, there is the Monterey County Herald (Calif.) that shows the celebration of locals from Mexico's independence from Spain.
More About: Page , The Paper , Paper , Front , Front Page

Wall Street Looking for Local Partners in Troubled Regions
2007-09-17 19:31:00
Wall Street opportunists have been gearing up for local land grabs as builders and developers look to exit subprime-ravaged states. Most of these players are not experts in these local markets, so they're partnering with local developers/builders that know the markets, hoping to enter these markets at bargain prices with a 5 to 10 year hold anticipation.Their plan is obvious in the wake of the real estate meltdown: buy these hard assets and wait until the markets bounce back. "The Rockefeller Group is actively researching Florida properties that may become available for purchase," a spokesman for the New York-based investment and real estate firm told Fortune. "There are definitely opportunities for homebuilders to sell some of the land they acquired when the residential market was very strong." The explanation for this hot money pouring into land has to do with the fact that firms and funds have been raising capital for real estate purchases for the past decade, putting it to work...
More About: Wall Street , Regions , Wall , Local

World Banks to announce $30B hit
2007-09-16 23:48:00
The Sunday Times in the UK says that the world investment banks are set to announce that their previous quarters' numbers will show a hit of $30B from their exposure in commercial paper, SIV's and subprime. Essentially it means that some investment banks have made no money over the last quarter and that the bank numbers will be as important as the decision of the Fed on interest rates. Also, there is a feeling that the Bank of England should also reduce rates even though they have decided against such a move this past week.The world?s investment banks are to reveal a $30 billion (£14.9 billion) hit from bad debts as they unveil results that give the first real insight into the impact of the debt crisis.City analysts predict the banks will have to write down as much as 10% of the $300 billion of leveraged loans currently agreed but not yet syndicated when they report third-quarter results to the market.Banks are also expected to announce further hefty provisions to cover their expo...
More About: World , Anno

Killocycle inventor almost kills himself with monster electric motorcycle [
2007-09-14 00:11:00
At Wired NextFest, Los Angeles, CA, the inventor of the Killacycle, demonstrating a motorcycle that can go from 0-60 in 0.97 seconds has a severe accident. With slideshow and video,
More About: Motorcycle , Monster , Electric , Electric Motor , Inventor

Is Barack Obama in your network?
2007-09-12 03:12:00
Fifteen years ago it took real estate professionals (and their secretaries) considerable time to sift through mountains of business cards (stapled onto Rolodex index cards). We'd input them into the latest Lotus 123 or Lucid's budding MS DOS spreadsheet programs. We were evolving from a gigantic Rolodex paperweight to a DOT-matrix spreadsheet print-out that could be transported inside the briefcase to our next meeting, in case we needed to find a client's contact information.Fast forward to an online world that has created the world's richest man along with social (Facebook) and business (LinkedIn) networking sites. For newbies to these sites, I want to warn those who want something for nothing, these sites don't grow by themselves. There is a commitment needed to produce results and the old phase from college still applies: "Garbage in, Garbage out".But, I immediately gravitated to LinkedIn since the website had an Outlook toolbar download (see below) that included as an Add-i...
More About: Barack Obama , Network , Barack , Obama

Need a Sunday morning top 10 list?
2007-09-09 19:20:00
I guess it's the effects of a lazy Sunday morning (or perhaps the result of a Saturday night out), but I'm not finding much inspiration (or clarity to offer my origin comments) from the news feeds (and blogs) to comment about this morning. So, the intent here is to show all of the feeds that have some interest this morning (an eclectic group for sure):Las Vegas speculators now rolling crapsNow the buyers have the hammerI want my halfA sign of life in private equityHelp find Steve FossettBlack Book launches new toolI am the #2 make money online blogWho is the youngest real estate blogger?Speed up your wireless WAN connectionSunglasses with hidden camera and attached PVR
More About: Top 10 List , List , Morning , Sunday morning

1031 IRS Letter Ruling
2007-09-07 20:11:00
In a private letter ruling by the IRS on Aug. 10, 2007 under the Sec. 1031, the code allowed for wholly-owned LLC's (under one Taxpayer), intending to qualify as like-kind exchanges under the IRC 1031, to exchange into separately created LLC's, provided both entities are assets owned by the Taxpayer and meet all of the requirements for a 1031 exchange.FACTS:LLC1 is a State A limited liability company, 100 percent owned by LLC2, a State A limited liability company, which itself is 100 percent owned by Taxpayer, a State A limited liability company. Taxpayer has two members and is treated as a partnership for Federal income tax purposes. LLC1 and LLC2 are both disregarded as entities separate from Taxpayer, their owner, under § 301.7701-3(b)(ii) of the Income Tax Regulations. LLC 1 owns an interest in hotel property in State B, which has been held for many years in its trade or business.On Date 1, LLC1 entered into a contract that provides for the sale of the hotel property to an unr...
More About: Letter , Ruling