Archive for Tom Royce

Slow and Steady Progress In The Housing Recovery

These days the news is not all doom and gloom in the residential real estate markets. Housing starts showed improvement in the most recent report with new home construction inching up.
And folks, inching up is the best news we can here. We don’t need a just add water recovery in the housing markets. While it [...]

18Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Assessors Forced To Reflect Real Housing Market in Property Taxes

While local governments are seeing their sales taxes receipts decline they are now being faced with a double whammy. Homeowners are starting to see a realistic decline in their property tax bills.
And not a moment too soon.
The Seattle region is lowering the assessed value to realistic levels and it is saving the taxpayers [...]

17Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Realogy Posts Strong 4th Quarter on Weak 2009 Numbers

Looking at Realogy’s announcement this morning on their 2009 results makes me think that they should send a gift basket to the White House. The First Time Homebuyers Credit was the lifeline they needed.
With a rough year overall, the company lost 262 million dollars, the 4th quarter was strong posting an 18 percent increase in transactions. [...]

16Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Simon Property Looking To Buy Bankrupt General Growth

It looks like the commercial real estate market is finding the bottom and starting to consolidate. Simon Property Group has made an offer to absorb General Growth Properties for 10 billion dollars.
General Growth is a major mall operator owning such showcase properties as Faneuil Hall in Boston and The South Street Seaport in New [...]

16Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Historic Fire Station Raises Interesting Questions In Charlotte

There is a historic fire station in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina that the owners wants to tear down and sell the raw land to a developer. It is designated as an historic landmark but the owner has followed the procedures to circumvent the historic designation.
Now here is the interesting part for real estate enthusiasts.

The [...]

15Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Real Estate Commissions Drop 6.2 Percent in 2009

The total commissions paid to real estate agents dropped in 2009 6.2 percent. This reflects the slowing home sales across the country as the commission percentage paid to agents actually rose from 5.26 percent to 5.29 percent.
Another factor that influenced the lower commissions was the price of homes sales. The federal government had the [...]

15Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Mortgage Loan Fraud With Treasury Notes

It is amazing how inventive people are when they are committing mortgage fraud. A Duluth, Georgia man attempted to purchase a home with a counterfeit Treasury Bond.
Seriously.
He presented a $225,000 note for payment on a home. One of the 1.6 Billion Dollars worth of Treasury Notes he printed at his house. Yes, you [...]

9Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Mortgage Banker Association Takes 30 Million Dollar Loss on Real Estate

This is rich.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, MBA, bought a trophy building at the top of the market in Washington, DC in 2007 for 79 million dollars. A ten story beauty we are told, right down the road from the White House.
Well, they just sold it for 41.3 million dollars in early 2010. Not counting [...]

9Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 4 comments | Continued

Commercial Large Project Lending Improves

I found some good news for the commercial real estate market, lending is improving for large projects.
The drought in lending in these markets as property valuations plummeted has been disconcerting to say the least, down right terrifying if you are looking to roll over a commercial real estate loan.
But as banks start to see [...]

9Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Indiana University Basketball Announcer Todd Leary Arrested on Real Estate Fraud

As the real estate markets falter, the scams that came out of the boom are coming to light and are catching some people that you would not expect. The newest one, former Indiana University basketball player and current announcer Todd Leary was arrested.
The charges were that he took title insurance escrow funds totaling 1.3 [...]

7Feb2010 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued