Home loan demand falls despite rate plunge - Click here for full article

Home loan demand falls despite rate plunge

By Julie Haviv Wed Sep 27, 1:36 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications fell for the first time in four weeks even as interest rates dropped to a six-month low, an industry trade group said on Wednesday, offering more evidence the country's housing market slump is deepening.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity , which includes both refinancing and purchasing loans, for the week ended September 22 fell 4.9 percent to 566.6 from the previous week's 595.8, its highest level since April.
Applications were 21.4 percent below their year-ago level.

Lennar profit drops 39 percent

By ADRIAN SAINZ, AP Business Writer
52 minutes ago



MIAMI - Lennar Corp., one of the nation's top homebuilders, said Tuesday its third-quarter profit dropped 39 percent due to a continued slowdown in the housing market. Lennar also lowered guidance for the fourth quarter as it limits its land purchases and works to lower inventory.

The Miami-based company's net income fell to $206.7 million, or $1.30 per share, from $337.3 million, or $2.06 per share, in the year-ago period.

Still, quarterly revenue climbed 20 percent to $4.18 billion from $3.5 billion, as home deliveries rose in every region, and the average sale price of homes delivered also increased. And, new home orders were down only 5 percent from the third quarter a year ago, a relatively modest drop considering the slowdown in the market.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for third-quarter earnings of $1.28 per share on sales of $3.72 billion. Third-quarter results were within the company's previously announced revised goal of $1.25 to $1.35 per share.

Shares rose 65 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $47.53 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They are still down 13.5 percent since the end of 2005.

The company reported a 39 percent decrease in earnings from continuing operations and a 31 percent rise in costs of homes sold, land sold and general and administrative expenses compared to last year.

Buyer incentives and upgrades to new homes are included in these costs, but it's the fall in demand that really hurt profits, said home building analyst Todd Vencil of BB&T Capital Markets.

The new homes market has seen its share of problems this year. Housing construction plunged in August, falling to the lowest level in more than three years, the Commerce Department reported Sept. 19. Construction of new homes and apartments fell by 6 percent, and the annual rate for construction was down to 1.665 million units, the slowest pace since April 2003.

"The U.S. housing market has continued to deteriorate, trailing down further and faster than anticipated," Lennar President and Chief Executive Stuart Miller said in a statement. "We have limited our land purchases and reduced standing inventory through strategic asset management. Additionally, we have emphasized salesmanship and simplicity in the field which help control costs in the management of our business."

Downtown connections - Northeast Ohio Supporters

Blog entry: September 25, 2006, 11:17 am
Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

Developer Ari Maron is encouraging officials in Greensboro, N.C., to look to Cleveland as an inspiration for bringing new life to that city’s downtown, according to this story in The Business Journal of North Carolina.Mr. Maron, a partner in Cleveland-based MRN Limited Partnership, was a guest speaker last week at Downtown Greensboro Inc.’s annual “Report to the Community” meeting. (The story doesn’t make clear if Mr. Maron has business interests in Greensboro.) He “urged his counterparts in Greensboro to work on connecting the different pieces of downtown to continue and improve redevelopment efforts,” according to the story.

“Maron said there are many similarities between Cleveland, which lost nearly a half-million residents during the ‘flight to the suburbs’ during much of the 20th century, and Greensboro, but said the Gate City was on the right track in its downtown redevelopment efforts,” the newspaper reports.“ ‘You need to provide an alternative and become more urban,’ he said of the struggle of downtowns across the country,” according to the story. “In Cleveland, developers did that by creating or attracting businesses and entertainment destinations that weren't available in the suburbs, such as a bowling alley/martini bar and a comedy club.” He told the group that Greensboro “has an advantage over Cleveland with its existing neighborhoods on the edge of downtown. You need to take those and engage them in downtown, and that takes connectivity."

According to the paper, Mr. Maron “encouraged the public sector to stay involved by investing in infrastructure improvements on things such as sidewalks and roads, and to support the private development that is taking place. In Cleveland, he said, historic buildings were the first to be renovated, because developers could take advantage of tax credits. The same has been true in Greensboro. The next step, he said, is finding innovative ways of funding, such as tax-increment financing.”

Blog entry: September 25, 2006, 11:17 am
Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

Developer Ari Maron is encouraging officials in Greensboro, N.C., to look to Cleveland as an inspiration for bringing new life to that city’s downtown, according to this story in The Business Journal of North Carolina.Mr. Maron, a partner in Cleveland-based MRN Limited Partnership, was a guest speaker last week at Downtown Greensboro Inc.’s annual “Report to the Community” meeting. (The story doesn’t make clear if Mr. Maron has business interests in Greensboro.) He “urged his counterparts in Greensboro to work on connecting the different pieces of downtown to continue and improve redevelopment efforts,” according to the story.

“Maron said there are many similarities between Cleveland, which lost nearly a half-million residents during the ‘flight to the suburbs’ during much of the 20th century, and Greensboro, but said the Gate City was on the right track in its downtown redevelopment efforts,” the newspaper reports.“ ‘You need to provide an alternative and become more urban,’ he said of the struggle of downtowns across the country,” according to the story. “In Cleveland, developers did that by creating or attracting businesses and entertainment destinations that weren't available in the suburbs, such as a bowling alley/martini bar and a comedy club.” He told the group that Greensboro “has an advantage over Cleveland with its existing neighborhoods on the edge of downtown. You need to take those and engage them in downtown, and that takes connectivity."

According to the paper, Mr. Maron “encouraged the public sector to stay involved by investing in infrastructure improvements on things such as sidewalks and roads, and to support the private development that is taking place. In Cleveland, he said, historic buildings were the first to be renovated, because developers could take advantage of tax credits. The same has been true in Greensboro. The next step, he said, is finding innovative ways of funding, such as tax-increment financing.”

Slow Markets Hatch Aggressive Buying Tactics

Daily Real Estate News September 20, 2006
Slow Markets Hatch Aggressive Buying Tactics

In a red-hot housing market, home sellers boosted asking prices and made special demands of buyers. However, in markets with weakening home sales, buyers now have the upper hand. In addition to demanding reduced prices, buyers are requesting paid closing costs, new appliances, and home improvements before they will close the deal.

Some buyers are going so far as to ask sellers to pay off their credit cards, cover their commuting costs, or agree to rent out the home with the option to buy when their credit improves enough for them to obtain a mortgage. "They have to give buyers a reason to be interested, or else they will walk away," says Mark Goldberg of Bethesda, Md.-based Long & Foster, REALTORS®.

Source: Associated Press, Rachel Beck (09/18/06)

AP - Fed Leaves Interest Rate at 5.25 Percent

AP Fed Leaves Interest Rate at 5.25 Percent
Wednesday September 20, 2:52 pm ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer

Fed Leaves Interest Rate Steady As Falling Energy Prices Help to Restrain Inflation Pressures

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve left a key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, as falling energy prices have helped to restrain inflation pressures.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues issued a brief announcement saying they would leave the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, at 5.25 percent.

YOUNGSTOWN — Enrollment at Youngstown State University has reached its highest mark in 11 years.

Vindy.com News, Local & Regional Story
Published: Friday, September 15, 2006
Enrollment is highest in 11 years

A widespread marketing campaign is believed to have helped draw students.
YOUNGSTOWN — Enrollment at Youngstown State University has reached its highest mark in 11 years.
The university reported final fall 2006 enrollment numbers Thursday, putting the tally at 13,183. That's an increase of 371, or 2.9 percent, over a year ago and the highest number since 1995, when the university recorded 13,273 students in fall.

"Enrollment is an important measure of a university's progress, and these numbers are proof that YSU continues to serve the growing educational needs of thousands of people throughout the region," said Dr. David C. Sweet, YSU president.

"We take seriously our crucial role in raising educational attainment levels in the Mahoning Valley and the state of Ohio, and one way to do that is to get more people enrolled in higher education," he said.

The university conducted a concerted marketing campaign throughout the summer in an effort to help attract students, and that effort continues.
The numbers represent student head count, but the more important number is the full-time equivalent enrollment. Full-time is a minimum of 15 credit hours.

IMF: Housing market could slow U.S. GDP

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 49 minutes ago
SINGAPORE - The U.S. economy is headed for a slowdown caused by a cooling housing market, the
International Monetary Fund' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> International Monetary Fund warned Thursday, and that could drag on global growth. But China's booming economy shows no sign of slowing down, and that prompted the IMF to raise its global growth forecast for this year and next.

The IMF revised downward its forecast for U.S. economic growth to 2.9 percent for 2007 from an estimate of 3.3 percent in April. This year, the U.S. is seen expanding 3.4 percent, the fund projected in its semiannual World Economic Outlook.
But as U.S. growth appears to falter, much of the rest of the world has picked up steam, it said.
In addition to China, both Japan and Europe are expanding and the IMF raised its forecast for global growth to 5.1 percent this year and 4.9 percent next year — both up a quarter point from April.
"This is really the fourth year of very strong global growth," said Raghuram Rajan, the fund's chief economist in Singapore, where the IMF and its sister institution, the
World Bank' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> World Bank, will be holding their annual meeting next week.
Still, the IMF warned that inflationary pressures, high oil prices and a possible abrupt slowdown in the U.S. economy could restrain global growth.
"This strong central forecast is surrounded by more uncertainty than usual, with risks tilted to the downside," Rajan said.
"The forecasted (U.S.) housing slowdown is well and truly here," he said. "Indeed, rising inventories of unsold houses suggest things will get worse before they get better."
Last month, the
Commerce Department' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes dropped 4.3 percent while the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high.
The IMF also said further U.S. interest rate hikes might be necessary as inflation remains a threat.
The
Federal Reserve' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Federal Reserve "faces a difficult situation of rising inflation in a slowing economy, but given the importance of keeping inflation expectations in check, some further policy tightening may still be needed," the report said. In August, the Fed decided to keep its key short-term lending rate at 5.25 percent after 17 straight hikes dating back to June 2004.
The U.S. could help reduce global imbalances by setting a more ambitious deficit reduction path and put the budget in a stronger position to respond to future economic downturns, the IMF said.

FULL STORY - Click on This link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060914/ap_on_bi_ge/imf_world_economic_outlook

via Beacon Journal - Developer gets a price break on old Big Boy restaurant

By Dave Scott
Beacon Journal business writer

Tom Bartlebaugh figures he got a good deal when he bought the run-down vacant restaurant at 2660 W. Market St. in Fairlawn.

BankOne was asking $800,000 for the building, and Bartlebaugh and his investment partners got it for $590,000. They are putting up a three-story, 18,000-square-foot buildingfor doctors and dentists.
But what made the deal sweeter were two pieces of Americana that came in the deal:

Change of Pace, Change of Space

By Nanette Overly, Epcon Communities SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 --

There are approximately 80 million Baby Boomers in the United States—the largest single demographic among our population. Yet, few companies marketing their products and services succeed in reaching this important, affluent segment of the market.

This is especially true of housing. As the Boomer generation reaches retirement age, their housing needs change dramatically. The empty nester no longer needs the four-bedroom house, and no longer wants the daily chore of maintenance and upkeep.

As a result, this creates a huge market demand for maintenance-free living, sought by a generation that is used to having room to entertain, guestrooms for children and grandchildren, and amenities catering to active adults.

To sell apartment building, find specialist agent - article from Beacon Journal

Avoid those who focus on house sales; listing for $3 million should get break on commission

Posted on Sat, Sep. 02, 2006

By Bob Bruss

Q: We are considering listing our 48-unit apartment building for sale. We have spoken with two Realtors. We would like to know what commission to expect to pay on a $3 million sale. The standard rate for houses in our area is 6 percent. One of the Realtors wants a flat commission. The other has some sort of pyramid-style system involving starting out at 10 percent and going down to 3 percent after a certain amount, all combined together. What guidance can you give? -- Ellen A.

A: You need a specialist who sells only commercial and apartment buildings. Stay away from agents who specialize in house sales. Real-estate sales commissions are negotiable, especially on $3 million income property sales. According to Real Trends, the average home-sale commission is now 5.1 percent, so your commission should be less than that. Interview at least three apartment and commercial-property sales specialists who sell apartments in your vicinity. Listen to each agent's listing presentation, including his/her quoted sales commission rates. Let each agent ``sell'' himself or herself to you, not necessarily based on the commission rate alone. Check out their references of recent sellers of properties like yours before selecting the best agent for your situation.