real estate

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Hotelier Helmsley Dead at 87
Hotelier Helmsley Dead at 87
Aug 20, 2007 1:21 PM CDT

Hotelier Helmsley Dead at 87

'Queen of Mean' learns certainty of death, if not taxes

(Newser) - Leona Helsmley, the notoriously tyrannical real-estate baroness dubbed New York’s “Queen of Mean,” died of heart failure today at 87. The Brooklyn native took the reins of her husband Harry's real-estate empire in the 70s, and soon her name was synonymous with both luxe hotels and the...

Mortgage Crisis Hits Affluent Buyers, Too

Even borrowers with excellent credit are now facing higher rates

(Newser) - Mortgage tremors have rippled so far across the home loan market that even buyers of high-priced homes with good credit records are now being squeezed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates have surged on loans above $417,000 for prime borrowers—to 7.34% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, up...

Builders' Loans Pushed Credit Meltdown

Peddling dubious mortgages to move properties helped burst bubble

(Newser) - In the ongoing post-mortem of the housing boom, BusinessWeek turns an acute eye on developers, especially big, publicly traded builders who jumped into the mortgage business to move people into their newly built houses faster. As demand for new homes began to fizzle, they kept sales brisk by offering adjustable-rate...

Best Home Sellers' Markets
Best Home Sellers' Markets
Jul 31, 2007 5:35 PM CDT

Best Home Sellers' Markets

Times are tough, but your house won't sit on the market for long in these towns

(Newser) - The housing market overall isn't good, but luckily for some, there's an exception to every rule. Forbes points you toward 10 towns where sellers can still finish with smiles on their faces.
  1. Raleigh, NC
  2. San Francisco
  3. Austin, Texas
  4. San Antonio, Texas
  5. St. Louis 

Consumer Confidence Rises
Consumer Confidence Rises
Jul 31, 2007 4:18 PM CDT

Consumer Confidence Rises

Shoppers buying again after June slump

(Newser) - Consumer spending rose more than expected this month, to its highest level in 6 years, after shoppers tightened their belts in June, Bloomberg reports. Consumer confidence jumped 7.3 points according to a Conference Board index, suggesting the slump was temporary. Economists chalk up the spending jump to low unemployment...

Calif. Foreclosures Set Record
Calif. Foreclosures Set Record
Jul 24, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Calif. Foreclosures Set Record

Second-quarter figures reveal housing slump worse than '96 skid

(Newser) - Reflecting the increasingly gloomy picture across the country, residential foreclosures in California were up 799% in the second quarter compared to the same time last year, the LA Times reports. Stricter lending practices and the reeling housing market contributed to the record high 17,408 foreclosures in the three-month period,...

Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000
Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000
Jul 12, 2007 7:28 AM CDT

Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000

Manhattan drivers pay house rates to stash their cars

(Newser) - The price of New York City parking has doubled in five years, with some drivers currently vying for the chance to pay an astronomical $225,000 for one of five private parking spaces in the basement of a Manhattan condo, the New York Times reports. That's the price of a...

Office Rents Soar in US
Office Rents Soar in US
Jul 5, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Office Rents Soar in US

Companies are bearing the brunt of a price surge for commercial leases

(Newser) - The price of office space has surged nationwide due to a dwindling store of vacant commercial property and picky landlords increasingly keen on attracting well-heeled tenants. Across the country, leases spiked an average of 3.1% in the second quarter, following an increase of 2.8% in the first.

150-Story Chicago Spire to Begin Construction

Calatrava designed building will be nation's tallest building

(Newser) - The Chicago Spire, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is finally under way. Following an ownership change, a design change and a name change, what will become the nation’s tallest building will be completed in 2010.

Consumer Confidence, New Home Sales Slump

Grim economic indicators continue to stack up

(Newser) - Indicating that the topsy-turvy economy probably won't be righting itself anytime soon, consumer confidence dropped in May, as did new home sales, a signal that the reeling housing market has yet to hit bottom. The Fed will likely take up consumer worries at a 2-day meeting that starts tomorrow, Bloomberg...

Home Sales Plunge to 4-Year Low
Home Sales Plunge to
4-Year Low
Jun 25, 2007 6:27 PM CDT

Home Sales Plunge to 4-Year Low

Inventory glut, rising mortgage rates bode ill for quick rebound

(Newser) - Sales of existing homes fell again last month, while the number of homes languishing on the market hit a 15-year high. The median price sank to $223,700, the AP reports, and thanks in part to the woes of the subprime mortgage sector, overall sales were 10.3% below last...

Home Foreclosures Hit Record
Home Foreclosures Hit Record
Jun 14, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Home Foreclosures Hit Record

A dreary real estate market is fueling an all-time high rate of foreclosures

(Newser) - Home foreclosures hit a record high in first-quarter 2007 as more subprime borrowers failed to make their mortgage payments. The number of mortgages entering foreclosure spiked four basis points to 0.58% and over 2.4% of subprime mortgage holders defaulted, up from 2% last quarter, according to a report...

Largest Oil Spill in US Seeps Under Brooklyn

Exxon owns up to a century of leaks and dumping over 55 acres

(Newser) - Underneath the ground of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is a dark blob of gasoline, solvents, and associated poisons that composes the biggest oil spill in US history.  It's accumulated from a century's worth of smaller leaks and waste dumping, reports New York magazine, and ExxonMobil has quietly accepted the blame, but...

Tishman, Lehman Close REIT Deal
Tishman, Lehman Close REIT Deal
May 29, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Tishman, Lehman Close REIT Deal

$13.5B offer for apartment giant marks major privatization

(Newser) - In a penthouse-level play, real estate developer Tishman Speyer Properties and investment bank Lehman Brothers will spend $13.5 billion to buy the nation's second-largest apartment owner. The $60.75 per share offer for real estate trust Archstone-Smith, confirmed this morning, will take the company private in a deal worth...

Monthly Housing Sales Jump
Monthly Housing Sales Jump
May 24, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

Monthly Housing Sales Jump

But prices are way, way down

(Newser) - The real estate market had a volatile April, with home sales rising at their fastest rate in 14 years. But the 16% spike in sales over the previous month hid a more complicated reality: New home prices dropped by a record 11%, according to Commerce Department figures released today, and...

Home Prices Boom, In Select Cities
Home Prices Boom, In
Select Cities
May 9, 2007 10:28 AM CDT

Home Prices Boom, In Select Cities

Cities that sat out the bubble are showing gains despite overall slump

(Newser) - Despite the real estate slump, several cities are seeing double-digit gains in housing prices: Portland, Boise, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Houston, Austin, Charlotte and Raleigh aren't feeling the bubble blues—in part because they missed out on the bubble.

Newmark Brains Scammers
Newmark Brains Scammers
Mar 5, 2007 6:20 PM CST

Newmark Brains Scammers

Craig's List founder tracks online swindlers the old-fashioned way— brainpower

(Newser) - “We are not really that high-tech of a company,” the man who brought classifieds into the Internet age, Craig’s List founder Newmark, tells the New York Observer, explaining why he uses a combo of customer feedback and his own memory—instead of techie solutions like IP-address blockers...

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