The condo boom moves on to Latin America What to do when you have a network of real-estate brokers selling new condominiums, but few new condos to sell? Edgardo Defortuna, who has made millions selling South Florida condos, hopes one answer is found on the Pacific shores of Mexico. Defortuna, who heads Fortune International, last …
Category Archives: Breaking News
General Growth Shops for Partners
General Growth Shops for Partners General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest U.S. mall owner and operator by market value, is shopping its portfolio to potential joint-venture partners as it scrounges for capital to pay off $18.7 billion of debt coming due over the next four years. [Chart] Chicago-based General Growth, which owns more than 200 …
Did appraisers juice Florida real-estate market?
Did appraisers juice Florida real-estate market? Almost every street has one: a vacant house that sold a couple of years ago for a jaw-dropping price. It could be another example of appraiser-inflation during the overheated housing market, which saw property values soar tens of thousands of dollars with each sale. Appraisers so commonly pumped up …
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Maguire Properties Drops ‘For Sale’ Sign Due to Lack of Offers [Southern California]
Maguire Properties Drops ‘For Sale’ Sign Due to Lack of Offers [Southern California] Maguire Properties Inc. said Friday that it scrapped plans to put itself on the block amid uncertainty in the credit markets and a lack of viable offers. The announcement fueled a 16% slide in the Southern California real-estate investment trust’s share price, …
Real estate investment trusts prove disappointing in 2007
Real estate investment trusts prove disappointing in 2007 Since January 2001, I have regularly suggested that investors consider adding real estate investment trusts, or REITs, to their portfolios. In that time, the total return from REITs through 2007 has been about 273 percent. Thus, investors who followed the suggestion did quite well. However, 2007 was …
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Qualified borrowers face credit squeeze
Qualified borrowers face credit squeeze Lenders are rejecting more loan applicants with strong credit scores, the latest indication the nation’s credit crunch is deepening and further depressing the housing market and the economy. Mortgage companies are growing more cautious and tightening lending standards for some of their most credit-worthy customers – from increasing down payments …