News about properties and real estate
Home buyers could be squeezed by higher interest rates and need larger downpayments if Congress agrees with an Obama administration plan to phase out mortgage-guarantee giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Southwest Florida lenders, home builders, real estate agents and other housing industry participants agree on the need to reform the nation’s housing finance system, …
Continue reading “Phasing out Freddie and Fannie could hurt home buyers”
A wave of home builders debuting on the stock markets this year has slightly reordered the ranks of the largest publicly traded builders in the U.S. Since January, five home builders have conducted initial public offerings of their stock and raised nearly $1.46 billion cumulatively. That’s the most that the industry has reaped in IPOs …
Continue reading “After IPO, Builder Joins ‘Biggest’ Rankings”
One real estate developer hired a drone; another displayed life-size sculptures of polar bears. A third charged potential buyers $100,000 just to take a peek at the floor plans. The common goal: selling something that doesn’t exist. Spurred by tight inventory and plenty of interest from foreign buyers, real-estate developers in cities such as New …
Driving the streets of Edgewater recently, Martin Melo eased the accelerator of his Porsche Panamera to point out large swaths of land his family-run firm has cobbled together for high-rise development in one of Miami’s most rapidly emerging neighborhoods. “This four-block area is ours,” said his brother Carlos, whose Melo Group has seven condominium and …
Continue reading “A real estate explosion in Edgewater, Miami’s next trendy district”
Dan Gilbert, the billionaire Detroit real-estate investor, has shown he likes a bargain—snapping up downtown office properties for as little as $10 a square foot. But now he is negotiating to take control of Detroit’s Greektown Casino-Hotel at a price that isn’t deeply discounted. An affiliate of Mr. Gilbert’s Rock Gaming already owns some shares …
The City Commission’s rejection of Walmart’s plans to develop a supercenter on Ringling Boulevard may end up being but a small episode in a prolonged effort that could involve litigation by the Arkansas-based merchant. “They have three options now,” said city attorney Robert Fournier. “Walk away, try a different approach to see if they could …