Property managers busy as rental market surges

Meg McKennon’s workload has surged since the Seattle real estate agent switched to managing residential properties. Now she gets paid for finding tenants instead of buyers – an easier task as rentals soar. “In the past two months, my business probably came close to tripling,” said McKennon, who started management company Dwellings Seattle Real Estate …

Tampa’s SunTrust skyscraper is sold for $82 million

A crown jewel of Tampa’s skyline has sold as part of a 14-building deal. The SunTrust Financial Centre went for $82 million — $32.5 million less than it sold for in 2007. Beacon Capital Partners, a Boston-based real estate investment trust, bought the 36-story skyscraper and 13 other buildings last month in a $1.71 billion …

5 things to consider before buying a multifamily home

When Michael and Monica Tesoriero started looking at houses last year, they were set on a single-family in Medford – until they saw how little they could get for their money. “After seven months of looking,” says Monica, who works in finance at Harvard University, “we came to the realization that most houses in our …

Own vs. Rent: A Growing Reason to Buy

Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities. The Wall Street Journal’s third-quarter survey of housing-market conditions in 28 of the nation’s …

Condos: Buyers needing FHA loans shut out of buildings

Sellers of South Florida condominiums, buffeted by the devastating housing downturn, are bracing for another blow caused by prospective buyers’ problems getting mortgages. Buyers who want loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration are being shut out of buildings that no longer qualify for FHA financing. That likely will slow the region’s recovering condo market …

Farmers, outside investors bid up local ag land

Kern farmland has become one of the county’s hottest investments, due in part to broadly higher commodity prices and growing demand for land with vested water rights.People in the industry say large farming companies are taking advantage of low interest rates and bidding against institutional investors with few other attractive options for earning income.While some …