Weighing risks vs. rewards of real-estate trusts

Weighing risks, rewards of real-estate trusts Despite housing woes, investment funds that focus on property can pay off. Here’s a thought for the bold: Take the subprime mortgage meltdown as a buying opportunity and plunge into REITs. But only if you have a cast-iron stomach. A REIT, or real estate investment trust, is stock in …

Survey: Huntsville real estate most affordable in Alabama

Survey: Huntsville real estate most affordable in Alabama Huntsville has been ranked Alabama’s most affordable residential real estate market in Coldwell Banker LLC’s 2007 Home Price Comparison Index. The study looked at 2,200 square feet, four bedroom homes in 317 American markets. The average price of such a home in the Huntsville market was $212,183. …

Commercial real estate crunched

Commercial real estate crunched The global credit crunch that has rattled financial markets over the past few weeks is finally reaching the vast commercial real estate investment and development industry in the United States. Predictions by some analysts that prices for office buildings and other commercial properties are poised to drop are sending shivers through …

Orlando’s condo boom a thing of the past

Orlando’s condo boom a thing of the past After a more than five-year frenzy, the condo-building boom in downtown Orlando has ground to a halt. A new Orlando Sentinel survey of the downtown core finds that more than two-thirds of the 40 new high- and mid-rise condo projects announced in recent years are in limbo, …

Bradenton builder stays busy in down market [South Florida]

Bradenton builder stays busy in down market [South Florida] At a time when several small- to medium-sized regional home builders have hit rough patches or simply folded, Bradenton’s Gibraltar Homes seems to have weathered the storm of real estate’s big downturn. Albert Sanchez, Gibraltar’s president and owner, sees an improving housing market ahead. He thinks …