Homester.com Web News Archive

Latest Deal in Real Estate for $9 Billion (New York Times) - Realogy, the giant real estate franchisor, agreed today to be sold to Apollo Group, the private equity firm, for about $9 billion.

2006 residential real estate in review: 'It was a very good year' (BizJournals) - Houston Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service statistical reports provide a review of the residential real estate market. Headlines on monthly news releases make it clear that "It was a very good year."

Pittsburgh firm sued by Mass. real estate lawyers over closings (BizJournals) - Massachusetts' association of real estate attorneys is suing a Pittsburgh-area company, alleging that the firm is cutting the state's lawyers out of the business of closing transactions.

Real estate firm goes home again (The Plain Dealer) - Talk about a success story. When Bradley Kowit first partnered with Steve Passov to form the commercial real estate brokerage firm of Kowit & Passov, the outfit had only three employees and occupied a small rented office space.

Private equity sets up house in real estate (Financial Times) - Blackstone's record-breaking $20bn bid for Equity Office Properties highlights the leverage which private equity groups can exert on the recovering US commercial real estate market, analysts said yesterday.

Rijas Group to introduce options and derivatives in real estate (Khaleej Times) - DUBAI — Rijas Group, a diversified group from Pakistan, plans to introduce 'options and derivatives' for the first time in the UAE real estate sector.

Website Aims To Demystify Real Estate Fees (KXAN 36 Austin) - Real estate fees can be a frustrating part of the home buying process, but there's a new website that could make that a bit easier. There may be no business transaction as antiquated. You usually don't find out about all the real estate closing costs until you're up against a deadline.

CHARLOTTE HOUSING MARKET: Speculators pan for Charlotte's real estate gold (The Charlotte Observer) - Scott Patterson, a college dropout-turned-real estate investor, flings open the door of a vacant bungalow in north Charlotte and shouts to scatter any vagrants who might linger inside.

Real estate transactions (The Columbian) - Residential real estate transactions over $200,000 filed with the Clark County assessor from Oct. 16-31. The information includes seller's name, buyer's name, property location, description, price and closing date.

A better housing start number shows real estate will rebound in cyclical bull market within a secular bear market (India Daily) - The real estate market is in the process of bottoming out for now. The Housing Starts number will come 1.56 million as compared to 1.48 million last months in spite of winter months. That is bullish for residential real estate.