REAL ESTATE

Weak U.S. housing mkt weighs on Lowe's Q3 profit

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Lowe's Cos Inc, the second-largest U.S. home improvement chain, posted a 30 percent drop in quarterly profit as consumers put off big renovations as the U.S. housing market remains sluggish, sending shares down 2.1 percent in premarket trading.

Yun: 2010 Sales to Rise 15 Percent

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Home sales will increase 15 percent to about 5.7 million units and REALTOR® income will be up 20 percent in 2010, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told a packed room of REALTORS® today in a residential economic update at the 2009 NAR Conference & Expo.
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U.S. realtors say tax credit spurred home sales

The percentage of homes bought in the United States by first-time buyers rose significantly in the year through June, helped by a popular $8,000 tax credit, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday.
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GMAC Real Estate Merges With Real Living

Two industry powerhouses Real Living and GMAC Real Estate announced Wednesday they are merging to create a residential real estate franchise with about $20 billion in annual home sales.
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Treasury says 650,000 in trial home loan workouts

About 20 percent of struggling U.S. homeowners eligible for loan workouts have entered into a trial modification, but it is unclear how many of them will be able to keep the lower payments permanently, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
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8 Reasons to Stage Your Home for Sale

Staging can be pricey. Especially if you go with someone good. The designer alone can run on the range of $1400-$3000 and rental of materials as much as $300-700 per month. Is it worth it? Homes that are priced right still need to compete. Anytime you can remove people's fears about purchasing a twix, a computer or a home, you'll be that much closer to locking in the sale.
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U.S. home prices flat in Q3, fewer underwater: Zillow

Home values in the United States stabilized in the third quarter and fewer mortgages were underwater, but impending foreclosures could threaten to delay a housing market recovery, real estate website Zillow.com said on Monday.
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Stuyvesant Town woes may pave way for loan changes

The joint venture that borrowed heavily to buy Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in 2006 could be among the first to take advantage of changes in U.S. tax law that let borrowers seek payment relief, when it said last week that it could not keep paying interest on a $3 billion loan.
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Mortgage rates drop below 5 percent: Freddie Mac

U.S. mortgage rates fell below 5 percent for the first time in three weeks, a key level that may boost home loan demand and help the hard-hit housing market recover, a closely watched mortgage survey showed Thursday.
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Senate approves jobless, housing aid

The Senate vote unanimously on Wednesday to extend aid for jobless workers and broaden tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses in a bid to breathe life into the struggling U.S. economy.
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For Americans, deficit pain is felt close to home

Christopher O'Neill is worried about the deficit. The deficit, that is, in his personal income after the 26-year-old Miami finance analyst was forced to find a temporary job paying $20,000 a year less than he earned until January when he was laid off from his auditor's post in Miami.
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Short sale battles weigh on U.S. housing recovery

Home equity lenders faced with losses from the U.S. property slump are holding out for more money in distressed sales, slowing transactions needed to support a recovery, real estate agents and analysts say.
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House seen expanding home buyer tax break: Hoyer

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to back a Senate plan to extend a popular homebuying tax credit through April and also expand its scope, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday.
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U.S. commercial property up in 3rd quarter

The prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose more than 4 percent in the third quarter, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral, according to an leading property index released on Tuesday.
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Seattle's Most Expensive Home $25 Million

The most expensive home in Seattle is currently listed at $25M and what a magnificent home it is. Located on the northern tip of Mercer Island, it has a nice view of the upper half of Lake Washington and the Olympic Mountains. MLS #28184022, let's start with the basics:
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US home buyer credit spurred 400,000 sales -report

The government's first-time homebuyer tax credit has spurred a significant amount of sales this year and its positive impact on the hard-hit housing market warrants an extension, an economist known for her property market expertise said on Thursday.
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L.A. homelessness declines despite economic crisis

The homeless population of Los Angeles fell sharply during the past two years, a study released on Wednesday found, confounding expectations that the recession would drive more people into the city's streets and shelters.
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New home sales drop, durable goods orders up

Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly tumbled in September, their first drop in six months, underscoring the hazards to an economic recovery even as businesses appeared to be stepping up investment.
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Home credit extension widely supported in Senate

The U.S. Senate's top Democrat and top Republican each voiced support on Wednesday for extending a soon-to-expire $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers, but left unclear when the chamber would act.
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US mortgage applications slump third straight week

U.S. home loan demand slid for the third straight week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday, with purchase applications the weakest since mid-May and refinancing requests at a two-month low.
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U.S. foreclosures spike in new regions in 3rd qtr

U.S. mortgage defaults ebbed in some hard-hit cities in the third quarter, but unemployment created new trouble spots as foreclosures set a record in the quarter, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Wednesday.
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SL Green sees role in Stuyvesant Town restructuring

SL Green Realty Corp, a New York office owner and commercial real estate lender, said on Tuesday it expected to play a role in the restructuring of the debt on two huge Manhattan apartment complexes teetering on the edge of default.
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U.S. home price gains may not be sustainable: Shiller

The gains in U.S. home prices in recent months may not be sustainable and increases in some areas of the country appear to be in bubble territory, an economist known for his property market expertise said on Tuesday.
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U.S. schools homeowners to spot loan rescue scams

Sun Valley, a sun-baked and struggling corner of Los Angeles, is fertile ground for mortgage rescue scams with its high proportion of subprime borrowers, Spanish speakers and a sharp drop in home values.
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Torture charged in L.A.-area mortgage rescue case

As Los Angeles housing advocates launched a campaign warning of mortgage rescue scams, a couple hit by foreclosure are charged with torturing two loan-modification agents they suspected of fraud, authorities said on Monday.

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