The U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has agreed to sell its headquarters building in Washington to CoStar Group Inc (CSGP.O) for a loss, the Wall Street Journal said.

CoStar Group, a commercial real estate data provider, said it had agreed to buy MBA's 10-story headquarters building for $41.3 million, well below $79 million the trade group agreed to pay for it at the peak of the real estate bubble in 2007, the paper said.

The sale price is well short of the $75 million of financing that the industry group got from a group of banks led by PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC.N) for the purchase, the daily added.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people.

MBA could not be immediately reached for a comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours. (Reporting by Archana Shankar in Bangalore; Editing by Rupert Winchester)

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