Much of the profit is due to its investments in hotel IPOs, but its activity in REO-to-rental is also particularly notable. …read more

ForbesThe past few years in real estate have been unpredictable. Between high foreclosures one year to low inventory in some major markets the next, it’s hard to tell where the market is going to go. We turned to experts in the field and found a few … …read more

Home prices are gradually climbing but labor issues and stagnant wages may kill any momentum in this “recovery.” …read more

Everyone from the Fed to mainstream media are pushing the narrative that the economy is definitely in recovery mode. Everyone is wrong. …read more

ForbesThe palm is known as Palm Jumeirah Island, built by Dubai government owned real estate developer Nakheel in 2005, is not for the middle class. A house on the “trunk” of that island will cost over $1 million. A two bedroom, 1,700 square foot apartment … …read more

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency points out in its 19th Annual Survey of Credit Underwriting that OCC bank examiners studying banks noted an easing of underwriting standards in recent months. This trend apparently occurred as banks started to grow their business volumes to remain competitive. …read more

ForbesNew York City real estate firm Douglas Elliman this morning released its “Manhattan Decade” report–a ten-year record of sales prices, neighborhood by neighborhood, throughout the island. New York appraisal firm Miller Samuel puts together the Douglas … and more …read more

ProVest announced the opening of its newest office in Verona, N.J., due to its growing customer base and increased service volume demand, expanding the company’s footprint to 15 offices nationwide. …read more

Vectra Field Services and Valuation Vision launched RepairSmart BPO, which harnesses the expertise of a property inspector and the market and valuation knowledge of local real estate agents. …read more

Mortgage rates continued to decline on the heels of weaker housing data, with the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.32% this past week, down from a rate of 4.39% a week earlier. …read more

Is it the winter weather, a slowdown in housing or a combination of both that caused real estate contract signing to cool in December? Whichever factor is ultimately blamed, it is now clear that pending home sales fell a significant 8.7% in December to an index score of 92.4 last month, according to the National […]

A look at some of the stories behind the stories, and some context to bring all your free-range data into perspective. …read more

Music trio turns up creativityStockton RecordSo, Moreno, Jeff Anderson and Neelesh Maharaj (DJ No Shame) blend conventional and organic instruments – theremin, percussion and guitar by Moreno, Anderson’s bass and guitar and Maharaj’s “funky DJ grooves” – with didgeridoo (Stockton’s Tony Kizer … …read more

There was no taper rally Wednesday after the Federal Open Market Committee made its announcement that yes, the taper is here and we’re tapering more. …read more

Every time you turn around, there is another analyst report suggesting the sun is either shining on or about to shine on multifamily properties. A new report from Freddie about its own multifamily dealings may just prove that point. …read more

A New York state couple is facing years in federal prison for operating a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme in which the defendants recruited straw buyers to purchase a string of properties using fraudulent loan documents. …read more

Journalists count by saying one, two, trend, but there really is a trend happening in REO-to-rental as an asset class. …read more

Central Valley Community Bancorp Reports Earnings Results for the Year and …Wall Street JournalCentral Valley Community Bank now operates 21 full service offices in Clovis, Exeter, Fresno, Kerman, Lodi, Madera, Merced, Modesto, Oakhurst, Prather, Sacramento, Stockton, Tracy, and Visalia, California. … the Company’s ability to continue its … and more …read more

Central Valley Community Bancorp Reports Earnings Results for the Year and …MarketWatchCentral Valley Community Bank now operates 21 full service offices in Clovis, Exeter, Fresno, Kerman, Lodi, Madera, Merced, Modesto, Oakhurst, Prather, Sacramento, Stockton, Tracy, and Visalia, California. … the Company’s ability to continue its … …read more

The California firm’s actions led to an investigation that finally resulted in the Securities and Exchange Commission leveraging charges against Western Asset this week. …read more

The Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes reveal the Federal Reserve will continue to taper monthly asset purchases, reducing its acquisitions by another $10 billion per month. …read more

Tax Geek Tuesday: Why You Should Never Hold Real Estate In A CorporationForbesBut do you really understand why you should never put real estate into a corporation? It’s because, as the ensuing discussion will reflect, while real estate can go into a corporation tax-free, it can never come out tax free. In today’s Tax Geek […]

In its latest enforcement action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau initiated an administrative proceeding against PHH Corp. and its affiliates for allegedly harming consumers through a mortgage insurance kickback scheme. …read more

Data security breaches at Target, Neiman Marcus and other retailers do more than jeopardize the financial well-being of consumers, they also red-flag what could very well be the next hot-button banking topic in Congress and raise the issue of how many firms collect this data while lacking the appropriate systems to protect it. …read more

It’s great how much the Martha’s Vineyard crowd lets us know they know Poors like you and me. But the Poors want jobs, not handouts. …read more