James B. Stewart has decided to buy shares of these real-estate investment trusts. When there’s panic in a market, be a buyer, he says.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The region’s downtown office sector has seen a dramatic recovery that has prompted some developers to jump-start plans for new projects.

Popularity: 9% [?]

In a Realty Times article, the American Bankers Association reports that delinquencies in the home equity loan arena rose 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006. And what is a home equity loan? It’s basically a second mortgage, and like the first mortgage, it locks in an amount borrowed, an interest rate and a term, but unlike its first mortgage cousin, the interest rate is much higher. In fact, the borrower could pay at full percentage point more interest on a home equity loan versus a first mortgage.

More delinquencies in home equity loans provides even more evidence that not all is well in the mortgage loan business.

Borrowers have used home equity loans to finance their way out of mortgage insurance. This has been called a “piggy back loan” where the borrower uses the home equity loan to come up with a big enough downpayment to qualify for a conventional first mortgage. With the value of homes dropping across the US, problems with paying these kinds of home equity loans could result in foreclosures that don’t provide enough funds to pay off both the first mortgage and the additional loan. (First mortgages would always be paid off first if a home is sold.) With a remaining debt to pay and no asset, bankruptcy starts to look really good for the borrower.

Borrower bankruptcy isn’t the only bankruptcy occurring as loans go delinquent; lenders are also going bankrupt. The latest casualty is New Century, one of the big players in the subprime lending market.

The Implode-O-Meter is now up to 48.
 

Michael Chantrel
 

Popularity: 15% [?]

Beach real estate is attractive property, from both an aesthetic and a financial standpoint. Humans instinctively find large bodies of water both beautiful and relaxing, as there is an urge to “return home” every now and then. As a buyer in search of a place to live, you may be willing to pay top dollar to live in such a place. Anyone who has ever experienced the right plot of California or Florida real estate can attest to that.

Popularity: 8% [?]

So the company has outgrown its current location or has other plans for its office–and you are faced with a move. Knowing the company’s perspective on the relocation can help you manage the change more effectively.

Having made the decision to relocate, management must communicate the news to everyone. The general rule is to tell employees as much as you can as quickly as you can to limit the rumor mill.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Successful real estate investors train themselves how to look at property through the eyes of an investor, not the eyes of the consumer. Essentially, that means they have the ability to consider and evaluate real estate investments without getting emotionally attached to them.

The first time I walked through a potential investment property you should have seen the expression on my face.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The market for office space remained sluggish in the first quarter. Rents increased 2.8%, led by jumps in New York and San Francisco.

Popularity: 6% [?]

It would seem to most people that there would be few opportunities for California real estate investing. The state has one of the highest costs of living of all the states in the country. While this increase in cost of living keeps many Americans from moving out West, there are still some people who make the state their permanent residence. There is constantly an influx of people moving into the state of California creating a constant demand for real estate.

Popularity: 6% [?]

KarstadtQuelle agreed to pay $117.7 million to end a lawsuit over a large plot of land in Berlin that forcibly changed hands just before World War II.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal agencies are looking into the home builder’s lending practices in response to allegations of wrongdoing from several homebuyers in a North Carolina subdivision.

Popularity: 6% [?]