By Bruce Henderson
bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2009
Charlotte-based Crescent Resources, one of the leading real estate developers in the Southeast, said today it has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions.
The company said it will continue to operate as it tries to reduce debt and improve its capital structure. Crescent has raised $110 million in financing from its existing lenders to continue operations as it reorganizes.
Chief executive Art Fields has retired and will work with the company as an advisor, Crescent said. Andrew Hede, Crescent's chief restructuring officer, will also serve as CEO.
The Observer reported Crescent's struggles with $1.4 billion in debt, and the possibility of bankruptcy, in May. The company expanded into 10 states in the Southeast and Southwest, including booming states that were later hard hit by the real-estate bubble.
“Despite the unprecedented challenges facing the real estate industry, we believe Crescent's underlying business model is solid, and our assets remain very attractive,” Hede said in a statement.
Crescent is a joint venture of Duke Energy and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Two Latest Signs Housing Is Recovering
Here’s more evidence that the housing market is recovering.
Two major home builders, Toll Brothers Inc. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., say their losses were shrinking compared to last year because buyers are coming back to the market.
Other encouraging news came from IHS Global Insight, a research firm, which said home prices fell on average at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter in 199 of 330 metropolitan areas. That compares with a 12.5 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 in 312 metropolitan areas.
"While it's too early to see a bottom of this housing downturn," the report said, the latest data "may signal that the market is beginning to stabilize."
Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty and John Spence (06/04/2009)
Two major home builders, Toll Brothers Inc. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., say their losses were shrinking compared to last year because buyers are coming back to the market.
Other encouraging news came from IHS Global Insight, a research firm, which said home prices fell on average at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter in 199 of 330 metropolitan areas. That compares with a 12.5 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 in 312 metropolitan areas.
"While it's too early to see a bottom of this housing downturn," the report said, the latest data "may signal that the market is beginning to stabilize."
Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty and John Spence (06/04/2009)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Two Real Estate Agents Sue Over CSI Episode
Melinda and Scott Tamkin, two associates with Keller Williams Realty in Beverly Hills, Calif., are suing a writer for the CBS show “CSI” because they allege they were portrayed unkindly in a show because of a real estate deal that didn’t work out right.
The "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" episode featured a real estate practitioner named Melinda who dies. Her husband Scott, a mortgage broker, is suspected of killing her.
The Tamkins believe they were portrayed in the episode and sued writer and producer Sarah Goldfinger for defamation and invasion of privacy. They are seeking $6 million in damages, alleging that the show kept potential customers away.
The Tamkins represented the owners of a home that Goldfinger wanted to buy in 2005, according to the lawsuit. Goldfinger pulled out when the sale was in escrow.
Source: The Associated Press (05/23/2009)
The "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" episode featured a real estate practitioner named Melinda who dies. Her husband Scott, a mortgage broker, is suspected of killing her.
The Tamkins believe they were portrayed in the episode and sued writer and producer Sarah Goldfinger for defamation and invasion of privacy. They are seeking $6 million in damages, alleging that the show kept potential customers away.
The Tamkins represented the owners of a home that Goldfinger wanted to buy in 2005, according to the lawsuit. Goldfinger pulled out when the sale was in escrow.
Source: The Associated Press (05/23/2009)
Forecasters say recession nearing end
More than 90 percent of economists think the recession is nearing its end, but they don't expect the economy to soar anytime soon. Nearly 75 percent of economists, surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics, say that the recession will end in the third quarter. Another 19 percent think the turnaround will come in the fourth quarter. The rest are betting on the first quarter of 2010.
Americans seem to believe that things are getting better too. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose 14.1 points in May to 54.9, the second month in a row in which there has been an increase. Forecasters say that home sales will bottom out in the second quarter, an important stabilizing factor.
Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (05/27/2009)
Americans seem to believe that things are getting better too. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose 14.1 points in May to 54.9, the second month in a row in which there has been an increase. Forecasters say that home sales will bottom out in the second quarter, an important stabilizing factor.
Source: The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa (05/27/2009)
NAR: Existing-home sales jump
Existing-home sales rose in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million units in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March. Yet, home sales were 3.5 percent below the 4.85 million-unit level in April 2008, according to NAR.
REAL Trends Comment: Sales were up from March (which is a seasonal event) but down from last April (a cyclical event). As we reported in the REAL Trends April Housing Market Report, sales did not improve from March in our study. Further the seasonal adjustment in the NAR report was smaller (2.9%) than the normal monthly adjustment which is usually in the range of 10.5% to 12.4% - that is April sales are usually 10.5% to 12.4% higher than they are in March. We would enjoy more than anyone the news that the market is improving but the data just doesn't show it - yet.
An NAR practitioner survey in April showed first-time buyers declined to 40 percent of transactions, implying more repeat buyers are entering the traditional spring home-buying season. It also showed the number of buyers looking at homes has increased 14 percentage points from a year ago.
National median existing-home price: for all housing types, was $170,200 in April, which is 15.4 percent below 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 45 percent of all sales in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Total housing inventory: at the end of April, rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace, compared with a 9.6-month supply in March. "The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market," Yun says. "Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier."
Source: NAR
REAL Trends Comment: Sales were up from March (which is a seasonal event) but down from last April (a cyclical event). As we reported in the REAL Trends April Housing Market Report, sales did not improve from March in our study. Further the seasonal adjustment in the NAR report was smaller (2.9%) than the normal monthly adjustment which is usually in the range of 10.5% to 12.4% - that is April sales are usually 10.5% to 12.4% higher than they are in March. We would enjoy more than anyone the news that the market is improving but the data just doesn't show it - yet.
An NAR practitioner survey in April showed first-time buyers declined to 40 percent of transactions, implying more repeat buyers are entering the traditional spring home-buying season. It also showed the number of buyers looking at homes has increased 14 percentage points from a year ago.
National median existing-home price: for all housing types, was $170,200 in April, which is 15.4 percent below 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 45 percent of all sales in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Total housing inventory: at the end of April, rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace, compared with a 9.6-month supply in March. "The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market," Yun says. "Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier."
Source: NAR
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