19 Nov 2007

LONG BEACH - A Long Beach man has become president of the National Association of Realtors. Richard "Dick" Gaylord, a 30-year residential real estate veteran with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists, has been installed in his new position at the group's convention in Las Vegas.

19 Nov 2007

Veteran real estate agent Ray Brown welcomes the tighter mortgage underwriting standards that have been imposed on consumers following spikes in home foreclosures here and around the country. The freewheeling days of risky low-doc, no-doc, interest-only and payment-option loans are over, "and that is good riddance," Brown said. "We are returning to the basics. You have to have good credit."

19 Nov 2007

The Justice Department's Antitrust Division has launched a new Web site to guide consumers in dealing with real estate brokers and agents. "Buying or selling a home is the largest financial transaction most Americans will ever undertake," said Thomas O. Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the division. "This Web site will help consumers and policy-makers understand the benefits of increased competition among real estate agents."

19 Nov 2007

HONOLULU - A wind power company has pledged $50 million to a community group for the purchase of one-third of the Hawaiian island of Molokai currently owned by a subsidiary of Singapore-based GuocoLeisure Ltd.

19 Nov 2007

Our vote for the loneliest traffic cameras goes to a network of them in Iceland. "If you had a dollar for every car that passed in a month, you'd be, well, pretty poor," admits the nation's tourist board.

19 Nov 2007

Most primers on real estate focus on how to make a quick financial killing, but a new book by Alexis McGee instructs investors how to maintain high ethical standards while working in the foreclosure market.

19 Nov 2007

"We continue to believe that excess supply created by cancellations, speculative buyers, and overly ambitious builders; customer concerns about selling their existing homes; and a general lack of confidence are the primary impediments to our market's recovery." - Robert Toll, Toll Bros. chief executive

19 Nov 2007

Is there a way that an unmarried couple can take advantage of the up-to-$500,000 exclusion of gain on the sale of the house? We file separate tax returns, and the house is currently titled in my name only.

19 Nov 2007

WASHINGTON - With the daily din of bad news about the state of the housing market, it's easy to lose sight of larger economic realities: Despite declining prices in many markets, homeowners still control near-record equity holdings.

19 Nov 2007