Washington, DC – January 26, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1), joined by Democratic Members of the California Congressional Delegation, today welcomed the President’s proposal from the State of the Union to provide responsible homeowners with the opportunity to refinance at historically low rates, but said this is only half of the equation. more »

Torrance, CA – January 26, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Brian Westre has been named REALTOR® of the Year for 2011 by the San Diego Association of REALTORS® (SDAR). A San Diego resident since the age of eight, Westre has an in-depth knowledge of the San Diego real estate market and has continuously been a top producer at the Coldwell Banker Rancho Bernardo office for several years. more »

Torrance, CA – January 26, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Lee & Associates, in a combined effort by two of the firm’s Southern California offices, has won its bid to secure the leasing assignment to the industrial portfolio of Watt Properties, a division of Watt Companies. The 12 buildings and four industrial properties sit on a total of 580,436 square feet and are located in the cities of Long Beach, Torrance, Carson and Northridge. more »

Torrance, CA – January 26, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Industry Speaks™, the web-based application that allows architecture, engineering and construction/construction management firms to search nationally for technical and administrative consultants who specialize in similar industries, has selected Green Owl Studio and its principal Catherine Minervini to serve as consulting advisor for its communications and social media program. more »

Washington, DC – January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1433, “The Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011.”  Introduced by Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the legislation is intended to protect private property owners and communities from eminent domain abuse, and restore property rights that the Supreme Court changed in the controversial case, Kelo v. City of New London. In Kelo, the Court upheld the ability of the State and Federal government to transfer privately-owned property against the wishes of the owner to a large corporation, declaring that the resulting economic development would produce benefits to the community more »

LOS ANGELES, CA – January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) Pending Home Sales Index dropped as expected between November and December, tracking the annual seasonal slowdown.  However, the index was higher than a year ago for the eighth straight month, a trend that bodes well for the start of the spring home-buying season.  C.A.R. also reported that sales of distressed properties increased in December, as lenders pushed to close REOs and short sales to move them off their balance sheets before the end of the year. more »

Single-family sector posts the lowest yearly permit total on record

SACRAMENTO, CA – January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — California saw the third-lowest yearly housing permit total and the worst yearly total on record for single-family units in 2011, the California Building Industry Association announced today. more »

January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — A new study that examines energy used by plug loads in commercial office buildings will be featured during a webinar on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. (Eastern). The results of the study and strategies that building owners and facilities managers can use to reduce energy demand from plug loads will be presented. more »

Claremont, CA – January 25, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Colliers International, the third largest global real estate services organization, has completed the sale of, The Claremont Business Park, located at 240-260 S. York Place, 700 W. Wharton Drive, and 759 W. Arrow Hwy in Claremont, Calif. The transaction is valued at $8,775,000. Built in 1988, The Claremont Business Park consists of five single-tenant buildings and one multi-tenant building with a total square footage of 69,428 on 3.86 acres. The project is 100% leased. more »

SAN JOSE, CA – January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — While Jerry Garrity of Silicon Valley’s First Statewide Realty works with a long list of properties for seasoned Bay Area investors who use his San Jose property management (http://www.firststatewiderealty.com/) services, he also has a growing portfolio of another abundant asset type: properties whose owners had trouble selling them. more »

January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The City of Long Beach and LA County invites all residents to attend the Energy Upgrade CA Kick-Off Event on Thursday, January 26, from 6-8 pm at the Expo Art Gallery, 4321 Atlantic Ave., in Long Beach. more »

Sale Transactions:

January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Rick Foss sold a 34,768 SF industrial building at 78 E. Gray Road in Scottsdale for $3 million. Kyle Westfall of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Rick Foss represented the buyer.

Stacie Harrison and George Long represented the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona in the purchase of a $700,000, 12,269 SF condominium shell building located at the SE corner of Williams & Miller roads in Scottsdale. Sorenson Group Management of Salt Lake City was the seller. Brian Bridgman of Capital Asset Management represented Sorenson. more »

NEWPORT BEACH, CA – January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Mark Lucescu, President of Lucescu Realty, a market leading investment real estate services firm, announced today the sale of Promenade Corporate Center for $56 million. The transaction is the second, and final part, of the larger sale of Scottsdale Promenade in Scottsdale, AZ, for a total consideration of $166 million. The initial leg of the sale was during the third quarter of 2011, when the retail component was acquired for $110 million by Excel Trust of San Diego, CA. The closing today represented the office component of the property. Lucescu Realty again represented the seller, a local private investor, and procured the buyer, Excel Trust, a publicly-traded NYSE REIT. more »

EUGENE, OR – January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — IDX, Inc. welcomes Kim Crawford and Village Properties to the growing network of real estate agents and brokers who have chosen to revolutionize their professional websites with the innovative IDX Broker software. As a member of Santa Barbra MLS (SBAOR), Crawford has long had the ability to scan SBAOR listings. Now, her clients have the same level of accessibility, thanks to her custom IDX solution. Finding the perfect Santa Barbara, California property online has never been easier! more »

EUGENE, OR – January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Fantastic Real Estate Broker Ikenna Exeude has collaborated with IDX, Inc. to deliver potential buyers a dynamic and simplified real estate resource. Searching for a home has never been easier for California home seekers, as the East Bay Reg Data MLS (EBRD) listings are now seamlessly integrated onto the search page Exeude hosts, giving buyers thousands of options to consider in their real estate search. more »