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LOS ANGELES, CA - October 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real Estate Business Services® (REBS®) today announced that the Chico Association of REALTORS® (AOR) has signed an agreement to provide zipForm® Mobile Web Edition as a free member benefit to its more than 400 REALTOR® members beginning in December 2011. Chico AOR is the first local REALTOR® Association in California to offer this tool for free.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an extension of its “California REALTORS®. Champions of Home.” consumer advertising campaign, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today launched “Stories of Home,” a video testimonial contest for consumers to share personal stories about a REALTOR® who was their “Champion of Home.”

WASHINGTON, DC - October 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Eight Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in two separate conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.

Washington, D.C. - October 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) today praised the Administration’s announcement of new steps to help homeowners refinance and urged President Obama to make sure homeowners receive clear, easy-to-understand guidance so they can determine if the new rules will help them qualify to refinance at today’s historically low interest rates.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pending home sales in California fell in September, as is typical for this time of year, but were up from the previous year for the fifth consecutive month. Additionally, distressed home sales increased slightly in September from both the previous month and year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

SACRAMENTO, CA - October 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Driven again by a substantial increase in the multifamily sector, California housing starts rose 10 percent in September when compared to the same month a year ago, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Heightened economic uncertainty contributed to a decrease in California home sales in September, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). However, September home sales posted higher on a year-to-year basis for the third consecutive month and remain at stable levels.

>Washington, D.C. - October 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Members of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation sent a letter to President Obama urging him to act immediately to address our country’s troubled housing market. Specifically, the letter calls on President Obama to:

Washington, DC - October 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As homeowners in San Diego and across the nation continue to tangle with banks, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) introduced legislation to give people another tool to avoid foreclosure and the subsequent damage to the their credit rating. The Short Sale Transparency Act will require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to disclose the minimum asking price they are willing to accept for a short sale if the first offer is rejected.

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An Eagle Rock resident who worked as an inspector for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety was sentenced this afternoon to 18 months in federal prison for taking thousands of dollars in bribes.

San Francisco, CA - October 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement after touring the construction job site of the HOPE SF Hunters View public housing rebuild with Leader Nancy Pelosi:

WASHINGTON, DC - October 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids and to commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.

SACRAMENTO, CA - September 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Sept. 28, 2011, charging Valeri Mysin, 31, of Citrus Heights, Calif.; Angela Shavlovsky, 52, of Sacramento, Calif.; Nikolay Katinskiy, 28, of Lynwood, Wash.; Michael Kennedy, 44, of Miami Beach, Fla.; Alexander Kokhanets, 34, of Roseville, Calif.; Boris Murzak, 38, and Zinaida Murzak, 40, both of Sacramento; and Vitaliy Tuzman, 31, of West Sacramento, Calif., with conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme involving the purchase of seven homes. Katinsky and Kennedy were also charged with money laundering in connection with the scheme, announced U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Benjamin B. Wagner. Shavlovsky, Katinskiy, and Kennedy were arrested by FBI agents yesterday afternoon, and Kokhanets, Boris Murzak, and Zinaida Murzak were issued a summons. They are expected to be arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate judge today at 2:00 p.m.

September 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former employee of Countrywide Home Loan was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution Wednesday in connection with a large-scale data breach, announced André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and Steven Martinez, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

LOS ANGELES, CA - September 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- California pending home sales climbed in August from both the previous month and year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. The year-to-year increase was the highest level since July 2009.

OAKLAND, CA - September 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is announcing that Phase II of the American Samoan permanent housing construction program was completed on September 17, 2011. Titles to all 39 homes have now been transferred to families who lost their dwellings to the earthquake generated Tsunami that claimed 31 lives and devastated large parts of the island on September 29, 2009.

SACRAMENTO, CA - September 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Driven by a substantial increase in the multifamily sector, California housing starts surged in August posting a 30 percent increase over the same month a year ago, the California Building Industry Association announced today

Washington, D.C. - September 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) today urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to expedite its efforts to help millions of responsible homeowners refinance so that borrowers can take advantage of today’s record low interest rates.

SAN JOSE, CA - September 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2011, the state’s largest trade show, opens next week at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, Calif. Running Sept. 20-22, CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2011 features more than 70 cutting-edge seminars on topics ranging from social media, to short sales, and the millennial generation. EXPO 2011 will also feature more than 150 exhibit booths and is expected to attract more than 6,500 attendees.

LOS ANGELES, CA - September 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- California home sales posted an increase from both the previous month and previous year in August, while the median home price rose to its highest level this year, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).