Realty News Report Covering Commercial and Residential News

AUSTIN – (By Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report) – The nation’s housing market “is broken” because buying a new home is not an attainable goal for many middle-class Americans, according to national housing expert John McManus, vice president and editorial director of Hanley Wood’s residential group. Millions of new jobs have been created in recent years, McManus said, with the ... Read More »

DALLAS – (Realty News Report) – Crescent Real Estate is finishing up its Tower Residences at the Ritz-Carlton development with four upscale brownstone-style dwellings priced at $5.5 million to $6.5 million. The homes, designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern, will be constructed by Dallas builder Platinum Homes, a firm led by Mark Molthan. Kyle Crews of Allie Beth Allman & ... Read More »

2018 NAHB International Builders’ Show draws 85,000-plus ORLANDO – (Realty News Report) – A crowd of more than 85,000 filled the exhibit halls of Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center Jan. 9-11 as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) drew one of its largest turnouts in recent years at the NAHB International Builders’ Show. Home building professionals from around the ... Read More »

HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – 2017 was the best year in the history of Houston realty sales, according to year-end numbers released by the Houston Association of Realtors. The association reported 79,117 single-family homes were sold in the Houston area last year, up 3.5 percent over the 76,450 sales in 2016. By comparison, five years ago in 2012 when ... Read More »

CHICAGO – (Realty News Report) – Median home prices are predicted to rise 5 percent next year, mortgage rates are forecast to gradually increase to 4.5 percent from 4 percent today, and new home sales are expected to jump 13.9 percent to 690,000 during the same period, according to the National Association of Realtors annual forecast. Speaking at the annual ... Read More »

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – David Weekley Homes will build 135 townhomes and detached single-family houses in Southside Quarter, a 105-acre mixed-use project being developed by Hines in Jacksonville. The homes will be part of Weekley’s Central Living brand. Central Living is the high-density division of David Weekley Homes offering residential options in prime locations and was first launched in Houston in ... Read More »

DALLAS – Redfin, a Seattle-based residential brokerage firm, has formed Redfin Mortgage, which will be based in Dallas. Redfin Mortgage will begin issuing loans in the first half of 2017, initially serving customers in Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio before entering other markets. Redfin Mortgage, led by former BBVA mortgage banker Jason Bateman, will initially focus only on customers ... Read More »

(By Dale King) HOUSTON – A third quarter report on the status of multifamily unit construction and occupancy in Houston says a record number of apartments is hitting the local market this year, most of them during the second half of 2016. And while this may look good in the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s not so good for ... Read More »

HOUSTON – PPA Group, an Austin-based multifamily investment firm, has acquired its first apartment project in Houston and it is seeking more opportunities in the Bayou City. The 252-unit Cypress Ridge project, 2331 Bammelwood in north Houston, from CrestMarc of Dallas. “We like the diversity of the economy in Houston and think it is a great time to invest there,” ... Read More »

(By Dale King) HOUSTON – Realtor Vicki Fullerton, a broker associate at RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring, took the stage at the Texas Realtors Conference in Galveston last month to take on the duties of chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. The 38-year residential real estate veteran told Realty News Report during an interview that home builders “can’t keep up” ... Read More »

HOUSTON – Houston’s home sales are on a record-setting pace this year. With three quarters of 2016 in the record books, Houston single-family homes sales are running ahead of last year. Year-to-date through September, home sales are up 1.3 percent over the comparable nine-month period of 2015, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. “With home sales ahead of where ... Read More »

HOUSTON – Woodbranch Investments Corp. announced that CVS Pharmacy will be the first retailer located in Market Square Tower, the new 40-story high-rise multi-family apartment building, the tallest residential tower in downtown Houston.. Located at 777 Preston St. in Downtown Houston’s Theater District, the high-rise apartment tower has 463 units. The new 13,000 SF CVS new store will be located ... Read More »