Originations

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., has reported record pro forma net earnings of $54.6 million ($0.90 per share) for the second quarter, but the numbers exclude a one-time deferral of $31.6 million of net income in connection with a change in accounting for rate locks.The pro forma net earnings were up 34% from those of a year earlier. The accounting change was made in compliance with a Securities and Exchange Commission staff accounting bulletin that took effect April 1, IndyMac said. The company said there is "no economic or business impact" from the accounting change, which affects only the timing of revenue recognition. IndyMac's mortgage loan production totaled a record $9.4 billion of loans in the second quarter, up 18% from that of a year earlier, the company said. "Our mortgage market share was up 66% over the second quarter of 2003 in a period where many of our peers declined both in volumes and market share this quarter over the same quarter last year," said Michael W. Perry, IndyMac's chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Perry said the company has revised its earnings forecast for the year from $3.10-3.30 per share to $3.35-3.55 per share. IndyMac, the holding company for IndyMac Bank, can be found online at http://www.indymacbank.com.

AmeriDream Inc., a downpayment assistance provider based in Gaithersburg, Md., has announced a partnership with the New Mexico Federation of Educational Employees to help teachers and educational employees become homeowners.Under the program, gifts of up to 10% of the purchase price of a home will be available to NMFEE members for downpayment or closing costs, AmeriDream said. The gifts do not have to be repaid. NMFEE members will also have access to the organization's DreamKeeper program, which offers a downpayment gift and five years of mortgage payment protection. AmeriDream can be found online at http://www.ameridream.org.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, has announced a strategic goal of doubling its retail market share by doubling the number of commission-based home mortgage consultants on its sales force.Cara Heiden, the recently named division president for national consumer and institutional lending, said the strategy of adding mortgage consultants "has been very successful for us in doubling our retail market share" over the past four years and declared that the company is "committed" to duplicating that achievement. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, a division of Wells Fargo Bank NA, also announced that Brad Blackwell, 44, and Greg Gwizdz, 41, have been named to lead the mortgage division's sales force for the western half and the eastern half of the country, respectively. In addition, Susie Davis, 49, has been named to head retail administration, which involves developing the mortgage division's program and its product and pricing strategies, among other things. Wells Fargo Bank is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., which can be found online at http://www.wellsfargo.com.

Simon Property Group, Indianapolis, has reported net income of $70.7 million ($0.34 per share) for the second quarter, a 40.6% increase from $50.3 million ($0.26 per share) for the comparable period of 2003.The retail real estate investment trust reported funds from operations of $268.5 million for the second quarter, compared with $254.5 million a year earlier. (FFO is a non-GAAP standard that is commonly used as a performance indicator in the REIT industry.) "We completed acquisitions of interests in four retail assets and announced our strategic transaction with Chelsea Property Group [in the second quarter]," said David Simon, SPG's chief executive officer. "Our core portfolio continues to perform well as evidenced by healthy increases in retail sales and re-leasing spreads."

Five nonprofit organizations in Arizona have been awarded grants by the U.S. Bancorp Foundation for housing-related programs.The groups were among 13 in Arizona awarded more than $56,000 in grants by the foundation for housing, arts, education, and financial literacy programs. The organizations and programs receiving the housing-related awards are: Habitat for Humanity, Valley of the Sun, homeownership for low-income families; HomeBase Youth Services Inc., 25-bed transitional housing program for homeless youth; Homeward Bound, housing and economic independence for low-income families; Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix, homeownership for low- and moderate-income families; and NewTown Community Development Corp., Individual Development Accounts for homeownership among low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers. U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank, which can be found online at http://www.usbank.com.

Great Southern, Springfield, Mo., has announced the formation of the Great Southern Community Development Corp., a for-profit affiliate of Great Southern Bank that will focus chiefly on the redevelopment of economically underserved areas by investing in real estate and affordable housing.Great Southern said its community development director, Brian Fogle, is serving as executive director of the CDC. "The Great Southern CDC will act as a contact and catalyst between various neighborhood groups, financial institutions, developers, and government entities to stimulate economic revitalization and community growth," the company said. "Unlike conventional bank financing, the CDC will provide greater flexibility in that it can participate in equity investments and real estate development, which are not normally permitted by bank regulators." Great Southern Bank operates 29 branches in southwest and central Missouri. It can be found online at http://www.greatsouthernbank.com.

Licensed real estate agents Brad and Eric Blumberg are about to commit Realtor heresy by allowing one of Philadelphia's largest banks to use their proprietary software program so customers can search for houses online without the help of a realty professional.Although the National Association of Realtors has mounted efforts in Congress to thwart banks' attempts to move into real estate, the Blumbergs are doing just the opposite. Beginning in August, the founders of SmarterAgent.com, a Philadelphia-centric website that includes all MLS-listed houses in the region, are launching a new program that gives banks a direct link to the latest information on properties for sale. First up is the 130-year-old National Penn Bankshares, an independent $3.5 billion financial services company based in Boyertown, Pa., with 66 community banking offices in southeastern Pennsylvania. But the brothers say they are ready to expand beyond their home turf to the mid-Atlantic States, Florida, and California. "In today's de-regulated financial environment, banks cannot afford to passively sit by as their customers are wooed by other financial institutions and large Realty firms who push their in-house mortgage companies and financial products," Brad Blumberg, chief executive officer of Smarter Agent, said at the Real Estate Connect technology conference in San Francisco.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.08% for the week ending July 30 from 5.98% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.39% to 5.49%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 4.12% to 4.17%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for all three mortgage categories. "Mortgage rates rose a little this week in response to expectations that the Federal Reserve Board is willing to move more aggressively if inflation should become an issue," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "So far, inflation seems to be under control, but if the economy should heat up too rapidly, the Fed would have to act quickly and decisively." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.94% and 5.27%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.67%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

SL Green Realty Corp., New York, has priced an initial public offering of Gramercy Capital Corp., an affiliate company that will invest in commercial real estate, at $15 per share.Gramercy Capital is selling 12.5 million shares of common stock and expects to gross $187.5 million, the real estate investment trust said. Gramercy Capital, which has also opted for REIT status, will originate and acquire loans and subordinate interests in loans, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity investments in commercial real estate nationwide. SL Green, which through a subsidiary will manage and advise Gramercy Capital, said it expects to expand its business nationwide through this avenue. The REIT is purchasing 3.125 million shares in the offering, for a $46.875 million investment. Wachovia Securities is the manager of the offering. Gramercy Capital will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust Co., Elkin, N.C., has announced an agreement to acquire Sidus Financial LLC, a privately owned mortgage company based in Greenville, N.C.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sidus Financial was formed in 1999 by an investment group that included several North Carolina community banks, Yadkin Valley said. It has five retail mortgage origination offices in North Carolina that operate under the name First Mortgage Corp., and a wholesale operation in Richmond, Va., under the name Sidus Wholesale. Sidus Financial's main focus is offering mortgage consultation and back-office support in buying mortgage loans from community banks, Yadkin Valley said. The bank can be found on the Web at http://www.yadkinvalleybank.com.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 617.9 to 621.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended July 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications crept up 0.6% on the week but were down 34.7% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index rose from 440.3 to 444.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 1651.1 to 1648.8. Refinancings represented 36.8% of total applications, down from 37.1% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 33.3%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages crept up from 5.96% to 5.97%, and points (including the origination fee) remained unchanged, at 1.32, for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

Fair Isaac & Co. Inc., San Rafael, Calif., has created a new credit score that is generated from nontraditional sources.Tom Grudnowski, chief executive of Fair Isaac, said the new product, FICO Expansion Score, "sets a new standard for helping the underserved marketplace." Mr. Grudnowski and Craig Dillon, vice president for scoring solutions, told a teleconference on the new product that there are 50 million American consumers who do not have enough data in one of the credit repositories to generate a traditional credit score. The new product uses the same scoring range as Fair Isaac's NextGen product. Mr. Dillon said most of the interest in the product has come from the mortgage industry. While launching the product, Fair Isaac has been in discussions with the government-sponsored enterprises and others in the secondary market. While there has been considerable excitement about the product, no secondary market participant has signed off on it yet, he said.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Melville, N.Y., has agreed to acquire loan offices in 18 states from Seattle-based Washington Mutual that had previously been slated for closure.About 500 employees are currently supporting the loan offices being purchased by American Home in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. American Home will assume Washington Mutual's lease obligations and will purchase certain fixed assets in the acquired offices. American Home said it is working to hire WaMu employees who work in the offices, and that group will report to Chris Dallas, who will become a senior vice president of American Home. Former Washington Mutual employees Jim Lowery and Deborah Doll, who like Mr. Dallas are former WaMu employees, are also leading the transition effort. American Home can be found online at http://www.americanhm.com.

Catellus Development Corp. will replace Keystone Property Trust in the S&P REIT Composite Index after the close of trading July 30, Standard & Poor's has announced.S&P said the reason for the change is that Keystone is being acquired by ProLogis and Eaton Vance. Catellus is a San Francisco-based real estate investment trust that manages, acquires, and develops predominantly industrial property. S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

The single-family housing market held steady at a reading of 6.66 in the second quarter, according to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s national Market Trends Index.The company looked at 73 metropolitan statistical areas and found eight to be strong, 11 weak, and the rest stable. "Despite the recent rise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Board, the housing market has expanded," said Neil Siegel, senior market analyst for the Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer. "There is still the expectation that the rate of home price appreciation will slow, even though the supply of homes is relatively low." MGIC said a reading of 6 to 8 indicates a stable market. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.mgic.com.

Led by an increase in delinquency on multifamily and retail-backed loans, delinquencies in the commercial mortgage-backed securities sector edged up to 1.56% for the second quarter from 1.53% for the previous period, according to Fitch Ratings.However, if loans securitized after June 2003 are removed from the sample, the delinquency rate rises to 1.84%, the rating agency said. Fitch expects retail loan delinquencies to continue to rise over the next three to four quarters as rising interest rates help cool down consumer spending. One positive development is that hotel and industrial loans showed a decline in delinquencies for the second quarter. However, Fitch said it believes that the industrial sector is still not out of the woods. "The largest increase was in the multifamily sector," said Mary O' Rourke, a Fitch senior director. "Rising interest rates will stem the flow of multifamily tenants to the single-family market, although overbuilding in certain markets, such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Las Vegas, among others, is likely to keep the multifamily delinquency rate on the upswing for awhile."

LendingTree Inc., Charlotte, N.C., and GreenLink LLC, a subsidiary of Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp., have announced a joint venture under which a newly formed vendor management company based in Jacksonville, Fla., will offer real estate settlement services.The new company, LendingTree Settlement Services, will offer appraisals, flood insurance, title services, and closing services, the companies said. LendingTree, an online exchange that connects consumers with lenders and Realtors, is the majority owner, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed. GreenLink is Wachovia's settlement services subsidiary. The companies can be found online at http://www.lendingtree.com and http://www.wachovia.com.

New single-family home sales declined 0.8% in June from the monthly record set in May, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.The agency reported that new-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.33 million in June from a revised 1.34 million in May. The June rate was 11.1% higher than the 1.19 million recorded a year earlier. The median sales price of a new home was $209,900 in June, and the average sales price was $262,400, the Census Bureau reported. There was a 3.4-month supply of new homes for sale. The data can be found online at http://www.census.gov/newhomesales.

Donna Brandin has been hired as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Equity Residential, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust.Ms. Brandin, 47, is currently senior vice president and treasurer of Cardinal Health, a distributor of medical supplies. A certified public accountant, she will join Equity Residential in late August. She is succeeding David J. Neithercut, who has been promoted to EVP for corporate strategy. The apartment REIT can be found online at http://www.equityapartments.com.

Arlington Mortgage Group, Detroit, has announced the creation of Arlington Mortgage University, a free three-week training program for certified mortgage originators.The company said it plans to provide $1.3 million in training for more than 200 qualified Detroit residents over the next year. "Unfortunately, the city of Detroit has one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States," said Arlington chairman Steve Monaghan. ".... Arlington Mortgage University represents our commitment to helping the city create a more stable workforce." The company can be found online at http://www.arlmtg.com.