Originations

Glass, Lewis & Co., an independent proxy advisory company, has recommended that shareholders of Post Properties vote against a proposal by John Williams, an ex-chief executive of Post, at the Post annual meeting May 27, according to the Atlanta-based real estate investment trust.Mr. Williams is proposing an amendment to company bylaws that would require shareholders to vote annually on director compensation, Post said. The multifamily REIT cited the Glass Lewis report as saying that "Mr. Williams is motivated here more by a desire to embarrass the board and Mr. Goddard than to improve the fate of shareholders." Mr. Williams had unsuccessfully launched a takeover battle for Post last year. Institutional Shareholder Services, another proxy adviser, also recommended recently that shareholders vote against Mr. Williams' proposal.

The board of directors of Astoria Financial Corp., Lake Success, N.Y., has authorized the repurchase of 8 million shares of the company's common stock, approximately 10% of its outstanding common shares.The purchase of shares will be carried out in open-market or privately negotiated transactions, the company said. The stock repurchase program, Astoria Financial's 10th, will begin immediately upon the completion of the current program, of which approximately 870,000 shares remain, the company said. Astoria Financial is the holding company for Astoria Federal Savings and Loan Association, which the holding company said is the sixth-largest thrift institution in the United States. It can be found online at http://www.astoriafederal.com.

John Garth has been named chief operating officer and senior vice president of American Mortgage Acceptance Co., a New York City-based multifamily real estate investment trust.Mr. Garth will assume the position May 24, when Alan Himes, the company's chief financial officer and interim COO, steps down from the latter post, AMAC said. Mr. Garth has nearly 20 years' experience in the real estate industry, most recently as senior vice president and production manager at GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp., AMAC said. The REIT can be found on the Web at http://www.americanmortgageco.com.

Ostara Corp., Wernersville, Pa., has announced an agreement with Sunset Commercial Group, a subsidiary of Franklin Center, Pa.-based Sunset Mortgage Co., under which Ostara and a subsidiary will be able to use and offer short-term commercial bridge loans.Ostara said the bridge loans will vary in size from $1 million to $15 million on a project-by-project basis. The Ostara subsidiary involved in the arrangement is Mountain Top Associates Inc., the company's real estate arm. The relationship with Sunset "is expected to add significantly to the size and number of commercial real estate projects that Ostara participates in," the company said. Alfonso C. Knoll, Ostara's chief executive, said Sunset's size and its affiliation with Sunset Mortgage "add a significant capital source for our undervalued real estate projects." The companies can be found online at http://www.ostaracorp.com and http://www.sunsetmortgage.com.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has joined Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in revising origination projections downward for this year, cutting its forecast from $2.6 trillion to $2.4 trillion.In its monthly Mortgage Finance Forecast for May, the MBA predicted that refinancings will total $1.0 trillion, down from the previously forecast $1.2 trillion, and that mortgages for purchasing homes will make up 57% of total originations, or $1.4 trillion. (Fannie Mae recently lowered its 2004 mortgage origination forecast from $2.58 trillion to $2.30 trillion, and Freddie Mac lowered its forecast from $2.8 trillion to $2.4 trillion.) MBA chief economist Doug Duncan said the Federal Reserve is likely to begin raising rates in June because of strong employment and production growth and rising inflation pressures. "Our forecast has for some time anticipated that the Fed would wait until late this year before starting to raise short-term interest rates, but the growth of the economy has accelerated and raised the likelihood of a near-term rate increase," he said. The MBA now projects that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate will increase to 6.4% in the fourth quarter. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.30% for the week ending May 21 from 6.34% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.72% to 5.67%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 3.90% to 3.99%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages and 0.6 of a point for ARMs. "The rise in mortgage rates stalled this week primarily because of rising tensions in other parts of the world, causing foreign investors to flee to the security of U.S. Treasuries," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Consequently, yields remained mainly unchanged from last week, and so did long-term mortgage rates." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.34% and 4.73%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.61%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Quicken Loans Inc. plans to expand its operations in Troy, Mich., and create 1,200 new jobs, which will result in the creation of an estimated 4,695 indirect jobs over the next four years, Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm has announced.Assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. convinced Quicken to locate the $29.1 million expansion in Michigan rather than Nevada, the governor said. Quicken Loans Inc. consists of Quicken Loans, Rock Financial, and Title Source. Rock Financial, Livonia, Mich., is Michigan's largest mortgage company, with more than 1,700 employees in the state. The governor's office cited a University of Michigan economic analysis estimating that 4,695 indirect jobs will be created in Michigan as a result of increased economic activity associated with the expansion, in addition to the 1,200 jobs created directly by the company.

Prudential Mortgage Capital, Newark, N.J., has appointed Carmen Bowser a principal with the company's National Accounts Group in New York City.Ms. Bowser will be responsible for covering direct lending relationships in the origination of loans through Prudential's various capital sources, including general account, conduit, Fannie Mae, bridge, and mezzanine loans, Prudential said. Ms. Bowser joins the company from TIAA-CREF, where she was responsible for originating commercial mortgage loans in the eastern United States and Canada. She has also done a previous stint with Prudential, in the corporate finance and commercial mortgage areas, the company said. Scott Chisholm, also a principal, will continue to be responsible for covering all mortgage banking relationships as well as direct relationships in the New York region.

The national homeownership rate for families with children, especially for low- to moderate-income working families with children, is lower than the rates in the 1970s even though the overall homeownership rate in the United States stands at a record high, according to a National Housing Conference study.In 1978 the homeownership rate for all families with children stood at 70.5%, but by 2001 it had decreased to 68.4% -- while the homeownership rate for working families with children declined from 62.5% to 56.6%. Between 1978 and 2001 the number of children from low- and moderate-income families living in owner-occupied housing had declined from nearly 66% to about 58%. By 2003, the national homeownership rate had increased to 68.3% from 65.2% in 1978. Contradicting what has been hailed as a "decade of progress" for the average household, NHC said, the study found that over the last 25 years more working families with children are struggling to make ends meet. (Working families are defined as households earning less than 120% of the local median income, but more than the full-time equivalent of the minimum wage.) The study was conducted by the NHC's research affiliate, Center for Housing Policy.

Fannie Mae has lowered its 2004 mortgage origination forecast from $2.58 trillion to $2.30 trillion, according to the government-sponsored enterprise's latest economic outlook.In his May economic outlook, Fannie Mae chief economist David Berson says the refinance share of originations should fall to about 45% this year (and much lower in the second half) from nearly 70% in 2003. "As a result, refinance originations are projected to decline by 61.5% to $1.0 trillion," Mr. Berson said. "Purchase originations, on the other hand, are expected to reach a new all-time high of $1.3 trillion, up by 7.3%." (Freddie Mac recently lowered its forecast for total originations from $2.8 trillion to $2.4 trillion.) Fannie's forecast continues to project record home sales for this year despite rising mortgage interest rates. The outlook projects that home sales will total 7.22 million units this year, 1.09 million from new homes and 6.13 from existing homes. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 742.2 to 654.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications fell 11.6% on the week and were down 55.8% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index declined from 494.3 to 454.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index fell from 2184.6 to 1816.9. Refinancings represented 37.4% of total applications, down from 39.8% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 35.2%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 6.32% to 6.21%, and points (including the origination fee) fell from 1.44 to 1.39 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

Commercial mortgage delinquencies in California are below 0.5% for the 22nd consecutive month, the California Mortgage Bankers Association has reported.Based on a quarterly delinquency survey conducted by the CMBA, the trade group said that as of March 31, 99.69% of the California-based commercial real estate loans serviced by 17 mortgage banking firms were either current or only one payment delinquent, making for a delinquency ratio of 0.31%. This compares with a delinquency rate of 0.35% three months ago and 0.18% a year ago, the CMBA said. Nineteen different loans were two or more payments past due. Of these, the three largest loans were backed by a hotel property, an office property, and a "single-purpose" property. The 19 delinquent loans represent 0.19% of the 9,917 commercial real estate loans included in the survey, the CMBA said.

The New York Mortgage Co. LLC, New York, has announced the addition of 10 new branch offices as part of an assumption agreement with SIB Mortgage Corp.The expansion extends NYMC's retail operations into Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Virginia for the first time and raises the number of branch offices in the New York metro region to 12, the company said. SIB Mortgage was a subsidiary of Staten Island Bancorp before the latter was acquired by Independence Community Bank. NYMC is a residential mortgage banking firm serving as both a direct lender and a mortgage brokerage. It is authorized to do business in 38 states, and plans are under way for additional expansion. The company can be found online at http://www.nymc.com.

Standard & Poor's has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. and its long-term counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on the company's parent, The PMI Group Inc.The ratings on PMI MIC were lowered from AA-plus to AA, and the ratings on PMI Group were lowered from A-plus to A, S&P reported. In addition, the rating agency affirmed its AA counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. Ltd. and PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd. The outlook on all the aforementioned ratings has been revised from negative to stable. "The ratings on PMI are driven by the downgrade on the main operating subsidiary, PMI MIC," S&P said. "The downgrade reflects PMI MIC's performance, which is consistent with [that of] its peers, and deterioration in its combined ratio and earnings." The revision of the outlook to stable was attributed to an expectation that PMI MIC "will maintain extremely strong capital-and-expense and combined ratios." The rating agency can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

Playground Investments Inc. and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc., have signed a joint venture agreement to form Playground Financial Services LLC, which will offer home financing products and services for resort real estate buyers.Playground Financial will be co-owned by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, Iowa, and Playground Destination Properties Inc., the Vancouver, British Columbia-based parent company of Playground Investments (and a subsidiary of Intrawest Corp.). "Through our joint venture with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, we will offer resort real estate purchasers a 'turnkey' buying experience that will make the purchasing and financing of a resort home uncomplicated," said Greg Ashley, president of Playground Destination Properties. The companies can be found online at http://www.playground.com and http://www.wellsfargo.com.

Single-family housing starts edged down 0.6% in April, but construction activity was still at a historically high rate.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family starts declined from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.69 million in March to 1.61 million in April. Economists at the National Association of Home Builders say they expect strong new-home sales in May and June. And they don't believe rising mortgage rates will take the punch out of this market until later this year. "We won't see the negative effects building up until later," NAHB economist Michael Carliner said. Meanwhile, builders are telling the association that customers are jumping off the fence because they see rates moving up. In April, 30-year mortgage rates were below 6% until the last week of the month.

CharterMac, New York, has announced that its subsidiary Charter Mac Equity Issuer Trust has completed a $104 million preferred equity offering to institutional investors.The trust sold 60 of its 5.75% series A-4-1 perpetual preferred shares (with an aggregate liquidation amount of $30 million); 58 of its 6.00% series A-4-2 perpetual preferred shares ($29 million); 50 of its 6.00% series B-3-1 subordinate perpetual preferred shares ($25 million); and 40 of its 6.30% series B-3-2 subordinate perpetual preferred shares ($20 million). Merrill Lynch & Co. was the initial purchaser of the series A-4 preferred shares and the series B-3 preferred shares. CharterMac can be found online at http://www.chartermac.com.

BPO Tracker, a provider of loan valuation outsourcing based in Truckee, Calif., has announced that it has changed its name to Clear Capital.com Inc.The company said its customers will soon have access to multiple valuation products in addition to broker price opinions. "Our name change from BPO Tracker to Clear Capital is indicative of the company's growth and the evolving breadth and depth of our products and services," said Duane Andrews, Clear Capital's chief executive officer. The company can be found online at http://www.clearcapital.com.

The National Lending Center Affinity and Relocation Lending division of ABN Amro Mortgage Group, Ann Arbor, Mich., has begun offering the company's guaranteed OneFee mortgage to clients of Real Living's Corporate Relocation Management.The program, which includes all the fees typically associated with obtaining a mortgage in a single, guaranteed fee, will now be available to Corporate Relocation Management clients seeking a mortgage loan in conjunction with their relocation to a new city or state. AAMG can be found on the Web at http://www.abnamro.com.

Vision Real Estate Management and Development Inc., Albany, N.Y., has signed a letter of intent to acquire MEM Financial Solutions Inc., a mortgage brokerage based in Half Moon, N.Y.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mark McLeod, founder and chief executive officer of MEM Financial, is a member of the board of directors of Vision Real Estate. "MEM Financial Solutions has experienced a double-digit growth rate, year over year, for the past several years," Mr. McLeod said. Last year MEM Financial's revenues totaled $42 million, Vision Real Estate reported. Vision RE can be found online at http://www.vrmdcorp.com.