Originations

Marc Holliday, president of SL Green Realty Corp., New York, has been promoted to chief executive officer of the company and will retain his current title as well.SL Green said company founder Stephen L. Green, who has been the CEO, will continue in his post as chairman and as a full-time executive officer with responsibility for developing "key market relationships" and real estate opportunities while overseeing the company's strategic direction. Mr. Holliday joined the company in 1998 as chief investment officer and has held the title of president since 2001. SL Green is a real estate investment trust that specializes in acquiring, owning, and managing office properties in Manhattan. It can be found online at http://www.slgreen.com.

Mortgage industry veteran Barry P. Epstein has been named to the newly created position of managing director of wholesale lending at American Business Financial Services Inc., Philadelphia.Mr. Epstein has more than 13 years of experience in building wholesale mortgage divisions, most recently as a principal of Rekaren Inc. (d/b/a We Fund Loans), a loan broker based in West Hills, Calif., ABFS said. He will be responsible for guiding the company's expanding broker origination efforts, including those of its Roseland, N.J.-based subsidiary, American Business Mortgage Services. ABFS can be found on the Web at http://www.abfsonline.com.

Apartment Investment and Management Co., Denver, and GE Real Estate, Stamford, Conn., have formed a multifamily joint venture to which AIMCO has transferred interests in 33 of its properties.The properties, which have a total of 10,794 units, are valued at approximately $346 million and have $204 million in mortgage debt that has been assumed by the joint venture, AIMCO said. The multifamily real estate investment trust has a 25% interest in the joint venture and will continue to manage the properties, while the General Electric subsidiary has a 75% interest. The joint venture will make additional acquisitions in 2004, including another five properties that are expected to close soon. GE RE said it expects to invest up to $300 million of equity in the venture, including the investments made so far. The REIT will continue to consolidate the joint venture properties on its balance sheet because of its "control over day-to-day operations," AIMCO said. The REIT has received $107 million in cash on the transaction that it intends to use partly to redeem preferred stock.

Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Calabasas, Calif., and Stanford Carr Development LLC, a Honolulu-based residential developer, have announced the formation of a joint venture to offer a variety of home financing programs in Hawaii.The joint venture, Inter Island Home Loans, will be an operating division of Countrywide Mortgage Ventures LLC. It will offer zero-downpayment loans and various fixed- and adjustable-rate options, the companies said. A Stanford Carr home counselor and an Inter Island loan counselor will help borrowers who buy Stanford Carr homes develop a custom financial package, they said. Among the available options are a Fast & Simple program for borrowers with excellent credit that forgoes a traditional loan application, a Streamlined UpFront Approval program, and limited free interest rate protection, the companies said. Countrywide can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.

One Liberty Properties, Great Neck, N.Y., has announced that it expects to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Jan. 15 under the ticker symbol OLP.The diversified real estate investment trust -- which has interests in retail, industrial, office, and movie theater properties -- is listed on the American Stock Exchange and will continue to trade there until Jan. 15, the REIT said. Jeffrey Fishman, president and chief executive officer of the company, said he expects the NYSE listing to provide the REIT's shareholders with "greater liquidity and transparency," besides being a "significant milestone" for the company.

The real estate investment trust sector yielded its highest total return in over 12 years in 2003, outperforming the S&P 500 for the third year in a row, according to SNL Financial, a Charlottesville, Va.-based information provider.The SNL Equity REIT Index returned a total of 37.5%, which "far outstrips the index's 4.0% for 2002 and beats its 1996 total return of 35.9%, previously its best annual return," the company reported. Among the various real estate sectors, health care REITs turned in the best performance last year, yielding a 56.0% return. Retail REITs also did very well, as the Retail REIT Index returned a total of 47.5% and the Enclosed Mall REIT Index returned 53.5%, SNL said. Multifamily REITs had a total return of 25.6% for the year, compared with a 5.8% decline in 2002, and office REITs returned 33.4%, versus a decline of 4.2% in 2002. The company can be found online at http://www.snl.com.

RBC Mortgage Co., Chicago, has announced that all the former branches (over 100) of Sterling Capital Mortgage Co. that it acquired in September are being converted to the RBC Mortgage brand."Our goal is to create one RBC Mortgage brand across the country -- and build a strong U.S. presence for RBC Financial Group," said Jon Legg, chief executive officer of RBC Mortgage. RBC Financial Group is the trade name for Royal Bank of Canada. RBC Mortgage can be found online at http://www.rbcmortgage.com.

Amstar Financial Services Inc., Jupiter, Fla., has announced the restructuring of its Synergy Mortgage Solutions correspondent lending platform.The company said Synergy has been relocated to Amstar's Miami facilities, where it will be managed by Charles Kluck and other Amstar executives with an eye toward expanding its business relationships with Florida-based correspondents. The restructuring is expected to reduce expenses by at least $350,000 this year and make the platform profitable, the company said. "This restructuring will keep Amstar in the correspondent market, with fixed costs held to a minimum," Amstar said. The Synergy unit can be found online at http://www.synergy-mortgage.com.

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced the promotion of Stanford L. Kurland to the position of CFC president.Mr. Kurland, who will retain the title of chief operating officer of CFC, had been serving as executive managing director of CFC and president of its subsidiary Countrywide Home Loans. David Sambol has been named president and chief operating officer of CHL. He will continue as executive managing director of mortgage banking and capital markets for CFC. In his role as president of CFC, Mr. Kurland will lead the development and execution of the company's strategic plans and will direct all corporate and subsidiary operations. He will also oversee the company's asset/liability and investment, hedging, and interest rate risk-management activities. Mr. Sambol is now responsible for Countrywide's domestic and international mortgage lending and servicing activities.

Levitt Corp., the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based parent company of a developer of single-family and multifamily homes, has begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LEV.The stock opened at $20.48 Jan. 2 and was trading in the range of $20.30 to $22.05, according to Yahoo! Finance. The company is the parent of Levitt and Sons, a builder of planned suburban communities that now develops single-family and multifamily homes in Florida, the company said. Levitt Corp. is also the parent of Core Communities, a developer of "master-planned" communities in Florida. And Levitt Commercial, another company under the Levitt Corp. umbrella, is involved in development and joint venture opportunities in industrial and retail properties. "Listing on the 'Big Board' and trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the first trading day of the new year is a fitting way to launch the 75th anniversary of Levitt's homebuilding subsidiary," said Alan B. Levan, Levitt Corp.'s chief executive officer.

Mortgage Market Inc., Lake Oswego, Ore., has announced the adoption of its parent company's brand name, becoming RBC Mortgage -- Mortgage Market Division.Regional manager Curt VanderZanden said the company has become "the home loan leader in and around the Pacific Northwest" largely because of its strength and stability as part of RBC Financial Group, the parent of RBC Mortgage. RBC Mortgage is a brokerage and lending firm that offers residential first- and second-lien loans and has 20 branches across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. It can be found online at http://www.rbcmortgage.com.

For the fourth consecutive month, the Eleventh Federal Home Loan District Cost of Funds Index stands below the 2% mark, as it continues to set an all-time record low.The index for November, as calculated by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, is 1.821%, down almost 9 basis points from 1.909% in October. The index stood at 2.537% in November 2002, 3.368% in November 2001, and 5.607% in November 2000. COFI is a weighted average of what savings institutions in Arizona, California, and Nevada pay in interest on various sources of mortgage money, including deposits.

First Republic Bank of San Francisco has the largest average loan size among all U.S. lenders, according to figures compiled by the Quarterly Data Report, an affiliate of MortgageWire.In the third quarter First Republic had an average loan size of $733,190, a 7% increase from that of a year earlier. San Francisco, where the bank is headquartered, is one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States. Thornburg Mortgage of Santa Fe, N.M., a jumbo loan specialist, ranked second in the average loan-size category. Thornburg had an average loan size of $513,859 in the third quarter, a 2% increase from that of a year earlier. The lender with the largest increase in loan size was PFF Bank & Trust, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. PFF saw its average loan size increase to $235,323, compared with $111,996 in the third quarter of 2002. In early February, the Quarterly Data Report will publish fourth-quarter rankings on top lenders and their average loan sizes.

Wholesale and correspondent originator MIT Lending has opened a subprime division headed by former Home America Lending Inc. executive Steven W. Kaplan.Mr. Kaplan, who has been named a senior vice president at MIT and director of the new division, previously was president of Home America. New Beginnings' main focus will be "aggressive risk management and aggressive lending with a variety of core and niche products from traditional subprime products to mortgage-only programs," the company said. MIT Lending is the wholesale division of MortgageIT Inc.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Illinois fell to 8,257 in November, down 2.0% from 8,424 a year earlier, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.The statewide median sales price rose 4.1% to $167,900 from $161,300 a year earlier, the association said. "A dip in home sales in November is not surprising, given this time of year when the cold weather and holidays factor in," said John C. Kmiecik, president of the association. In the Chicago metropolitan statistical area, resales totaled 5,229 in November, down 0.4% from 5,250 a year earlier, and the median sales price was up 5.7%. The association can be found on the Web at http://www.illinoisrealtor.org.

Kramont Realty Trust, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., has reported the sale of 2.4 million shares of its 8.25% series E cumulative redeemable preferred stock and called for the redemption on Jan. 30 of all its outstanding 9.5% series D cumulative redeemable preferred shares.Kramont said the series E stock was sold at $25 per share in a direct placement to mutual funds and other purchasers. The proceeds of approximately $58.5 million will be used to redeem the series D preferred shares at $25 per share plus $0.066 per share in accrued and unpaid distributions, the company said. Kramont, an equity real estate investment trust that specializes in shopping centers, can be found online at http://www.kramont.com.

A stock index of multifamily companies has hit a record high and outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index in 2003, according to the National Association of Home Builders.The NAHB-created multifamily stock index showed a gain of 20%, compared with a 15% gain by the S&P 500 (with dividends reinvested). "Investors are looking at multifamily companies as good, long-term investments and, despite some weakness in the rental market over the past two years, these stocks continue to perform well," said NAHB economist Elliot Eisenberg. The NAHB stock index includes 24 real estate investment trusts and four other publicly traded companies that derive 50% of their revenues from rental properties. Mr. Eisenberg created the index two years ago. The NAHB can be found online at http://www.nahb.com.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 631.2 to 574.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday-shortened week ended Dec. 26, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications plunged 45.8% on the week, and they were down 44.3% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 411.6 to 390.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 1908.3 to 1644.3. Refinancings represented 49.3% of total applications, down from 51.7% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 30.4%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.62% to 5.73%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.53 to 1.31 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.85% for the week ending Jan. 2 from 5.81% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.13% to 5.15%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages dipped from 3.73% to 3.72%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 of a point for all three mortgage categories. "The yield curve, at its steepest annual level since 1992, is indicative of a favorable ARM market," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. "We have already seen the ARM share of applications double from January to December of this year, and it now represents almost a third of the market." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.85% and 5.24%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.06%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Radian Group Inc. plans to shut down its struggling mortgage services subsidiary over the next three months to give itself time to complete transactions in the works, negotiate an end to 113 employment contracts, and close the division's Dayton, Ohio, headquarters.Three factors led to the decision to shut the RadianExpress.com subsidiary: California regulators' adverse ruling against its Radian Lien Protection title insurance alternative, competitive pressures in the settlement services market, and shrinking mortgage origination volumes, a Radian spokeswoman said. The move is expected to have an after-tax impact on the parent company of approximately $0.09 per share, an amount that "isn't meaningful enough" to affect Radian Group's credit ratings, according to Michael Barry, a managing director in Fitch Ratings' insurance group. Radian can be found online at http://www.radiangroupinc.com.