Originations

The Shidler Group has acquired a two-building, 550,000-square-foot office portfolio from the California State Teachers' Retirement System for $90 million.The portfolio represents almost 5% of the total Honolulu office market and about 10% of the downtown Honolulu class A market, according to the San Diego-based commercial real estate investor. The portfolio consists of the 22-story Davies Pacific Center and the 17-story Pan Am Building, which is the largest office building in its submarket, Shidler said. The seller had acquired the two properties in 1989 for $145 million, according to Shidler, and has also invested "significant capital" in the properties. Matt Root, a Shidler Group partner, sees the deal as an opportunity to acquire "institutional-quality office buildings at 50% of replacement cost at the bottom of the market cycle, with trends pointing to an imminent economic recovery."

FUR Investors LLC, Jericho, N.Y., has announced preliminary results of its offer to buy up to 5 million common shares of First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments from the real estate investment trust for $2.30 per share.A count by National City Bank, the depositary for the offer, indicates that approximately 15.77 million shares were tendered as of the offer's expiration at midnight Dec. 29, FUR Investors reported. After the number has been verified, the depositary will issue payment for the shares validly tendered and accepted for payment and will return other tendered shares over the expected total purchase of 5 million shares, FUR Investors said.

The median gain for California homesellers totaled a record $150,000 in 2003, according to the California Association of Realtors.Leslie Appleton-Young, vice president and chief economist at CAR, said net cash to sellers has never been higher since the association launched its annual housing market survey in 1981. "Sellers in 2003 realized an 8% annualized rate of return, far exceeding the returns on many other investment options," the CAR chief economist said. The annual survey also found that rising home prices had caused the median downpayment for a home to increase by 20% in 2003, to $59,000. CAR can be found on the Web at http://www.car.org.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati has announced the election of Robert T. Bennett, an attorney and certified public accountant, as chairman of its board of directors.The board also elected Jerry Taylor, president and chief executive officer of The Farmers Bank, Portland, Tenn., as vice chairman. In addition, B. Proctor Caudill Jr., chairman, president, and CEO of Peoples Bank, Morehead, Ky., was elected to the board, and the following members were re-elected: Charles "Bud" John Koch, chairman, president, and CEO of Charter One Bank, Cleveland; and Charles Beach Jr., chairman of Peoples Exchange Bank, Beattyville, Ky. The FHLBank can be found on the Web at http://www.fhlbcin.com.

Sales of existing single-family homes fell 4.6% in November, but sales are still on track to post a new record for 2003.The National Association of Realtors reported that resales fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.35 million in October to a 6.06 million rate in November. NAR chief economist David Lereah told reporters, "We are now on pace to sell almost 6.1 million existing homes in 2003, which will shatter the all-time record set in 2002 of 5.56 million." He said he expects the economy to gain momentum in 2004 and that sales of previously occupied homes will total 5.8 million -- which would be the second-best year ever. The NAR is forecasting that the 30-year mortgage rate will average 6.4% in 2004 and median house price appreciation will slow from 9% in 2003 to 4%-5% in 2004. 'There are no price bubbles popping," he said. "You are going to hear a little deflating of the balloon -- so to speak -- to manageable price appreciation numbers." The NAR can be found on the Internet at http://realtor.org.

Freddie Mac has announced the deadlines for submitting stockholder proposals and director nominations to be included in the proxy statement for its annual stockholders' meeting and for qualifying to introduce proposals and nominations from the floor.To be considered for inclusion in the proxy statement, stockholder proposals must be submitted in writing to Freddie Mac and received by Jan. 30, the government-sponsored enterprise said. The deadline for receipt of written proposals and nominations to be introduced from the floor is Feb. 8. Freddie Mac said it expects to provide an annual report for 2002 at the stockholders' meeting, which it said will be held in the first quarter. Submissions should be sent to Corporate Secretary, Freddie Mac, 8200 Jones Branch Drive MS 200, McLean, Va. 22102. Procedural requirements for submissions can be found on Freddie Mac's website at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Ashford Hospitality Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Dallas, has closed on a $36 million nonrecourse loan with Merrill Lynch Capital that is secured by five of the REIT's hotel properties.The loan, which includes a holdback provision for $8.2 million of funds targeted for capital expenditures for the five properties, bears interest at a rate of 325 basis points over the London interbank offered rate, Ashford said. It is interest-only for the first two years and contains a one-year extension option. Mortgages were granted as security for the loan on the Embassy Suites in Phoenix and Flagstaff, Ariz., and Syracuse, N.Y., and the Doubletree Guest Suites in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio. The REIT can be found online at http://www.ahtreit.com.

The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and other real-estate-related trade groups are considering what input to offer for pending congressional legislation on real estate mortgage investment conduits, according to CMSA chief executive Dottie Cunningham.The legislation, part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2003, would "modify the definitions of REMIC regular interests, qualified mortgages, and permitted investments, so that certain types of real estate loans and loan pools can be transferred to, or purchased by, a REMIC," the CMSA said. The various real estate trade associations are working together and separately to come up with proposals, Ms. Cunningham told MortgageWire.

Old Republic Title, Residential Information Services, an outsource vendor manager for national lenders, has moved its Ohio headquarters to a larger facility in a different municipality.The company, which was originally located in Fairlawn, Ohio, has moved to Akron, Ohio. ORTRIS can be found on the Web at http://www.oldrepublictitle.com.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was almost unchanged at 5.81% for the week ending Dec. 26 compared to 5.82% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate also fell slightly to 5.13% from 5.14%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to 3.73% from 3.77%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 points for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, 0.6 points for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages and 0.5 points for ARMs. "The economy is ending the year on a modest but upbeat tone. Interest rates cannot rise too quickly any time soon, because the inflation indicators have been declining. But interest rates cannot fall by too much either, because consumer spending is still quite strong. As a result, mortgage rates were virtually unchanged over this holiday week," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. "And for the year as a whole, interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were the lowest since Freddie Mac began its survey in 1971." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.93% and 5.32%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.01%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found on the Web at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Washington Mutual Consumer Group has promoted a regional vice president to the position of senior vice president of retail lending in the Southwest United States region and Hawaii.The former regional VP, Lenny McNeill, will be responsible for directing and managing more than 50 retail home loan centers, with a combined employee base of about 700 employees, loan consultants and account executives in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and Hawaii in his new role. Washington Mutual can be found online at http://www.wamu.com.

American Home Mortgage Investment, Melville, N.Y., has filed a universal shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the issuance of up to $500 million in equity and debt securities.Michael Strauss, chairman and CEO, AHMI, said in a statement released by the real estate investment trust that "the purpose of this shelf registration statement is to provide American Home with additional financial liquidity and flexibility to access the capital markets on a timely and cost effective basis. Once the registration statement is effective, depending on market conditions, we will have the ability to periodically raise capital for financing mortgage portfolio investments, increasing the size of our lending operations and for other general corporate purposes." The registration was not yet effective as of the morning of Dec. 24, according to the REIT.

Freddie Mac has announced an agreement to buy a portfolio of up to $5 billion of multifamily mortgages from Citibank NA, Citibank FSB, and Citibank West FSB in exchange for Freddie Mac PCs.Freddie Mac said the transaction would "contribute significantly" to its ability to meet the affordable housing goals set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "The purchase of this portfolio, which consists primarily of five- to 50-unit mortgages, is especially significant because affordable housing goal regulations provide special incentives for purchases of mortgages on apartment buildings of this size," the government-sponsored enterprise said. "For that reason, Freddie Mac is providing a number of contractual incentives to Citibank, including fees totaling approximately $65 million." Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

The California Supreme Court has agreed to review the authority of Oakland to enact and enforce a predatory lending ordinance.The America Financial Services Association petitioned the state's high court after an appeals court upheld the Oakland ordinance. ASFA contends in its lawsuit against the City of Oakland that the state has the authority to regulate lending, not counties or cities. "In challenging the Oakland ordinance, we do not seek to defend or allow abusive lending," according to AFSA. "Our objective has been, and continues to be, a logical regulatory regime for mortgage lending. Such a regulatory structure cannot be built upon a patchwork of local and municipal ordinances, each of which reflects its own perception of abusive lending."

Mortgage applications fell 6.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 7.7% on the week and down 34.7% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index dropped to 411.6 from 437.2 the week previous and the Refinance Index fell to 1908.3 from 2072.9. Refinancings represented 51.7% of total applications, compared to 51.8% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 27.8%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages fell to 5.62% from 5.71%, and points (including the origination fee) jumped to 1.53 from 1.46 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

New home sales fell 2.4% in November but still remained above the 1 million mark for the ninth consecutive month.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new single-family home sales fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rule of 1.11 million in October to 1.08 in November. Although sales have fallen for the past three months, National Association of Home Builders economists are predicting 2003 sales will total 1.08 million to 1.09 million and beat last year's record by 11%. The only surprise in the November report was an increase in the average home price. The average sales price jumped from $244,000 in October to $274,000 in November. "That is a very big jump," said NAHB economist Michael Carliner said. But the economist admitted that he did not have an explanation for the jump. "It may take a while to figure out," he said.

The American Stock Exchange has announced the listing of the common stock of The Washtenaw Group Inc., a mortgage lending spinoff of Pelican Financial Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., on a when-issued basis.Washtenaw originates, acquires, sells, and services mortgage loans. It operates its national wholesale lending and retail mortgage origination businesses from offices in Michigan and California. Amex said the specialist in Washtenaw will be AGS Specialist Partners. Amex can be found on the Web at http://www.amex.com.

The California housing market is poised to set new sales and median price records for the second consecutive year, according to the California Association of Realtors.CAR president Ann Pettijohn said sales of detached, existing single-family homes are expected to hit 596,500 units, up 4.2% from last year's record of 572,500 units. The median price will "easily achieve a new high" this year and is expected to reach $369,500, up 17%, she said. CAR said repeat homebuyers have "increasingly dominated" the residential real estate market, accounting for 70% of home sales in 2003. First-time homebuyers are more likely than repeat buyers to take out a second mortgage, and many turn to condominiums and townhomes as more affordable options, the association said. "Yet, despite the fact that there is a wider array of first-time homebuyer financing programs than ever before, first-time homebuyers as a share of all homebuyers have never been lower in the history of CAR housing market research," said Leslie Appleton-Young, vice president and chief economist of the association. "With tight market conditions and repeat homebuyers driving the market, rapid price appreciation has left homeownership out of reach for many prospective first-time buyers." CAR can be found online at http://www.car.org.

MeriStar Hospitality Corp., a real estate investment trust based in Arlington, Va., has closed on a new $50 million senior credit facility secured by six of its hotels.The three-year facility will carry an interest rate of 450 basis points over the London interbank offered rate and will be used for working capital, the REIT said. The facility, arranged by Lehman Brothers, replaced an existing $50 million credit facility with no outstanding borrowings, MeriStar said. The hotels securing the facility are: Embassy Suites Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Ariz.; Doubletree Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Conn.; The Westin Beach Resort Key Largo, Key Largo, Fla.; Doubletree Guest Suites Atlanta-Galleria, Atlanta; Radisson Hotel Annapolis, Annapolis, Md.; and The Westin Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City. The company also announced that it has reduced the outstanding balance on its 8.75% senior subordinated notes due 2007 by $25.7 million through exchanges of 4.7 million shares of common stock. The REIT can be found online at http://www.meristar.com.

GMAC Commercial Mortgage, Horsham, Pa., has obtained the consent of commercial mortgage-backed securities investors for prepayment of CMBS securities backed by a $563 million mortgage on the World Trade Center.Once the loan is paid off, the mortgage secured by the twin World Trade Center towers, as well as WTC 4 and WTC 5, will be satisfied, the mortgage lender said. GMACCM is the servicer on the loan. "For more than two years since the destruction of the towers, we have devoted considerable time and energy to protecting the rights of the investors in this process," said GMACCM chairman David E. Creamer. One of the challenges has been keeping investors informed of the key developments, according to Mr. Creamer, who describes this as an "incredibly complex process." GMACCM is the lender on the $563 million mortgage that Larry Silverstein used to partly finance his acquisition of a leasehold interest in the World Trade Center commercial space. The loan was securitized into the CMBS market.