Originations

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.

Zacks.com, Chicago, has issued a #5/Strong Sell ranking on the stock of Washington Mutual Inc., Seattle, placing it on Zacks' list of Stocks to Sell Now.The company noted that WaMu recently reported earnings-per-share expectations that, though a year-over-year improvement, would be below the consensus forecast. "The company stated that gains from mortgage loans will be significantly lower in the fourth quarter than in the second quarter of 2003 due to lower mortgage loan volume, increasingly competitive pricing in the mortgage market, and a greater emphasis on the origination of adjustable-rate mortgages by the company," Zacks said. ".... Washington Mutual said it will now adjust its business to adapt to the new realities of the current environment, including steps to reduce operating costs and streamline and improve operations to drive efficiency, enhance customer service, and continue the growth of its leading national franchise. Such moves should help the company moving forward, but for right now investors may want to wait for its earnings estimates to head higher." Stocks with a #5/Strong Sell rank should be sold or avoided in the next one to three months, according to Zacks. The company can be found online at http://www.zacks.com.

First American Title Insurance Co., Santa Ana, Calif., has announced an agreement to acquire 100% of the stock of Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Title Holding Co. and its subsidiaries.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. First American said the transaction would significantly increase its regional market share and add approximately 25 direct offices and more than 500 employees to its operations in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Pacific Northwest has 10 title services subsidiaries, including Pacific Northwest Title Insurance Co. First American can be found on the Web at http://www.firstam.com.

Class B-3 of Asset Securitization Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1996-D3, has been downgraded from C to D by Fitch Ratings.The ratings on eight other classes in the same series were affirmed. Fitch attributed the downgrade to the liquidation of a hotel in Lubbock, Texas, that resulted in a loss of approximately $2.4 million to the trust.

Moody's Investors Service and Torto Wheaton Research, Boston, have teamed up to offer software for analyzing the risk associated with commercial mortgage whole-loan portfolios.The software, Moody's Commercial Mortgage Metrics, will allow holders of whole-loan portfolios to analyze the risk of the portfolios based on standards that are used to analyze their other fixed-income holdings, the companies said. Tad Philipp, a managing director in the commercial mortgage-backed securities group at Moody's, said commercial real estate lenders will be able to find out the probability of default of their loans and the loss that might be sustained if a default occurs. Using commercial real estate inputs such as loan-to-value ratios and debt service coverage ratios, the software produces outputs that bring commercial mortgage analysis closer to "the advanced techniques currently being used to analyze corporate credit risk," Mr. Philipp said. Lenders can also draw on the Torto Wheaton property market database to get additional property-level information. A Web-based portfolio version of the software is scheduled for the first quarter of 2004, the companies said.

Meritage Corp., a homebuilder based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Dallas, has agreed to acquire the homebuilding assets of Citation Homes of Southern California, a privately held builder of single-family homes.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Meritage said Citation closed 149 homes in 2002 at an average selling price of about $262,000. Citation president Scott Allen will remain with the company as division president. "Citation is a strong cultural fit with Meritage and provides us with an entry into the Los Angeles metro area, with an emphasis in the fast-growing Inland Empire region," said Steve Hilton, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Meritage. The company can be found online at http://www.meritage.com.

Sterling National Bank, New York, has agreed to acquire deposits and a branch office in Yonkers, N.Y., from City & Suburban FSB with the intention of expanding the facility's residential mortgage lending, among other things.The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Sterling said the Westchester County facility will consist of a regional banking center that includes a commercial lending unit as well as the expanded residential mortgage lending facility. Sterling chairman Louis J. Cappelli said "the high concentration of entrepreneurial businesses and a surge in homebuying" in Yonkers and Westchester County represents "an important growth opportunity" for the bank. Sterling is the principal banking subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp, which can be found on the Web at http://www.sterlingbancorp.com.

MIT Lending, the New York City-based wholesale and correspondent lending division of MortgageIT Inc., has announced the recent opening of five new branch offices in California, Washington, and Florida.MIT Lending said the new offices in Seattle, San Diego, and Woodland Hills, Calif., will be overseen by R. J. Arnett and Sharon Bitz, both senior vice presidents of the company's Western region. Its new Florida offices, in Jacksonville and Tampa, will be managed by Shelley Fadida, a Southeast regional vice president with MIT Lending. The company said it plans to open eight more branch offices by 2005. MIT Lending can be found online at http://www.mitlending.com.

Franklin Bank Corp., a Houston-based community and mortgage banker, has priced an initial public offering of common stock at $14.50 per share.Approximately 9.1 million shares are being sold by the company, and 127,500 are being sold by stockholders, Franklin said. The underwriters have been granted an option to buy up to 1.4 million additional shares to cover any overallotments. The lead manager of the offering was Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Franklin Bank Corp. is the parent of Franklin Bank SSB, whose primary businesses are community banking, mortgage banking, residential construction, and mortgage banker finance. It can be found on the Web at http://www.bankfranklin.com.

RMR Real Estate Fund, Newton, Mass., has announced the pricing of an initial public offering of approximately 6.67 million shares at $15 per share.The fund is a closed-end investment company that plans to invest chiefly in common and preferred securities issued by real estate companies, including real estate investment trusts. Its primary investment objective is to earn and pay a high level of current income, and its secondary goal is capital appreciation, the company said. The underwriter, RBC Capital Markets, has been granted a 45-day option to buy up to 1,000,050 additional shares to cover any overallotments

Jim Sindoni and Gary Opper have been named executive vice presidents and leaders of the Northeast and Midwest regions, respectively, of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., Richmond, Va.Mr. Sindoni has been senior vice president of LandAmerica's East Region, with responsibility for Delaware and Pennsylvania. Mr. Opper has been SVP and manager of the Midwest Division. LandAmerica can be found on the Web at http://www.landam.com.

ATM Corp. of America, Moon Township, Pa., has been awarded a consulting and technology contract to develop a national settlement services company for a subsidiary of Waterfield Mortgage Co., Fort Wayne, Ind.ATM said the new company, Quantum Settlement Services LLC, will be developed for Waterfield Financial Corp. and will be located in Fort Wayne. It will use ATM Vision System's application service provider model as its technology-processing platform. Scott L. Metzger, president of Quantum, said the establishment of the company "will provide Waterfield with maximum flexibility in responding to potential [Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act] reform and the trend toward guaranteed mortgage packages." ATM, located in a suburb of Pittsburgh, can be found online at http://www.atmprof.com.

Stewart Information Services Corp., Houston, has announced the acquisition by its subsidiary Stewart Title Co. of Platte County Title & Abstract, Platte City, Mo.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stewart said key management and staff will remain with the office, which is located near Kansas City, Mo. "This strategic acquisition gives us explosive potential in one of the fastest-growing counties in the area," said Bud Whisler, group president of Stewart Title's Central States Region, South. The parent company can be found online at http://www.stewart.com.

Chris Matthews has been named executive vice president of real estate at The Broe Cos., Denver, and will run its day-to-day operations.Mr. Matthews was formerly managing director of Nippon Property Management Inc., a subsidiary of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Japan. Broe said he has more than 20 years of experience in the property and asset management industry, including 10 years with Equitable Real Estate. Broe, which invests in commercial real estate, can be found online at http://www.broe.com.

Ron Stroble has been named senior vice president and manager of the mortgage division at Umpqua Bank, Roseburg, Ore.Mr. Stroble was most recently vice president and regional manager at Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. in Lake Oswego, Ore., where he headed the residential mortgage lending operation, Umpqua said. He previously held positions with Mellon Bank, US Bank, and WestOne Bank.

Subprime mortgage lending contributes significantly to Tennessee's economy and is reasonably priced in view of the credit risks involved, according to a study released by the Tennessee Consumer Finance Association.TCFA president John Bruno warned that "over-reaching pricing restrictions" on subprime lending could hurt the state's weak economy. "This research reveals how economically significant the Tennessee subprime lending industry is, making a valuable contribution to the recession-hit state economy while providing fair and reasonably priced mortgage credit for individuals who might well be denied credit elsewhere," he said. Warning of "damaging regulation which has had such disastrous effects in other states," Mr. Bruno urged Tennessee policymakers to adopt "a sensible and measured approach to any regulation." The study, conducted by the Center for Statistical Research, also found that subprime mortgage lending in Tennessee is not concentrated in areas dominated by minority and low-income households. The most common users of subprime mortgage credit in the state are borrowers with incomes near or above the median household income, TCFA reported.

New-home sales will exceed 1 million units this year for the first time ever, and will do so again in 2004 despite a somewhat slower pace, according to the National Association of Home Builders."Not only will new-home sales break the million-unit mark for the first time on record, but it's now apparent that total production of new single-family homes (including homes built on owners' lots) will hit its highest level in history in 2003, at about 1.5 million units," said NAHB chief economist David Seiders. The NAHB forecast calls for a single-family production decline of 3.5%, to about 1.45 million units, in 2004. In the multifamily sector, the association is projecting that production will reach 342,000 units this year (off 1.5% from last year's total) and predicts a slowdown to 327,000 units for next year. The NAHB can be found online at http://www.nahb.com.

Wachovia Bank, Charlotte, N.C., has acquired Lend Lease Mortgage Capital in a deal that will strengthen Wachovia's presence in the multifamily lending and servicing arena.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition, made through Wachovia Multifamily Capital, is expected to add to Wachovia's servicing presence in the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration-insured lending programs. Wachovia's origination activities targeting multifamily project developers and property owners are also expected to grow. "The assets and the strong team from Lend Lease, combined with our recent acquisition of AMI Capital, give us scale in multifamily mortgage servicing," said Steve Jones, managing director of strategic investments in Wachovia's real estate capital markets unit. "These deals also round out the product offerings for our clients, and will enable us to significantly increase origination volumes in the multifamily sector." About 50 Lend Lease production and origination employees are joining Wachovia as a result of the deal. Wachovia had a total origination volume of $13.84 billion in 2002, ranking second in the commercial mortgage lending area, according to Mortgage Industry Directory, a MortgageWire affiliate.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.82% for the week ending Dec. 19 from 5.88% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.24% to 5.14%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages was unchanged, at 3.77%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for ARMs and 0.7 of a point for fixed-rate mortgages. "Everyone is looking for inflation to appear, but no one seems able to find it," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Thus, with no inflationary pressure, mortgage rates have continued to slip for the past few weeks, and we expect to see no big change in rates anytime in the foreseeable future." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.03% and 5.42%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.07%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Reckson Associates Realty Corp., Melville, N.Y., has announced that it plans to redeem all its 2 million outstanding shares of 8.85% series B convertible cumulative preferred stock on Jan. 5 at a redemption price of $25.50 per share.The stock will be redeemed for shares of class A common stock valued at $26.05 per share, for a redemption rate of 0.9789 of a share of class A common stock for each share of series B preferred stock. Reckson Associates, a real estate investment trust, can be found online at http://www.reckson.com.