Originations

Ashford Hospitality Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Dallas, has priced its initial public offering of 22.5 million shares of common stock at $9 per share.The proceeds of $202.5 million will be used to fund the acquisition or origination of lodging-related assets, to repay mortgage indebtedness on some of the REIT's initial properties, and for general corporate purposes, Ashford said. Friedman, Ramsey & Co. was the sole book-running manager of the IPO, and Legg Mason Wood Walker and Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. were co-managers. The underwriters were granted a 30-day option to buy up to 3.375 million additional shares to cover any overallotments. The REIT can be found online at http://www.ahtreit.com.

Scudder Investments and its affiliate RREEF America LLC have completed a $525 million initial public offering for a closed-end fund management investment company specializing in real estate securities.The IPO for Scudder RREEF Real Estate Fund II consisted of 35 million shares priced at $15 per share, the companies reported. The fund, which began trading Aug. 27 on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol SRO, is aimed at total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation potential by investing in real estate and real estate securities. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in income-producing common stocks, preferred stocks, and other equity securities issues by real-estate-related companies such as real estate investment trusts, as well as in direct interests in real estate, the companies said. Scudder Investments can be found online at http://www.scudder.com.

The likelihood of a general decline in home prices over the next two years remains "relatively low," according to the PMI Risk Index.The average value of the index for the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas stood at 155 as of June, indicating that the MSAs had an average probability of 15.5% of undergoing a home price decline within two years, said PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Walnut Creek, Calif. However, PMI analysts cautioned that, despite their view on a general home price decline, they think "the robust home price appreciation rates of the past will moderate, and outright home price declines could occur in a number of MSAs." MSAs deemed especially vulnerable to home price declines by the analysts are high-tech centers such as the San Francisco Bay area, parts of the Northwest, and parts of Texas and Colorado. A report on economic and real estate trends that contains the index scores can be found online at http://www.pmigroup.com/lenders/eret.html.

Members of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers are offering to help consumers who were victimized as a result of the failure of the Sacramento, Calif.-based wholesaler Capitol Commerce Mortgage.These originators are offering to waive their professional fees or revenue to consumers who lost their rate locks when the wholesaler suddenly shut its doors. These consumers are now dealing with reapplying for their loans at higher interest rates. By waiving broker and lender fees, applicants could see average savings of up to $3,000-$5,000 per family, the CAMB said. Consumers must contact the CAMB toll-free at 800-253-2262 for more details and a referral to a participating broker. "We are committed to helping all of the individuals and families whose lives have been turned upside down because of this closure," said CAMB president Leon Huntting. "With our brokers and lenders stepping up to the plate to help these families, our assistance will hopefully lessen the pain of these stranded consumers." It is rumored that one of the problems Capitol Commerce faced was an unhedged pipeline in an environment of rapidly rising interest rates.

A national survey has found that 76% of homeowners don't want access to subprime loans restricted, but that 82% support regulations to protect consumers from unfair and predatory lending, according to a coalition of subprime lenders that sponsored the survey.The Coalition for Fair and Affordable Lending said it believes the poll of 800 registered voters confirms the need for consumer protections. But CFAL director Wright Andrews said the survey also confirms that the public is concerned about conflicting state and local laws that restrict access to credit. CFAL has been lobbying Congress for legislation that establishes a national lending standard that protects consumers and pre-empts state and local predatory lending laws. Mr. Andrews said he expects a House Financial Services subcommittee to hold a hearing on a predatory lending bill in October. The joint poll by American Viewpoint and Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates was conducted during the last week in July. Nearly 10% of the respondents had been denied a mortgage loan in the past and 36% had refinanced in the past two years.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 638.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Aug. 22 from 736.7 the week before as the Refinancing Index dropped for the eighth straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 14.0% on the week and 40.2% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased from 389.5 to 375.5, and the Refinance Index declined from 2756.8 to 2169.0, its lowest level since June 2002. Refinancings represented 48.9% of total applications, down from 53.4% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 24.4%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged, at 6.22%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.37 to 1.29 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

Apartment Investment and Management Co., Denver, has entered the Manhattan multifamily market in New York with the purchase of five five-story properties for a total price of $37.5 million.The properties, located on Manhattan's Upper West Side, include 58 residential units and 12 commercial spaces, the real estate investment trust said. "We made an assessment that we are under-weighted in several key apartment markets and believe it is time to increase our presence in Manhattan," said Harry Alcock, AIMCO's chief investment officer. "The time is right to expand into New York, which has high-quality properties and a very strong market." Funding for the acquisition came from a $20 million loan at 5.25% and proceeds from the sale of "lower-quality" properties, AIMCO said. The REIT can be found at http://www.aimco.com.

Robert Douglass has been named chief financial officer of the Mortgage Information Services Group of First American Real Estate Information Services Inc., Dallas.Mr. Douglass was most recently executive vice president of First American Flood Data Services. He previously served as CFO of a venture capital firm in Austin, Texas, and was employed by the Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) accounting firm. As CFO of the First American mortgage group, Mr. Douglass will succeed John Lamson, who recently assumed the post of CFO with First Advantage Corp. First Advantage is a newly formed subsidiary of The First American Corp., the parent company of First American Real Estate Information Services. First American can be found online at http://www.firstam.com.

American Mortgage Network, a San Diego-based mortgage bank serving mortgage brokers nationally, has announced the opening of a regional center in Phoenix.The new center will be led by Jerald Hassler and Jeanne Trimmer, mortgage banking industry veterans, and is expected to employ an operations staff of 18 professionals, AmNet said. Mr. Hassler, who has 30 years of mortgage banking and financial services experience, has been appointed vice president and regional manager of the center. Before joining AmNet, he was vice president and branch manager for New America Financial and worked companies such as CTX Mortgage, Guild Mortgage, and Weyerhaeuser Mortgage. Ms. Trimmer, named assistant vice president for operations, was most recently vice president of national operations for Ryland Home Mortgage. "Having a loan production office in Arizona is part of our expansion strategy to establish a presence in key geographic areas ... that have both strong housing demographics and the potential for continued growth," said John M. Robbins, chief executive officer of AmNet. AmNet, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Residential Investment Trust, can be found online at http://www.amnetmortgage.com.

The West Virginia Credit Union League has formed an alliance with GMAC Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., in which the latter will be the preferred mortgage provider for the group's 125 credit unions.GMAC said WVCUL's field consultants will promote GMAC's mortgage services to the credit unions. If an individual credit union decides to establish a relationship with GMAC Mortgage, it will work directly with the mortgage lender. GMAC Mortgage will not sell other products to WVCUL members nor will it sell the members' loans to other mortgage companies. Peter Conners, vice president of affinity lending for GMAC Mortgage, said the relationship "is significant because it allows GMAC Mortgage to strengthen our presence in the state of West Virginia, while providing a valuable benefit for credit unions that would like to expand their mortgage product offerings." GMAC Mortgage can be found online at http://www.gmacmortgage.com.

First Union Real Estate Equity and Mortgage Investments, a real estate investment trust based in New York, has reported the receipt of an unsolicited proposal from Corporex Cos. for a possible strategic transaction with First Union.First Union said it has had "limited discussions" with Corporex and with third parties on various strategic proposals, which are being considered by First Union's board. In a public filing in July, Corporex reported beneficial ownership of more than 5% of First Union's common stock, First Union said. An earlier proposal from Corporex was received in February, but First Union said it had declined to negotiate with Corporex at that time.

Sales of new single-family homes fell 2.9% in July from a record level in June as the housing market continued to operate at a frenzied pace.The U.S. Commerce Department reported that new-home sales fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.20 million in June to 1.16 million in July. The pace of home sales this summer is "clearly unsustainable -- it is clearly a frenzy," said Jade Zelnik, chief economist for RBS Greenwich Capital. She is looking for the housing market to cool in the coming months, with new-home sales dipping below the one million pace. "But it still should be extremely healthy," Ms. Zelnik said. The economist noted that consumers still view mortgage rates as low and the economic recovery is broadening. Jobs and income growth should have "a mitigating impact to the higher cost of borrowing," she said. The Commerce Department can be found online at http://www.doc.gov.

Illinois home resales and prices increased in July, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.The median cost of an existing single-family home rose 8.1% to $181,900 from $168,300 in July 2002, the group reported. Resales for July totaled 12,492, up 5.2% from a year earlier. Sales were most heavily concentrated in the Chicagoland primary metropolitan statistical area, where 8,000 homes were sold. Chicago resales were up 4.4% from the 7,663 homes that changed hands there last July, the IAR said.

The ratings on classes C-1 and D-1 of Starwood Commercial Mortgage Trust's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1999-C1, have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.The downgrades were as follows: class C-1, from BBB to BBB-minus; and class D-1, from BBB-minus to BB-plus. In addition, the ratings on three other classes in the deal were affirmed. S&P attributed the downgrades to the decline in operating performance of the pool, which consists of one loan secured by 11 cross-collateralized and cross-defaulted hotels. "When Standard & Poor's affirmed its ratings on the transaction in June 2002, net cash flow for the pool had only declined 1% from its level at issuance," S&P said. "NCF has now declined 16% since issuance."

Issuance of commercial mortgage-backed securities should reach approximately $70 billion for 2003 even if interest rates rise modestly, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.CMBS issuance totaled about $60 billion in 2002 after reaching a near-record $74 billion in 2001, according to the rating agency. "We expect interest rates to either remain stable or increase slightly," said Kim Diamond, a managing director in S&P's structured finance ratings group. "But any change would not be significant enough to put a major damper on origination volume. Rates will still be historically low." The expiration of lockouts and prepayment penalties, and the maturities of many "first-generation" conduit loans, are also factors expected to aid CMBS issuance. S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

Existing-home sales rose 5% in July to a record-breaking monthly pace that was nearly 14% higher than the resales figure recorded a year earlier.The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes rose from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.83 million units in June to 6.12 million in July. The resales rate was up 13.8% from 5.38 million in July 2002. "When mortgage interest rates first began to rise from record lows, it appears some buyers jumped into the market to take advantage of good affordability conditions before interest rates moved even higher," NAR chief economist David Lereah said. "However, given the strong underlying demand for housing from a growing number of households, it's hard to gauge just how much 'fence jumping' may have accounted for the sales record." The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.

Under pressure from its regulator, Freddie Mac agreed late Friday night to remove its chief executive, Greg Parseghian, and launch a search for a successor.Mr. Parseghian, however, will remain as CEO until a replacement can be found. As reported by MortgageWire early Friday, the board had been considering a successor for at least three weeks. Late Friday, though, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight officially asked the board to immediately remove Mr. Parseghian and its general counsel, Maud Mater. The congressionally chartered mortgage giant agreed. OFHEO is conducting an investigation of the accounting and management practices of the company. Freddie Mac is expected to restate earnings upward for the past three years by about $4.5 billion. In June, it fired its president, David Glenn, and forced its long-time chairman and CEO, Leland Brendsel, into retirement. In the wake of the scandal, several company officials have been fired or resigned. Three names are being mentioned as possible successors to Mr. Parseghian: retired Fannie Mae chairman James Johnson; former Bush administration economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey; and Peter Fisher, the soon-to-be-departing secretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department. A source familiar with the matter said that a month or so ago Mr. Parseghian was considering tapping Mr. Johnson as an informal adviser. A recent shareholder lawsuit filed against Freddie Mac, and Messrs. Parseghian, Brendsel, Glenn, and former chief financial officer Vaughn Clarke, accuses all four men of making "insider trading proceeds." Mr. Parseghian has denied any wrongdoing in regard to his stock sales. The other three men have yet to comment.

Jupiter Mortgage Corp., a subsidiary of America's Senior Financial Services based in Jupiter, Fla., has entered into a strategic agreement with a West Virginia Federal Savings Bank to offer mortgage lending services, including a construction-to-permanent niche loan product.JMC will offer complete mortgage lending services to the bank, the company said. The bank will provide JMC with warehouse facilities to fund the new construction loan production. ASFS, the parent of JMC, said the deal confirms its commitment to building a business-to-business mortgage services platform.

Charter Mac has raised approximately $61.5 million from an offering of 3.327916 million convertible Community Reinvestment Act preferred shares at $18.48 each to thirteen financial institutions.The transaction, which is expected to close on August 26, is the company's largest offering so far of its CRA preferred shares, the New York-based multifamily finance company reports. The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering of approximately $58.7 million primarily to acquire additional tax-exempt revenue bonds backed by mortgage loans on multifamily properties. The investors in these CRA preferred shares receive credit under the Community Reinvestment Act "investment test," Charter Mac said. Stuart Boesky, president and CEO, Charter Mac, said that this is Charter Mac's fifth offering of CRA preferred securities and the largest since they introduced the security in 2000. And John Boc, chairman, Meridian Investments, the placement agent on the offering, said that there have been "several repeat investors in the (Charter Mac) CRA preferred shares."

Coming down the stretch, the National Association of Realtors has finally told the Department of Housing and Urban Development that it favors a two-package approach to RESPA reform.All year, NAR has opposed HUD's proposal that would allow a single packager to bundle all mortgage and settlement services into a guaranteed mortgage package, claiming it would allow lenders to control the entire packaging process. But the trade group shied way from publicly embracing the alternative -- splitting it into a lender package and a settlement services package -- until recently. "Two packages are better than one and we believe would encourage greater market competition and reduce costs to consumers," NAR chief economist David Lereah said.