KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Monday March 21 Housing and Economic stories

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Monday March 21 Housing and Economic stories

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Real estate investor pleads guilty to rigging foreclosure auctions - (www.contracostatimes.com) A Pleasanton real estate investor pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to conspiring to rig bids at public foreclosure auctions and commit mail fraud. Yama Marifat, 38, along with other participants agreed not to bid against each other at public real estate auctions in San Joaquin County, the U.S. attorney's office said. After one of them would secure the property at a rock bottom price, the group would meet privately and rebid the property among themselves. The conspirator with the highest bid got the property and the difference between the auction price and the final sale price was split among those involved, prosecutors said. Marifat participated in the scheme from about April to October 2009, according to his plea agreement. He is the fifth person to plead guilty in this case. The bid rigging charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The maximum sentence for the other charge, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Saudis mobilise thousands of troops to quell growing revolt - (www.independent.co.uk) Saudi Arabia was yesterday drafting up to 10,000 security personnel into its north-eastern Shia Muslim provinces, clogging the highways into Dammam and other cities with busloads of troops in fear of next week's "day of rage" by what is now called the "Hunayn Revolution". Saudi Arabia's worst nightmare – the arrival of the new Arab awakening of rebellion and insurrection in the kingdom – is now casting its long shadow over the House of Saud. Provoked by the Shia majority uprising in the neighbouring Sunni-dominated island of Bahrain, where protesters are calling for the overthrow of the ruling al-Khalifa family, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is widely reported to have told the Bahraini authorities that if they do not crush their Shia revolt, his own forces will.

Empty Lots Near Las Vegas Show Bubble Has Burst - (www.bloomberg.com) Good video. Empty lots and roads from half-completed subdivisions in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson are pictured. The average value of a home in Nevada on Jan. 1, 2008 was $246,000, according to data compiled by Zillow Inc., which has a proprietary index of home valuation. That number dropped to $131,000 on Dec. 1, 2010.

Comments protest Realtor's spin in news - (www.vagazette.com) Pretty funny story, especially all the comments at bottom calling the BS of the real estate agent.

After three tough years, real estate appears to be stabilizing. More buyers are willing to offer prices that sellers will accept. Nan Piland, an agent with Liz Moore & Associates and president of the Williamsburg Area Association of Realtors, said sellers are getting about 97% of their asking price. “Even in the worst of the slump, they were getting 96%,” she said in an interview. That figure was 99.5% in 2007, just before the bubble burst. During the heady days of 2005-06 buyers were often bidding houses up above the asking price. “It wasn’t until last year that sellers really had realistic expectations,” Piland said. “They knew that they had to have the house in the best condition and have the best price.” The relative equilibrium is a relief.

Tea Party spokesman: renters shouldn't be allowed to vote - (news.yahoo.com) The American Tenants Association (ATENA), the country's only nationwide advocate for residential renters, criticized Tea Party Nation President Judson Phillips today for Mr. Phillips' recent remarks that renters shouldn't be allowed to vote. The American Tenants Association (ATENA) (http://www.americantenants.com), the country's only nationwide advocate for residential renters, criticized Tea Party Nation President Judson Phillips today for Mr. Phillips' recent remarks that renters shouldn't be allowed to vote. Mr. Phillips, in a report on CBS MarketWatch, was quoted as saying that it "makes a lot of sense" to restrict voting to "property owners." According to CBS MarketWatch, Mr. Phillips made his remarks on a recent Tea Party Nation radio broadcast. The Tea Party leader added that the Founding Fathers "put restrictions on the right to vote" because property owners have a "vested interest" in their communities and renters do not.