NAR, Justice Department Reach Settlement

WASHINGTON (U.S. Department of Justice) – The Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) have agreed on a proposed settlement that, if approved, will require NAR to change its policies regarding Internet-based residential real estate brokers.

The Justice Department’s antitrust division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against NAR nearly three years ago challenging policies that the Justice Department said obstructed competition from brokers providing online residential brokerage services. The Justice Department claimed the policies prevented consumers from receiving the full benefits of competition, discouraged discounting and threatened to lock in outmoded business models.

According to the Justice Department, the settlement will enhance competition in the real estate brokerage industry, resulting in more choice, better service and lower commission rates for consumers. NAR has agreed to a ten-year settlement to ensure that it continues to abide by the requirements of the agreement.

The case is scheduled to go to trial in July. If approved by the court, the proposed settlement would require NAR to change policies to resolve the Justice Department’s concerns.

Hammons to Deliver Duo

SAN MARCOS (Austin American-Statesman) – John Q. Hammons Resorts & Hotels is developing a new Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel and conference center at McCarty Ln. and I-35.

The ten-story hotel will have 283 two-room suites, a business center and an outdoor pool.

The conference center will include a 28,800-sf grand ballroom and more than 50,000 sf of meeting space.

Combined, the projects will cost more than $71 million. Both facilities will be completed in October.

Existing Home Sales Down in Texas

TEXAS (Real Estate Center, MarketWatch) – A total of 21,638 existing homes were sold in Texas last month, a 10.3 percent decline from April 2007 according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The median price rose 0.6 percent to $147,300 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.5-month inventory on existing homes.

Here is how select Texas cities fared in April:

Amarillo

• 299 homes sold (4.9 percent increase over previous year)
• Median price of $124,900 (5.5 percent increase)
• Five-month inventory

Austin

• 2,217 homes sold (13.6 percent decrease)
• Median price of $186,900 (2.7 percent increase)
• 5.3-month inventory

Beaumont

• 210 homes sold (2.9 percent increase)
• Median price of $126,700 (7.6 percent increase)
• 7.1-month inventory

Brownsville

• 100 homes sold (31.6 percent increase)
• Median price of $88,800 (19.3 percent decrease)
• Inventory data not available

Bryan–College Station

• 253 homes sold (10 percent increase)
• Median price of $143,200 (3.2 percent decrease)
• 6.5-month inventory

Corpus Christi

• 395 homes sold (3.9 percent increase)
• Median price of $150,600 (13 percent increase)
• 8.6-month inventory

Dallas

• 4,448 homes sold (12.4 percent decrease)
• Median price of $161,300 (2.6 percent decrease)
• 6.7-month inventory

El Paso

• 292 homes sold (54.5 percent decrease)
• Median price of $126,700 (1.1 percent decrease)
• 10.9-month inventory

Fort Worth

• 848 homes sold (10.4 percent decrease)
• Median price of $112,600 (4.4 percent decrease)
• 6.2-month inventory

Galveston

• 90 homes sold (9.1 percent decrease)
• Median price of $176,000 (7.8 percent increase)
• 14-month inventory

Houston

• 6,014 homes sold (11.7 percent decrease)
• Median price of $150,300 (0.7 percent increase)
• 6.6-month inventory

Lubbock

• 322 homes sold (13 percent increase)
• Median price of $108,400 (8.1 percent increase)
• 0.3-month inventory

San Antonio

• 1,754 homes sold (16.8 percent decrease)
• Median price of $152,500 (5.2 percent increase)
• 7.1-month inventory

Texarkana

• 90 homes sold (7.2 percent decrease)
• Median price of $100,000 (7 percent increase)
• 7.7-month inventory

Victoria

• 82 homes sold (2.4 percent decrease)
• Median price of $128,000 (20 percent increase)
• 6.1-month inventory

Waco

• 207 homes sold (7.3 percent increase)
• Median price of $111,200 (1.8 percent decrease)
• 9.4-month inventory

Additional home sales data for these and other Texas cities are available on the Center’s website.

Nationally, sales of existing single-family homes fell 0.5 percent last month to a 4.34 million annual pace, down 16 percent in the past year and 32 percent from the peak, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The inventory increased to 10.7 months, the highest since 1985.

Meanwhile, sales of new homes in the United States rose 3.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000, according to the Commerce Department. However, sales are down 42 percent compared with a year ago. The median sales price rose 9.1 percent to $246,100, and the inventory was at 10.6 months.

ACS Making the Move

DENISON (Herald Democrat) – ACS Manufacturing of Sherman has purchased the 257,000-sf former Alcoa facility in the Denison Industrial Park.

In addition to its 80 current employees, the acoustical noise reduction company plans to hire at least 100 full-time employees upon moving into the new Grayson County factory.

The Denison Development Alliance will provide ACS with a $300,000 grant and a $100,000 cash incentive.

Condo Profits to Help Low-Income Residents

AUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman) – Profits from a local condo project will fund new affordable housing and help low-income homeowners fix up their homes.

The 62-unit Chestnut Commons at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Miriam Ave. is expected to bring in about $1.2 million for affordable housing projects, including $250,000 earmarked for home renovations in the Chestnut neighborhood.

Landowner Tom Meredith donated 30 acres to the Austin Community Foundation (ACF), which then sold it to developers Terry Mitchell and David Mahn. The two developers agreed to donate a portion of the profits from the condo sales to the ACF for affordable housing efforts in central east Austin.

To qualify for renovation assistance, homeowners must earn no more than 80 percent of the area’s median family income. Renovation work could include anything from foundation and roof repair to paint jobs.

Units at Chestnut Commons will sell for between $140,000 and $220,000.

Out With the Old, In With New Urbanism

DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Denver-based UDR Inc. is starting work on a 465-unit contemporary residential project in place of 1960’s vintage apartments at Bennett, Belmont and Capital avenues.

The Belmont apartments will rent for about $1.30 per sf per month, with the first units ready for tenants by summer 2009.

The "new urbanism" project was designed by the local office of Memphis-based architects Looney Ricks Kiss. Andres Construction Services is the general contractor.

Cannon Picks Up Galleria Trio

DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – The Galleria Towers I, II and III at LBJ Freeway and the Dallas North Tollway were sold this week to Los Angeles–based Cannon Commercial.

Cannon is the fourth owner of the three towers since they were built in the early 1980s.

The three towers total 1.4 million sf of Class-A office space and are 98 percent leased.

Jones Lang LaSalle represented the seller.

CEMEX Leases, Contributes to New HQ

HOUSTON (CoStar Group) – CEMEX Inc. has signed on to occupy 170,000 sf in a 325,000-sf facility being developed by MetroNational Corp.

The building will be at Gaylord and Memorial City Way, and is set for completion early next year.

The cement and ready-mix company plans to supply a reflective concrete to build the new headquarters, which will be constructed to achieve LEED certification.

Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. The landlord, MetroNational, represented itself.

Renaissance Transformation

DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal) – The 30-story Dallas Renaissance Hotel has begun a multimillion dollar renovation including remodeled guest rooms, restaurant, lobby and additional meeting space.

The room and corridor upgrades will be complete in eight weeks. The Renaissance Club Level and lounge on the 27th floor will open later this year.

By summer 2009, the hotel will complete renovation of its lobby, open a new restaurant and add a new rooftop viewing area including a garden and putting green.

The final renovation phase, to be completed in 2010, will increase the hotel’s meeting space by 50,000 sf, which includes a 16,000-sf ballroom with rotating glass panels that allow for outdoor access.

The renovations are part of a $2 billion worldwide investment by the brand’s owners and franchises.

Peek Howe Purchases Reserve at Saratoga

CORPUS CHRISTI (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP) – Peek Howe Real Estate has purchased the 274-unit Reserve at Saratoga.

The two-year-old Class-A apartment complex at 5701 Saratoga Blvd. is 98 percent occupied. Units average 834 sf.

The Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP arranged the $18.7 million seven-year, fixed-rate financing through Freddie Mac.

Post Oak High Rise Underway

HOUSTON (Texas Real Estate Business) – Randall Davis Company is developing a 180,000-sf, 80-unit residential tower at 1600 Post Oak Blvd.

The 22-story Cosmopolitan will feature an Art Deco sky lobby, a rooftop pool with lounge seating and cabanas, a screening room and a wine room.

The multifamily project will be ready for residents next month.

Brand + Allen Architects is the architect.

Anchors Away at Atascocita

HOUSTON (Trammell Crow Company) – Trammell Crow Company has begun construction on the remaining phases of Atascocita Commons Shopping Center, located on FM 1960 near West Lake Houston Parkway in northeast Harris County.

New anchors at the 500,000-sf retail center will include a 177,000-sf SuperTarget, 88,000-sf Kohl’s, 50,000-sf TJ Maxx/Home Goods store and 30,000-sf Ross Dress for Less.

The center should be completed later this year.

Aging Downtown Plano Sprucing Up

PLANO (Dallas Morning News) – The city council has approved up to $1.1 million in subsidies for a new project that will bring as many as 230 apartments and 15,000 sf of retail space to the city’s downtown area.

Plano will provide money for public improvements and for the construction of a new pedestrian walkway near the development and the city’s downtown DART station.

The $20 million development, which will be built by Seattle-based Pinnacle, will be at the intersection of 15th Street and the DART line. It is slated to be finished in 2010.