LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC is considering selling parts of its U.S. real estate portfolio to accelerate the run-down of the business, and said it expects to sell a small part by the end of June.

HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, is identifying parts of its real estate portfolio to sell, aimed at reducing risk or the burden of holding the assets, Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver told analysts during a strategy presentation.

He said there were now signs investors were interested in buying some assets, and the first sale would test this.

HSBC has been running down its U.S. consumer finance book since 2008. It had $44 billion of real estate assets and $5 billion of non-real estate assets at the end of 2011.

(Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Mark Potter)

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HSBC plans first sale from U.S. loan book

Houses are selling at their fastest pace since June 2007 in the Portland-Vancouver area, giving Clark County real estate brokers cause for cautious optimism that the end of a bruising downturn may be in sight.

But with foreclosure levels still high and Clark County home values down 33 percent over the past five years, industry experts say theyre waiting for more solid evidence of growth before they break out the champagne and confetti.

In March, Clark County had 6.4 months of housing inventory, a statistic tracked by Portland-based RMLS (Regional Multiple Listing Service) that describes how long it would take to sell every for-sale property if no new listings were added. Thats the fastest rate at which homes have cleared the market since September 2006.

Sales are better, however the flip side of that is that more of them were short sales than there were two years ago, said Dave Dumas, managing broker at Keller Williams in Vancouver. Short sales, where a property sells for less than what is owed on the mortgage, often cause less damage to property owners credit ratings than foreclosures, but require approval of the lender. Its an arduous process that can draw out how long it takes to sell a home, Dumas said.

Even so, Theres more real estate moving now than two years ago, he said.

The economy is still very fragile, warned Monica Bean, a real estate agent with Century 21. Though her business has picked up in recent months, shes worried that the latest gains may be fleeting.

If hiring does not continue, if gas prices go up, that will take away disposable income; people wont feel willing to invest, Bean said. Im personally hoping we see a gradual incline away from the worst. But the economy can put a dent in the housing recovery were seeing right now. Its hard to say.

Recent history highlights another reason that many real estate insiders are cautious about declaring the housing market in full recovery. An $8,000 tax credit that was available through April 2010 drove many first-time buyers into the market, pushing inventories temporarily down to around seven months. But when the tax credit expired, buyers seemed to evaporate, and the pace of sales slowed. By February 2011, inventory had climbed to 12.1 months in Clark County. Real estate brokers who had celebrated prematurely found themselves again facing a painfully slow market.

CLARK COUNTY HOUSING INVENTORY

Months it would take to sell all currently listed properties

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Residential real estate: Out of stock?

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — National real estate expert and sales guru Steve Harney and best-selling author and Prospect Mortgage’s Chief Performance Officer Todd Duncan will co-host an informative, one-hour webinar, “The Keys to Finishing 2012 as Successfully as You Started It,” on Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090617/LA34214LOGO-b)

Part of the Prospect Mortgage Real Estate Agent Learning (REAL) program, the webinar offers real estate agents nationwide strategies for personal success and creating value for their clients in a changing marketplace. This is the third live webinar in the REAL series and the 12th online training module since the REAL program was launched in February 2012. Topics slated for discussion during the May 23rd webinar include increasing buyer and seller conversion rates, re-working your annual goals to align with the year’s expanding possibilities, uncovering hidden opportunities in an improving market, and riding the current momentum to an exceptional finish in 2012.

The webinar will also address the critical areas of lead generation, buyer aggregation, database and customer relationship management systems, marketing, and high-trust selling.

Steve Harney, founder of Keeping Current Matters, is a sales and leadership training expert. Working with his KCM team, Steve has helped more than 100,000 real estate professionals understand the importance of “keeping current” and using strong visuals to effectively communicate with buyers and sellers.

Todd Duncan is a New York Times best-selling author, an authority on relationship-based selling skills, and an executive leader at Prospect Mortgage. He has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry as a trainer and motivational speaker.

Prospect Mortgage invites interested real estate agents nationwide to register online for the May 23rd webinar at www.learnwithprospect.com. The online event begins at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. Central and 2 p.m. Eastern).

Prospect Mortgage is a leading national lender offering a full range of quality home loans, including FHA and VA, conventional, jumbo and super jumbo, renovation, and more. It is backed by Sterling Partners, a growth-oriented private equity firm with approximately $5 billion of assets under management and offices in Chicago, Baltimore, and Miami. For more information, visit Prospect Mortgage online at www.MyProspectMortgage.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ProspectMtg, and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MyProspectMtg.

Equal Housing Lender. Prospect Mortgage is located at 15301 Ventura Blvd., Suite D300, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Prospect Mortgage, LLC (Unique Identifier #3296) is a Delaware limited liability company licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act and operates with the following licenses: AK Mortgage Lender/Broker License #AK3296; AZ Mortgage Banker License #BK0903027; To check the license status of your CO mortgage broker, visit www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm; GA Residential Mortgage License #16984; IL Residential Mortgage Licensee #6424; Kansas licensed mortgage company; MA Mortgage Lender/Broker License #MC3296; MS Licensed Mortgage Co.; MT Residential Mortgage Lender Licensee #120; Licensed by the NH Banking Dept.; Licensed Banker-NJ Dept. of Banking and Insurance #9932414; NV Division of Mortgage Lending Mortgage Banker #1173 and Mortgage Broker #3095; Operates as Prospect Lending, LLC in NY (Licensed Mortgage Banker NYS Department of Banking); OR Mortgage Lender Licensee #ML-2006; PA Dept. of Banking license #22122; RI Licensed Lender #20021343LL, Loan Broker #20041643LB; licensed by the VA State Corp. Commission as MC-2195. This is not an offer for extension of credit or a commitment to lend. All loans must satisfy company underwriting guidelines. Information and pricing are subject to change at any time and without notice. This is not an offer to enter into a rate lock agreement under MN law, or any other applicable law.

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"The Keys to Finishing 2012 as Successfully as You Started It"

Thursday, May 17, 2012, by Rob Bear

Britain’s Daily Mail reported earlier this week that embattled Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan was renting this hillside villa in Beverly Hills for $25K per month. While this is indeed Lohan’s walled retreat, she is apparently paying far less than the claimed $25K for the pleasure of staying there. According to E! and The Real Estalker, Lohan, who dropped out of her rehab program at the Betty Ford Clinic due to financial difficulties, is probably spending more like $9K per month for the glamorous, if not gigantic, pad. The house does have plenty of space for Lohan’s family, with four bedrooms and five baths, but few flashy features beyond the sizable swimming pool. Lindsay Lohan Leases in Beverly Hills [The Real Estalker] Revealed: Lindsay Lohan embraces love of old school Hollywood glamour by renting $25,000 a month Beverly Hills bolthole [Daily Mail]

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Celebrity Real Estate: Lindsay Lohan Rents in Beverly Hills for Far Less than $25K

Staff Writer

The summer housing market is warming up, and local real estate agents and industry experts predict improvement this year.

JACKIE RICCIARDI/STAFF

Real estate agent Rose Marie Marshall (left) shows Lourdes Berros-Ramos a home in the Windmill Plantation neighborhood in Evans. Berros-Ramos and her husband, Luis Ramos, came to Augusta from Puerto Rico three years ago and have been renting.

Berros-Ramos wants to be moved before the start of school this fall. She also must sell the family’s house in Puerto Rico.

Lourdes Berros-Ramos and her husband, Luis Ramos, have been searching for a new house the past three years. She said they always amp up their search during the summer. They have limited their search to houses within the Greenbrier school zone so they can keep their children in the same schools.

She said summer is the most convenient time to move because of better weather and flexible schedules.

We know its a good time to buy, and Id like to be settled in before school starts, she said.

Rose Marie Marshall, of Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Co., is their agent. Marshall said she has already started to notice an increase in people wanting to buy or sell a house. The Augusta market is full of variety, she said, and buyers have already started their search.

Theres plenty to choose from in this summer market, she said. Its already picking up, and Im busier than ever.

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Summer real estate market should show "modest gains"

More good news comes to the Florida commercial real estate market as 7-Eleven Inc., the massive convenience store company, will be bring more major business to the Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade County areas as it is set to expand by opening 15 more stores by the end of 2012 with 25 more set for the following year.

7-Eleven has already achieved success in opening 57 stores within the tri-country area since 2010. Included in the 57 are both new as well as remodeled stores.

There is no doubt that Florida has always been one of the companys key markets within the United States and anyone who has ever been to the region will easily be able to figure out why since it really does have one of the biggest markets in the country.

As early as 2010, the company had made announcements regarding plans to get 183 Exxon Mobile sites established within the state of Florida. The sites were located within Broward, Orlando, Southwest Florida and Palm Beach. The vast majority of those sites have now been turned into full-fledged 7-Eleven stores.

According to the company, the fact that these times have presented the perfect opportunity to expand has definitely been something they have taken into consideration since values on the Florida commercial real estate market has gone down significantly compared to where they were five years ago. Along with the undeniable opportunity presented, the fact that the demand for convenience stores has also played an integral part in the companys decision to expand.

Aside from the fact that the company has been expanding as far as the number of stores they have within the state, they are also looking to broaden as far as the type of retail spaces which they are looking for on the Florida commercial real estate market. Many recognize 7-Eleven as being a store that is common within gas stations of suburban areas; however, the company is now looking towards opening stores in shopping plaza locations as well as other urban settings in order to target a larger audience within the region.

It seems that people have yet to see more things in the future of 7-Eleven convenience stores across the region which are going to provide them with better options as far as products and services are concerned. And needless to say, the Florida commercial real estate market will be more than happy to welcome in as many of the stores that the company will want to establish since it will definitely prove to mean good business for many years ahead.

Yaz Morgan Florida Commercial Real Estate

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Good News For The Florida Commercial Real Estate Market: Convenience Store Expansions Up Ahead

WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwire -05/17/12)- National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun presented a modest and hopeful outlook for the commercial real estate market during the Economic Issues and Commercial Business Trends Forum at the Realtor Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C. today.

“The commercial market has displayed modest growth lately,” said Yun. “Commercial real estate is the basis for much of the growth in the American economy, however challenges continue to exist. Despite this there are hopeful signs that the market might be slowly recovering due to recent job creation and an increase in consumer spending, among other indicators.”

Yun provided an economic overview during which he identified a number of areas that showed signs of improvement. Consumer spending has increased slightly, while personal incomes have risen. People also are now able to save money, proving that the savings rate had rebounded. Jobs are also accelerating and the stock market has shown a strong recovery.

“Consumer confidence has yet to return to normal and America still needs to create more jobs,” said Yun. “However, there are signs that show a positive overall financial improvement within the country.”

One major challenge that continues to plague the commercial market is lack of available credit. While there are notable improvements in capital for large commercial transactions, valued at $2.5 million or higher, there remain significant challenges for small business. According to NAR’s annual Commercial Real Estate 2012 Lending Survey, a majority of Realtors are typically involved in less than $2 million transactions and are usually all cash — both of which make it difficult to obtain commercial lending. Yun pointed out that this is holding back the recovery potential in the commercial market, as well as hinder overall economic recovery.

“Since the economic crisis, smaller lenders have been shut out while larger lenders do a majority of the business,” said Yun. “Realtors have reported that they typically obtain commercial mortgages from smaller banks. They find it frustrating that the larger banks are gaining market share at the expense of smaller sized lenders, which is hampering lending to small businesses.”

All major commercial real estate sectors are seeing improvement, but multifamily housing continues to be the healthiest with falling vacancy rates and rising rents. Families who were foreclosed upon and young people who cannot obtain a mortgage are choosing to rent, and Yun predicts this trend will continue. Based on the demand and lack of new construction on apartment buildings Yun estimates rents will increase by about four percent next year.

In the office and industrial sectors vacancy rates are improving and prices are beginning to level off. Transaction volume in the industrial sector is also beginning to pick up. Retail is showing signs of a slight recovery, which Yun predicts will be a consistent trend. Yun said overall, the commercial market is experiencing a slow healing process.

Jeffrey DeBoer, president and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable, joined Yun for the second half of the session where he spoke to the concerns and challenges that hinder the commercial market. DeBoer reiterated the need for more credit in the market, calling it a short-term problem that needs to be addressed immediately to bring the market back to life. Other issues DeBoer identified as critical to the market were the need for more equity and creation of more jobs. Looking long-term, DeBoer also said America needs to take a closer look at tax reform and preserve the mortgage interest deduction.

“We have to be vigilant, and talking to Congress — as Realtors are doing today — is imperative,” said DeBoer. “It’s important that lawmakers understand what is going on in the commercial market and the challenges that persist. A healthy commercial market is vital to the economy and well-being of this country.”

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Lack of Capital Hinders Commercial Market While Modest Improvement Persists

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This month’s CoStar Commercial Repeat Sale Indices (CCRSI) provide the market’s first look at commercial real estate pricing through March 2012. Based on 885 repeat property sales in March and more than 100,000 repeat sales since 1996, the CCRSI offers the broadest measure of commercial real estate repeat sales activity. Also, this release includes First Quarter 2012 sub-index results by property type and by region.

May 2012 National Results Highlights

Charts accompanying this release are available at http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/9473/file/13824.pdf

Quarterly CCRSI Property Type Results

Quarterly CCRSI Regional Results

Quarterly CCRSI Top Ten Markets Results

About the CoStar Commercial Repeat-Sale Indices

The CoStar Commercial Repeat-Sale Indices (CCRSI) are the most comprehensive and accurate measures of commercial real estate prices in the United States. In addition to the national Composite Index, national Investment Grade Index and national General Commercial Index, which we report monthly, we report quarterly on 30 sub-indices in the CoStar index family. The sub-indices include breakdowns by property sector (office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality and land), by region of the country (Northeast, South, Midwest, West), by transaction size and quality (general commercial, investment grade), and by market size (composite index of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the country).

The CoStar indices are constructed using a repeat sales methodology, widely considered the most accurate measure of price changes for real estate. This methodology measures the movement in the prices of commercial properties by collecting data on actual transaction prices. When a property is sold more than one time, a sales pair is created. The prices from the first and second sales are then used to calculate price movement for the property. The aggregated price changes from all of the sales pairs are used to create a price index.

More charts accompanying this release are available at http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/9473/file/13825.pdf

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Latest CoStar Commercial Repeat-Sale Analysis: Commercial Property Pricing Recovery Continues Despite Seasonal …

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire -05/17/12)- Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (the “Company” or “ARI”) (ARI) today announced Stuart Rothstein, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, is scheduled to present at the Wells Fargo Securities Specialty Finance Symposium on May 23, 2012 at The Waldorf Astoria in New York, NY. The ARI presentation is scheduled to begin at 8:00am ET.

The presentation and question and answer period will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all interested parties through the Company’s website at www.apolloreit.com in the investor relations section. There will be a replay available following the presentation which will remain on the Company’s website for thirty days.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (ARI) is a commercial mortgage real estate investment trust that primarily originates, invests in, acquires and manages senior performing commercial real estate mortgage loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other commercial real estate-related debt investments throughout the U.S. The Company is externally managed and advised by ACREFI Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, LLC, a leading global alternative investment manager with over $86 billion of assets under management at March 31, 2012.

Additional information can be found on the Company’s website at www.apolloreit.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Forward-looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company’s control. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of the Company’s business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When used in this release, the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may” or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, may be forward-looking: the return on equity; the yield on investments; the ability to borrow to finance assets; and risks associated with investing in real estate assets, including changes in business conditions and the general economy. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements, and other risks, uncertainties and factors are based on the Company’s beliefs, assumptions and expectations of its future performance, taking into account all information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. to Present at Wells Fargo Securities Specialty Finance Symposium

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Buying Real Estate in Steamboat Springs – Video