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Chattanooga: Real Estate Roundup(Chattanooga Times (Free Press, TN) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 14--Realtor conference comes to Marriott The Tennessee Association of Realtors is having its 89th annual convention in Chattanooga from Wednesday through Friday. The conference, titled "On Track to Success," will be held at the Marriott at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The event is not open to the public. Erik Wahl will present the keynote address, titled "The Art of Vision," which will combine an inspirational speech given while Mr. Wahl paints a picture. The presentation will be from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Builders offer 'green' seminars The Home Builders Association of Southern Tennessee will offer a green building course by the National Association of Home Builders on Wednesday and Thursday. The cost is $275 for NAHB members or $325 for nonmembers, and participants receive a green building certificate, said Teresa Groves, executive officer for the local association. Participants who also take a business management component on Friday will receive an NAHB green building designation. The cost is $175 for NAHB members or $225 for others. Call 624-9992 for more information. Pending home sales decline The level of home sales is expected to show little movement in the months ahead, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, fell 3.2 percent to 86.5 from an upwardly revised reading of 89.4 in June. The July index remains 6.8 percent below July 2007 when it stood at 92.8. "Overly stringent lending criteria imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past month no doubt held back contract signings," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. Delinquency rates up for quarter Delinquency rates ticked up slightly in the second quarter for most commercial/multifamily mortgage investor groups, but remained at the lower end of their historical ranges, according to a new report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Between the first and second quarters, the 30-plus-day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities rose 0.05 percentage points to 0.53 percent. The 60-plus-day delinquency rate on loans held in life company portfolios rose 0.02 percentage points to 0.03 percent. To see more of the Chattanooga Times/Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesfreepress.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |