Historical home: The National Association of Realtors is highlighting as a top national listing a home in the French Quarter that has been converted from a historic firehouse. The home, at 929 Bienville St., is listed for $4.85 million and was built in 1907 as Engine 7. “Step inside, and there’s no hint of the home’s firehouse past,” a Realtor.com feature on the home reads. “The chic property features finishes such as antique pine floors, bamboo flooring in the bedroom and bomanite polished concrete floors downstairs.” The 5,698-square-foot home was once the only firehouse in the French Quarter. It had long since been decommissioned when it was bought by the current owner five years ago. Read the full story and see photos.
Down but not out: U.S. homebuilders say sales prospects and buyer traffic fell slightly this month. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index, released today, slipped to 55 in February from 57 in January. Despite the decline, builders remain relatively optimistic a month before the start of the spring buying season. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as positive rather than poor. Lower mortgage rates, coupled with job gains over the past year, point to stronger sales. Builders’ outlook for current sales conditions and prospective buyer traffic slipped in February, while the expected sales conditions over the next six months held steady. The latest reading is consistent with the NAHB’s forecast for the U.S. housing market to continue to improve at a gradual pace this year. The Associated Press has the full story.
Don’t call it a comeback: The business of bundling riskier U.S. mortgages into bonds without government backing is gearing up for a comeback. As Bloomberg reports, firms are buying up loans to borrowers who can’t qualify for conventional mortgages because of issues such as low credit scores, foreclosures or hard-to-document income. They each plan to pool the mortgages into securities of varying risk and sell some to investors this year. JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts predict as much as $5 billion of deals could get done, while Nomura Holdings Inc. forecasts $1 billion to $2 billion. Seer Capital and Angel Oak, who are among the firms buying up the debt, prefer the term “nonprime” for lending that flirts with practices that used to be employed for debt known as subprime or Alt-A. Read the full story.
