Real Estate News – April 20, 2011

Builders, especially those in the Midwest, started construction on more homes in March than in February, but it’s unclear if this signals a home-building recovery (via StarTribune.com): http://bit.ly/ggFxla

Lee B. Farkas, the founder of one of the nation’s largest mortgage lending companies, was found guilty by a federal jury this week for masterminding a scheme that cheated investors and the government out of about $2.9 billion (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/fdan04

The board of Citigroup Inc was sued by an individual shareholder for the damage done to the bank by years of shoddy mortgage and foreclosure practices, which recently led to a costly fix agreed with regulators (via Reuters.com): http://reut.rs/hIYPQG

An agreement to sell the former State Farm Insurance headquarters in Woodbury to Wellington Management Inc. of St. Paul — which had planned to redevelop the 95-acre site — has been terminated (via StarTribune.com): http://bit.ly/e5eJ0e

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a critic of proposed settlement terms from a 50-state foreclosure investigation, is seeking an alternative accord with banks, his office said (via Bloomberg.com): http://bloom.bg/eewyOd
 
Even as the economy picks up steam, many of the nation’s malls and shopping centers are suffering a hangover due to changing consumer habits and the fallout from a massive building boom (via online.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/hnxENL

U.S. Bancorp delivered everything Wall Street investors could have hoped for Tuesday, with one significant exception: Loan growth (via StarTribune.com): http://bit.ly/gMHo13