Cleveland’s attempts to curb predatory mortgage lending through local ordinances infringes on powers reserved for the state, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled in a decision that could discourage other cities from attempting similar measures.

In a 5-2 decision this month, Ohio’s highest court invalidated three Cleveland city ordinances aimed at curbing predatory lending, saying they conflict with state laws and are unconstitutional. Lenders are seeking a similar decision from the state Supreme Court in a challenge of a similar ordinance in Toledo.

The Investor: Dr. Roddy Tempest, 56, is an environmental scientist in Chapel Hill, N.C. He has invested in real estate since he was a student in the 1970s.  He typically purchases buildings where he can occupy one unit and rent out the others. He currently maintains four investment properties, including this one.

The property: The house is a Colonial Revival-style home in Durham, N.C. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it was formerly the home of Richard E. Dillard, an early 20^th century businessman and architect. Located in Duke Park, a neighborhood near Duke University, the 4,071-square-foot home is set on a 0.45-acre corner lot. The property contains five units: Three one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments; one one-bedroom unit with two bathrooms; and a small efficiency with a half bath and kitchenette. The apartments all include balconies.  

A group of brokers is protesting the process through which the Real Estate Board of New York trade group approved a public home-search Web portal, and is calling for more discussions and a general vote of all brokerage-company members.

In a petition that the brokers’ group plans to submit to REBNY this week, the group states that the portal “appears to serve only the interests of the largest member firms” and that the decision to launch the portal “was neither transparent nor democratic.”

The rate of new single-family home sales dropped 25.4 percent in October compared to the same month last year, while the median price increased 1.9 percent and the average price increased 5.5 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.

Sales of new single-family homes in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1 million, the agencies reported, which is 3.2 percent below the September rate. The rate is a projection of a monthly sales total over a 12-month period, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations in sales activity.

Florida’s resale real estate market cooled further in October, as single-family home sales tumbled for the 11th straight month and prices in many major markets declined, the Florida Association of Realtors reported.

A total of 12,773 existing single-family homes sold statewide last month, down 22 percent from the 16,407 homes sold a year ago. The overall existing-home median price last month of $242,500 was down 0.4 percent from $243,400 a year ago.

For resale condos, sales statewide registered 3,440 in October, down 31 percent from the 5,001 sales in October 2005. The statewide median sales price for condos fell to $209,200 last month, off 2 percent from $213,600 a year earlier.