Palm Beach real estate firm moves office, number of real estate agents to drop by 2010 … and more

1. Real estate sales volume down, prices up in Miami-Dade [Miami Today]
2. Martha A. Gottfried real estate firm moves its Palm Beach office [Palm Beach Daily]
3. Loews Miami Beach plans $50M renovation [Miami Today]
4. IRS speeds up home sales process [SFBJ]
5. Foreclosure can be the best choice for some homeowners [San Diego Union-Tribune]
6. Freddie Mac names new chief credit officer [CPN]
7. Number of real estate agents to drop at least 20 percent by 2010 [Inman]
8. Increased consumer confidence unlikely to help Florida’s struggling retail sector [GlobeSt]
9. Architecture Billings Index continued to fall in November [Unbeige]
10. New Twitter feed tracks layoffs in architecture industry [Unbeige]
11. Editorial: WaMu illustrates problems with housing market [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
12. Miami Beach has country’s highest income disparity [Miami Herald]
13. Piggyback loans may hinder mortgage modifications [Bloomberg]
14. Guarantee won’t lower Fannie and Freddie borrowing costs [Bloomberg]
15. Fannie Mae portfolio expands at 9.3 percent rate [Bloomberg]