By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. The percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home fell to 18 percent in August, a 5 percentage-point decrease compared with the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the California Association of Realtors. The August housing affordability index declined 1 percentage point compared to July, when it stood at 19 percent. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $474,370 in California in August was $111,180, based on an average effective mortgage interest rate of 5.83 percent and assuming a 20 p more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. LoopNet has acquired BizBuySell, the operator of an online exchange of businesses for sale in North America, the company announced today. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. LoopNet and BizBuySell are privately held companies. BizBuySell will be an independent business unit of LoopNet and will continue to deliver services via the BizBuySell.com Web site and build the BizBuySell brand. LoopNet Founder and Co-Chairman Dennis DeAndre has been named CEO of BizBuySell. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. Mortgage rates dropped this week after the release of September's disappointing employment report, according to the latest survey conducted by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. In Freddie Mac's weekly survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.74 percent for the week ended today, down from last week when it averaged 5.82 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.14 percent, also down from last week when it averaged 5.24 percent. Points on both the 30- and 15-year averaged 0.6. more...
By Jessica Swesey, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. After months of debate over a costly audit and internal struggles, the board of the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois fired its chief executive Tuesday evening. A board group during a special meeting terminated CEO Jay Huffman "without cause," according to Huffman's attorney Karen Levine, partner of Novack and Macey in Chicago. That means there was no statement of wrongdoing, she said. Huffman has been at the center of a controversial forensic audit conducted by PriceWaterHouseCoopers that some members estimate cost the MLS as much as half a million dollars. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. A nationally recognized expert on the real estate industry told the Real Estate Services Providers Council (RESPRO) audience Wednesday that there will be a "sharp contraction in the real estate market next year and into 2006, when mortgage rates rise above 7 percent." Weston Edwards, PhD., a consultant to some of the largest real estate brokerage firms, title companies and mortgage lenders in the nation, pointed out that the "contraction in home sales" will occur as interest rates rise and current "homeowners won't want to give up their low-rate, non-assumable mortgages." "M more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. Many minority and lower income families continue to be shut out of the home-buying market because of serious racial and economic disparities in obtaining mortgages, according to a report released today by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The group used data available under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to examine such factors as denial rates, number of originations and number of applications for borrowers of different races, ethnicities and incomes, as well as for borrowers who live in neighborhoods of different racial and economic demographics. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. Bank of America Corp. today reported third-quarter earnings of $3.76 billion, or $.91 per diluted share, up 29 percent compared to earnings of $2.92 billion, or $.96 per share, a year ago. Under purchase accounting rules, year-ago results do not include the impact of FleetBoston Financial Corp., which was acquired on April 1, 2004. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004.
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. DocuSign Inc. has launched a new Web service that allows businesses to transfer documents electronically with a legally binding e-signature. The DocuSign online signing service requires no integration, and documents are supported from any Windows application. DocuSign complies with requirements of the federal ESIGN legislation (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce act), which gives electronic documents and signatures the same legal standing as paper documents and ink signatures. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. In response to rising difficulty consumers in California now face in securing homeowners insurance following last year's firestorms, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has eased eligibility requirements for the state's FAIR Plan, the so-called homeowners insurer of last resort. The action allows property owners to bypass certain cumbersome application requirements, and expands the areas covered by the program. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, October 13, 2004. Homeowners spent an estimated $129.3 billion on home improvements and repairs over the past four quarters, according to remodeling activity statistics released by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Spending has increased 5.1 percent since the third quarter of 2003. "Manufacturers and distributors of home improvement products are reporting strong gains in recent months," said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program of the Joint Center. more...
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