Real estate ownership rates lower in emerging gateway cities

Both foreign-born and U.S.-born migrants who move to one of 14 "emerging gateway cities" have lower home ownership rates than households that move within a metropolitan area, according to the results of a study at the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate.

"Past housing research focused on the established gateway metropolitan areas, where 50 percent of all U.S.  more...

Online real estate valuation service changes name

Instant House Appraisal.com, a company that provides online home valuations for consumers, on Tuesday reported it received a letter from the Arizona Board of Appraisal ordering the company to stop performing appraisals on Arizona properties until it can retain a licensed appraiser in the state.

The company responded by replacing the InstantHouseAppraisal.com Web site with a new name and URL, InstantHomeValuations.com.  more...

SoCal real estate sales drop

Southern California home sales slowed for the fifth consecutive month in November, while prices set a new record, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 27,459 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November, down 2.6 percent from October's 28,189, and down 0.6 percent from 27,628 for November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.  more...

Online real estate convention kicks off next month

The Fourth Annual National Real Estate Online Convention and Exposition is slated for Jan. 30 – Feb. 5, 2005. The event is expected to attract more than 50,000 real estate professionals.

Registrants can attend meetings, listen to speakers, obtain handouts and visit more than 300 tradeshow booths without leaving their desk. The completely online event is produced by the Real Estate CyberSpace Society and is free of charge.  more...

Survey reveals ignorance about homeowner's insurance

Homeowners are largely unaware about the scope of the insurance policies that cover their homes, according to a Harris Interactive survey. About 37 percent of respondents correctly answered six of 12 questions about basic insurance coverage on their homeowner and auto policies, according to the survey, conducted for insurer Fireman's Fund.  more...

Real estate loan apps hold steady

Overall mortgage applications held steady last week, decreasing just 1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The MBA seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 0.4 percent to 488.9 from 490.9 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance index decreased by 2 percent to 1,852.4 from 1,890.6 from one week earlier.  more...

Home builder's earnings soar

Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest home builders, today reported record fourth-quarter net earnings of $379.7 million, or $2.29 per share. Quarterly profit was up from $283.2 million, or $1.69 per share, during the same period last year.

Net earnings for the year ended Nov. 30, 2004, were $945.6 million, or $5.70 per share diluted, compared to net earnings of $751.4 million, or $4.65 per share diluted, in 2003.  more...

Overnight real estate rates rise

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.12 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average climbed to 5.29 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate increased to 4.74 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 3.4 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.77 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...