Stock prices jumpstart economy

The U.S. leading index, a key barometer of economic conditions, grew 0.2 percent in November after five months of consecutive declines, The Conference Board reported today.

The leading index now stands at 115.2 (1996=100). Based on revised data, this index decreased 0.4 percent in October and decreased 0.2 percent in September. During the six-month span through November, the leading index decreased 1.1 percent, with five out of 10 components advancing.  more...

Real estate records shattered in S.F. Bay Area

Home sales in the San Francisco Bay Area had their best November ever last month, as prices reached a new peak, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 10,987 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the nine-county region in November, down 2.5 percent from 11,180 in October, and up 13.6 percent from 9,594 for November last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

At 123,770, sales for the first 11 months of this year have already passed sales for the whole of 2003, making 2004 a record year even before December sales are included.  more...

Las Vegas real estate expected to double within 25 years

In 2030, about half of the buildings in which Americans live, work and shop will have been built after 2000, according to a discussion paper prepared for the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. The nation had about 300 billion square feet of built space in 2000. By 2030, the nation will need about 427 billion square feet of built space to accommodate growth projections.  more...

Fannie Mae CFO likely to leave

Fannie Mae's board of directors has apparently decided that the company's chief financial officer will step down, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported today that a person familiar with the situation said the board met on Sunday and "appeared" to have decided that Timothy Howard will leave the embattled mortgage giant. Terms of his expected departure have not been settled, the Journal reported.

The Journal said no decision was made on the fate of CEO Franklin Raines.  more...

FTC tightens no-call rule for telemarketers

Beginning Jan. 1, 2005, the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule will require telemarketers to access the National Do Not Call Registry and purge newly registered numbers from their call lists every 31 days.

Since March 2004, the rule required telemarketers to "scrub" their lists quarterly.  more...

Central Ohio reports record real estate sales

Central Ohio home sales jumped 17.6 percent in November from their year-ago level, while the average home price grew more than 4 percent, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

The 1,875 homes sold in November 2004 is the highest number of sales on record for the month of November, the association reported, although sales slowed from the 2,073 units sold in October. Year to date, 24,812 homes have been sold, putting the Columbus market 9.7 percent ahead of the same period last year.  more...

Real estate foreclosure site gets into lead business

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure property service, has entered the online lead generation space with the launch of its RealtyTrac Agent Network.  more...

Overnight real estate rates post gains

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.2 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average climbed to 5.33 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate increased to 4.76 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 3.43 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.83 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...