Inman News real estate forecast rates a B+

A year ago, Inman News provided a list of real estate predictions for 2004. Here's how we did: (Click here to see Inman News' 2005 Real Estate Forecast.)

Prediction 1. Interest rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will jump to near 7 percent, cooling the pace of housing sales.

Interest rates stayed in the 5 percent range this year, increasing in the spring, but not enough to significantly cool home sales.  more...

Consumer confidence edges upward

Consumer confidence posted a strong gain in December, as consumers were more positive about overall economic prospects for the year ahead, according to the latest University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.

"Consumers have shown a remarkable degree of resilience throughout the past year and as a consequence their behavior has added a good deal of stability to the overall economy," according to Richard Curtin, the director of the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers. Consumers have not become overly optimistic, however.  more...

Federal regulators dispute Fannie Mae exit packages

Former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines, forced out last week as head of the mortgage giant, is due to receive of a pension of about $1.3 million a year for life, according to documents filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the SEC documents, Fannie Mae also revealed that Raines has deferred compensation of $8.7 million to be paid through 2020 and owns more than $5.5 million in the company's stock.

But Fannie Mae's federal regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, has asked the company to hold off paying any compensation to Raines unt  more...

For-sale homes 'speak' in text messages

A new service available in Florida allows home shoppers with cell phones to get information on for-sale homes in the form of a text message.

ClearSky Mobile Media Inc., a wireless marketing company, announced today that it has rolled out iCODE, which enables prospective home buyers to dial in a code to receive information about a home. The service launched in Windermere, Fla.  more...

Real estate sales, prices climb in New York

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York rose more than 10 percent in November from their year-ago level, while the median selling price grew more than 21 percent, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors.

The November 2004 sales total of 8,312 represents a 10.8 percent increase compared to the November 2003 sales total of 7,500. The November 2004 sales total fell 5.4 percent from the 8,784 sales total posted in October 2004.  more...