Cendant buys Sotheby's real estate brokerage

Cendant Corp. today announced it has acquired the residential real estate brokerage operations of Sotheby's International Realty and entered into an agreement with Sotheby's for a 100-year term. The term consists of an initial 50-year term and a 50-year renewal option, whereby Cendant will license the Sotheby's International Realty brand in exchange for a licensing fee to Sotheby's.  more...

Cold weather keeps builder sentiment under wraps

Unusually bad winter weather across much of the country was at least partly to blame for a four-point decline in the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index for February, released today. The monthly gauge of single-family builder confidence rested at 65, its lowest level since July 2003's similar reading.  more...

REI Data launches Listing Checker

REI Data Inc., a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE: STC), today announced the rollout of Listing Checker, a new service that aims to enhance the data quality of MLS systems.  more...

Housing problems haunt Americans

Nearly 65 million low-income people–24 percent of the entire U.S. population–are experiencing housing problems, including cost burdens, substandard conditions, overcrowding or homelessness, according to a report released Thursday from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.  more...

Real estate heats up Wisconsin

Wisconsin home sales set an all-time record high in 2003 with an estimated 119,000 homes sold, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

The sales record set in 2003 occurred despite sales moderating in the fourth quarter. A seasonally adjusted total of 30,250 homes were sold in the state between October and December of 2003.  more...

Stewart announces record results

Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE: STC) today reported that for the second year in a row, annual revenues, net earnings, orders and earnings per share during the fourth quarter and year-end 2003 were the largest in the company's history

Revenues for the year 2003 were $2.2 billion, a 26 percent increase from 2002. Net earnings for the year 2003 were $123.8 million, or $6.88 per share, compared with net earnings of $94.5 million, or $5.30 per share, for 2002. Stewart's assets now exceed $1 billion for the first time in the company's history.  more...

Canadian real estate sales slip

Canada's major market home sales in January via the Multiple Listing Service totaled 24,046 units on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 25,024 units in December, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association

However, seasonally adjusted new listings amounted to 37,763 units in January, up 3.6 percent from the same month last year.  more...