Regions buck real estate bubble theory

So many buyers, so little inventory.

It's a tale Rick Martin knows well. Martin, a Realtor/broker for Whalers Realty in Lahaina on the island of Maui, said some home prices in his area are 40 percent higher than they were at the same time last year.

"We see very little inventory and many, many buyers wishing to purchase homes and condos on Maui. With so few sellers and so many want-to-be buyers, I don't see an end in sight anytime soon," he said.  more...

Next big thing in mortgage technology

Lenders, realty agents and even borrowers stand to benefit from new mortgage technology innovations, according to a new industry study.

Two of the next big things in mortgage technology cited in the study are lenders' increased adoption of alternative credit scoring products for marginal-credit home loan applicants and tying together parts of the lending process to create a more synchronized system for lenders.  more...

Subprime lending practices decline in New Jersey

A recent study on New Jersey's Home Ownership Security Act underscores the need for a uniform national standard of laws to combat predatory lending practices, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.  more...

LendingTree mourns death of top executive

LendingTree, an online lending and real estate services exchange, this week mourned the loss of its chief technology officer, Rick Stiegler, who died Sunday at the age of 47.

Stiegler was a key player in creating LendingTree's patented technology, which matches consumers with lenders. The technology has largely contributed to the success of LendingTree's business model. A number of companies have licensed the software to power their own loan centers.

Stiegler was one of LendingTree's first employees. He most recently supervised a team of more than 95 technology people.  more...

Fannie, Freddie 'adequately capitalized'

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were "adequately capitalized" as of year-end 2003, according to a statement issued today by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the safety and soundness regulator of the nation's two secondary mortgage market corporations.  more...

AppIntell enhances mortgage fraud detection

AppIntell on Tuesday announced it has enhanced its fraud detection technology with "intelligent" features that aim to increase user effectiveness.

The enhancements include more comprehensive, easy-to-read red-flag warnings to alert users to suspicious or inconsistent loan data. The flags are also linked to in-depth guides that automatically provide users with specific steps they can take to further clarify and validate the questionable elements.  more...

Realtors push affordable housing agenda

The National Association of Realtors has joined a coalition of heavyweights, including the National Association of Home Builders and the American Association of Retired Persons, in urging Congress and the president to provide more affordable housing opportunities.  more...

Real estate purchases drop

Overall mortgage purchases declined by 2.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, while interest rates nudged upward, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The MBA seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 1.1 percent to 443.8 from 448.9 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance index decreased by 2.6 percent to 4,857.6 from 4,988.7 one week earlier.  more...

DeepGreen grows home-equity lending service

DeepGreen Financial today announced it has created a new business channel, GreenMax, which will offer a low-cost lending platform to banks, credit unions and other financial services companies.

GreenMax will provide these services on either a private-label or co-branded basis. The initial offerings will focus on home-equity products, but eventually DeepGreen expects to offer other rules-based financial products, such as student, personal, auto and boat loans.  more...

Outstanding real estate Web sites grab awards

The Web Marketing Association this week launched its 8th annual WebAward competition, which recognizes achievement in 80 industry categories including real estate. The deadline for entry is June 30.

The competition judges Web sites on design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, navigation and ease of use. Each entry is judged against other entries in the same category and also against an overall standard of excellence.  more...