Builder conference to highlight senior housing

More than 500 building industry leaders will converge on Chicago April 14-16 to learn about the fastest-growing segment of America's housing industry at the National Association of Home Builders Building for Boomers & Beyond: Seniors Housing Symposium 2004.

Held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the annual conference aims to educate builders, developers, architects and other professionals in the age 50-plus seniors housing industry on the diverse housing needs of baby boomers and older generations.  more...

Ask Jeeves revs up search business

Internet search provider Ask Jeeves said Thursday it signed an agreement to buy a family of Web sites that includes My Way, Excite and iWon. The Emeryville, Calif.-based company is purchasing privately held Interactive Search Holdings, an online search and media company.  more...

Realtor.com increases consumer traffic

Realtor.com today reported that consumer traffic to its Web site steadily increased during 2003, with prospective home buyers logging more than 2.5 billion minutes for the year.

Independent Internet consumer researcher Com Score Media Metrix reported the usage figures, noting that the statistics represent visits to the site by a monthly average of more than 4.98 million potential buyers.  more...

Real estate sales soften in Northwest

Home sales around western Washington dropped 15.4 percent in February from the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The decline in closed sales reflected lower volumes of pending sales during December and January. NWMLS members reported 4,623 closings systemwide, down from February 2003 when members logged 5,462 completed transactions.  more...

North Carolina real estate activity cools

Existing-home sales in North Carolina were higher in January than the year-ago figures, but slower than the pace set in December 2003, according to statistics compiled by the North Carolina Association of Realtors.

According to NCAR, 5,932 residential units were sold in the first month of 2004, an 11 percent increase over sales in January 2003. Total sales registered $1.07 billion and the cost of an existing home averaged $181,477.  more...

Countrywide, Prudential Verani enter joint venture

Countrywide Home Loans and New Hampshire-based Prudential Verani Realty today announced the formation of CMV Home Loans, a mortgage venture that aims to provide home buyers across New Hampshire and Massachusetts with a variety of home financing programs.

CMV Home Loans, an operating division of Countrywide Mortgage Ventures, aims to offer qualified home buyers zero down-payment loans and a variety of fixed- and adjustable-rate options with optimum flexibility on rate and terms.  more...

Overnight mortgage rates steady

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly unchanged Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.02 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.28 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate remained at 4.56 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 3.17 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.88 percent.

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