Golden State housing starts reach 15-year high

Housing production in California finally broke through the 200,000-unit barrier in 2004 for the first time since 1989. Even with production at a 15-year high, the state's home builders still did not build enough new homes and apartments to meet housing needs, the California Building Industry Association reported today.  more...

Weekly real estate rates continue to slide

Long-term mortgage rates declined for the fourth consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage survey.

Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.66 percent for the week ended today, down slightly from last week when it averaged 5.67 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.14 percent, down from last week when it averaged 5.15 percent. Points on both the 30- and 15-year averaged 0.6.  more...

U.S. home ownership reaches record high

The Census Bureau released data today showing that a new national home ownership record was set in 2004. The new annual rate of 69 percent surpasses the previous record of 68.3 set in 2003. The fourth-quarter rate of 69.2 percent ties the all-time record set in the second quarter of 2004 and means there are now 74.4 million American families who own their own homes.  more...

Help-wanted advertising rises

The Conference Board's help-wanted advertising index, a key barometer of America's job market, increased two points in December. The index now stands at 38, the same level as one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising increased in seven of the nine regions across the U.S. Largest increases occurred in the South Atlantic (14.1 percent), West North Central (12.6 percent) and West South Central (12.4 percent) regions.  more...

IndyMac reports record real estate loan production

IndyMac Bancorp today reported record net earnings of $58.4 million, or 91 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2004, with revenue of $246.9 million for the quarter.

The net earnings of $58.4 million were up 35 percent over the fourth quarter of 2003, which saw net earnings of $43.3 million, or 75 cents per share.  more...

Home builder survey reveals changes in salary, benefits

Aronson & Co., a nationally ranked accounting and consulting firm, on Wednesday released the results of its 2004-2005 Homebuilder Salary Survey, which focused on employee retention, bonus and profit sharing plans, and salary ranges within the mid-Atlantic home-building industry.

As compared to the previous year's results, average salaries did not increase significantly above inflation, but there was a noticeable increase from last year in the higher range for each salary position.  more...

Sotheby's grows real estate franchise in Florida

Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates Inc.  more...

Fidelity offers new county recording technology

County recorders will be able to automatically index documents with a new offering from Aptitude Solutions, a division of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fidelity National Financial, and Mentis Technology.

Mentis Technology's aiINDEX application has been incorporated within Aptitude's OnCore recording software system. This makes it possible for county recorders to use Optical Character Resolution to automatically index documents.  more...

Two Indiana policemen indicted in real estate fraud scam

Two Indianapolis Police Department patrolmen were suspended Wednesday after they were indicted in a mortgage fraud scheme involving 43 homes in three cities and $2 million, the Indianapolis Star reported today.

The news report cited a 66-page federal indictment released by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Indiana that named Michael C. Smith, 44, Officer James McClung, 34, and eight other people for their role in the fraud ring.  more...

Realtors step up to housing need in tsunami-battered nations