Bank of America profit jumps 10 percent

Profits at Bank of America jumped 10 percent in the third quarter of 2005, the company said today.

Third-quarter net income rose to $4.13 billion, or $1.02 a share, from $3.76 billion, or 91 cents, a year earlier, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America said today.

The company, which is the fifth largest U.S. mortgage lender by total volume, earned $1.04 a share excluding merger costs.  more...

New real estate closing technology aims to streamline process

The First American Corp.  more...

Online help-wanted ads decline

The number of new online job ads declined to just more than 2 million in September, according to The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Online Data Series, down 4.4 percent from August, with fewer jobs being offered in all nine major regions of the country.

There were 1.36 online job ads per 100 persons in the U.S. labor force in September compared with 1.43 per 100 persons in August.

"The September data indicate a general weakening in the job picture nationwide -- a trend we were seeing before the recent hurricanes.  more...

Realtor association releases new info on information security

The Center for Realtor Technology of the National Association of Realtors has released a series of new briefing papers on information security to explain the basic concepts real estate professionals need to know to minimize financial impact, aggravation and other damage from incidents like security breaches, viruses and attacks.

The center, in conjunction with a leading firm in the information field, has developed five user-friendly guides that address major aspects of information security in the real estate industry.  more...

Housing starts climb in September

Single-family housing starts, building permits and completions jumped from September 2004 to September 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.

Single-family authorizations in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,749,000, which is about 4.4 percent above the August figure.  more...

Long-term real estate rates on the rise

Real estate purchase loan applications were on the rise last week as refinancings slowed, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly mortgage applications survey. Long-term interest rates also increased.

The market composite index - a measure of mortgage loan application volume - was 737.5, an increase of 6.1 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from 694.8, one week earlier. This measure includes an adjustment to offset the effects of Columbus Day on application activity.  more...

Technology partners developing new platform for lenders

Officials at First American Corp. and Dorado Corp. on Tuesday announced they are jointly developing a common, unified point-of-sale platform to provide lenders with on-demand loan processing and fulfillment.  more...

Overnight real estate rates climb

Long-term mortgage interest rates climbed Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.47 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average increased to 5.62 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate edged up to 5.23 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 4.25 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.69 percent.

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

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...