Economic indicators point to slowdown

The U.S. leading index, a key barometer of economic conditions, decreased 0.7 percent in September, The Conference Board reported today.

The leading index now stands at 136.8 (1996=100). Based on revised data, this index decreased 0.1 percent in August and decreased 0.1 percent in July. During the six-month span through September, the leading index increased 0.4 percent, with seven out of 10 components advancing.

The leading index decreased sharply in September as the economic impact of the hurricanes in the Gulf region began to be reflected in the component data.  more...

Connecting real estate loan process from beginning to end

Commerce Velocity today announced the launch of an integrated suite of services to facilitate mortgage loan processing from the point of sale through fulfillment, and into the secondary market.

The company's other products include immediate point-of-sale systems in wholesale, retail and correspondent channels. The latest addition weaves automated processing throughout the entire mortgage-processing channel, aiming to ease the preparation of loans into the secondary market.  more...

Real estate loan program locks interest rates during construction

Chase Home Finance has a new program that enables borrowers to lock in low interest rates for up to a year while their home or condominium is being built, the company said today.

Chase today announced the Chase Lock-Solid Platinum Program, its new long-term lock offer on interest rates for up to 12 months on 15- and 30-year fixed-rate loans.

Borrowers who want more flexibility can lock today's rate for up to 12 months on a wide range of Chase adjustable-rate mortgages featuring initial fixed terms of 3 to 10 years as well as interest-only loans, the company said.

The  more...

Apartment market conditions improve

For the ninth quarter in a row, senior apartment executives report higher occupancy rates, rising rents, increased sales volume and equity availability, according to the National Multi Housing Council's October 2005 Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. 

Seventy-five percent of survey respondents reported improved demand for apartments, measured by lower vacancy rates, higher rents or both.  more...

Real estate rates hit 15-month high

Mortgage rates edged up this week to their highest level in 15 months, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.

In Freddie Mac's weekly survey, rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.1 percent, with and average 0.5 point, for the week ending Oct. 20. That was up from last week's average of 6.03 percent.  more...

Fidelity, RE/MAX integrate office systems

Fidelity National Financial's real estate division has made its office management system directly compatible with RE/MAX's , the company said today.

Broker BackOffice Pro, Fidelity's office management solution, is now integrated directly with FRAMES, which is RE/MAX's proprietary system for reporting individual office statistics to its regional and international offices.

With the new integration, agents won't have to enter data twice.  more...

Real estate valuation co. moves online

Real Info, a company that provides automated property valuations to real estate professionals, lenders and credit unions, has migrated to an Internet-based system that features full multiple listing service integration with public records, plot maps, aerial photography, flood maps, zoning maps and aerial photography, the company announced.

The company has acquired RPS, a tax mapping, geographic information system and data product from NextGen Solutions Inc., according to the announcement, which has led to the development of the new application, which is expected to be released to MLS  more...

Overnight real estate rates post mixed results

Long-term mortgage interest rates posted mixed results Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield was mostly unchanged at 4.46 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average increased to 5.64 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate decreased to 5.19 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 4.29 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield held steady at 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...