New Fed chief rocks, gets no knocks

Ben Bernanke, recently nominated to succeed Alan Greenspan as head of the Federal Reserve, has huge shoes to fill, but was a good choice to follow Greenspan, real estate industry figures said.

"I think he was a good choice and the markets think he was a good choice," said Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. "I think he represents a continuation of Chairman Greenspan's policies in some important ways."  more...

Florida Realtors sign onto streamlined transactions

The 145,000 members of the Florida Association of Realtors now will have access to a Web-based transaction management system known as TransactionDesk, the technology provider announced this week.

Web-based transaction management systems are seen as key to cutting paper from real estate transactions and streamlining the closing process for agents, brokers and consumers alike.  more...

RE/MAX to stream education, training programs worldwide

RE/MAX International today announced that beginning in January 2006, select education and training programs, which previously was only available on the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN) via EchoStar and received by offices and in agents' homes beamed over a broad satellite "footprint" (primarily North America), will now be available by streaming video on the organization's extranet called RE/MAX Mainstreet.  more...

Industry leaders unite for paperless real estate

A task force of residential real estate companies dedicated to making the fully digital housing transaction a reality has launched. The group, known as the Paperless Crusade, will include transaction software vendors, researchers, journalists and major brokerages working together across a broad range of informational, promotional and technological fronts to raise awareness of paperless transactions and improve the paperless customer experience.

The campaign, initiated by Inman News, will focus on information, promotion and technology cooperation.  more...

LandAmerica revenue surpasses $1 billion

LandAmerica Financial Group reported record consolidated operating revenue for third-quarter 2005 of $1.02 billion, an increase of $163 million, or 19 percent, over third-quarter 2004. Acquisitions completed since Sept. 30, 2004, contributed approximately $20.5 million to this increase, the company said.

Operating revenue for the Title Operations segment for third-quarter 2005 was $955.6 million, an increase of $146.8 million, or 18.2 percent, over third-quarter 2004.  more...

Panel revises real estate loan interest tax writeoff

Responding to sharp criticism of its initial proposal to slash the tax deduction for home-mortgage interest, President Bush's tax-restructuring panel offered a revised and final plan Tuesday to increase its proposed cap on the write-off by 25 percent, media accounts said.

But the new level -- ranging from $227,147 to $411,704 depending on a region's housing prices -- still would be far below the average mortgage in high-price markets such as the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Washington, D.C., and South Florida, accounts said.  more...

Web site for real estate flippers launches

A new Web site capitalizing on the practice of flipping, Sell-Your-Preconstruction.com, specializing in the buying and selling of pre-construction properties nationwide, has launched, the company said Thursday.

Sell-Your-PreConstruction.com showcases properties for sale while under construction on a nationwide basis, by owner, Realtor or developer.

"Pre-construction listings cannot be advertised on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the standard service used to list and sell homes," said founder Dean Isenberg in a statement late Thursday.  more...

Overnight real estate rates shoot higher

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up again Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.65 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.87 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 5.46 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 4.4 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.84 percent.

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

Mississippi real estate firm learns value of paperless office