Toronto real estate sales top 4,000 in January

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported today that sales activity reached 4,153 in January. The total volume of sales, in U.S. dollars, was $1.08 billion in January, the board reported.

In U.S. dollars, the average price of homes in the Toronto area was $260,052, climbing two percent since December, when the average price was $253,686. The January 2005 average price was also 9 percent above January 2004. In 1995, the average price of a home in the Toronto area was about $164,871 in U.S. dollars.  more...

Housing affordability improves in fourth quarter

Declining mortgage interest rates and rising family income improved housing affordability conditions in the fourth quarter, the National Association of Realtors reported today.

NAR's composite Housing Affordability Index was 131.8 during the fourth quarter of 2004, up 2.9 percentage points from 128.9 reported in the third quarter. The index was 5 points below the same period a year earlier when it stood at 136.8.  more...

Real estate rates post 5-week decline

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

Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.63 percent, for the week ended today, down from last week when it averaged 5.66 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.14 percent, unchanged from last week. Points on both the 30- and 15-year averaged 0.7.  more...

National wholesale mortgage lender breaks volume records

National wholesale mortgage lender First Franklin originated $29.16 billion in 2004, the highest dollar-volume production in its 23-year history, the company said today.

The $29.16 billion was the culmination of four consecutive quarters of record-breaking production, according to First Franklin.  more...

Bankrate earnings climb

Bankrate today reported total revenue of $9.3 million for the fourth quarter 2004, and net income of $6.8 million, or 42 cents per diluted share.

Fourth-quarter revenue was up 3 percent over the $9.1 million reported during the same quarter in 2003. Fourth-quarter income increased from $5.1 million, or 32 cents per diluted share.  more...

E-commerce co. expands mortgage-related portfolio

CarsDirect has acquired a number of mortgage-related Web properties from Myers Internet, an online mortgage technology provider, the companies said today.

As part of the agreement, CarsDirect acquires Myers' mortgage lead technology platform and its BestRate.com and LoanApp.com sites.

The acquisition will speed up the growth of CarsDirect's mortgage business and complement its existing LoanStore.com and  more...

Military personnel gain access to new real estate loan

Countrywide Home Loans this week announced a new mortgage program that aims to make it easier for enlisted U.S. armed forces personnel and their families who have little or no funds for down payments and closing costs to become homeowners.

Countrywide's U.S. Military Optimum Loan Program also allows qualifying enlisted men and women to buy homes with nontraditional income sources.

The program's guidelines allow for:

• a minimum cash down payment from the borrower(s) of $500 or 1 percent of sales price  more...

New York real estate prices post hefty gains

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York surpassed 103,000 to set a new annual record in 2004, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors. The preliminary data showed a median selling price increase of nearly 17 percent in 2004 compared to the previous year.  more...

Overnight real estate rates decrease

Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.17 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.18 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate dipped to 4.72 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.62 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.6 percent.

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

Brokers, agents, recorders key to paperless transaction

The power to make the paperless real estate transaction a reality is in the hands of real estate brokers, agents and county recorders, according to panelists in an Inman News audio conference on the subject Wednesday.

"On the front end, in terms of the real estate side, there is no barrier to entry. It's legal, it's valid, it's being practiced today," said Dan Tealdi, chief executive officer of Criterion's REDTablet, a tablet PC company.  more...