Real estate rates rise on brighter job news

Mortgage rates inched higher for the second consecutive week, as last week's employment report calmed fears of an economic downturn, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.66 percent for the week ended today, up slightly from last week when it averaged 5.62 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.25 percent, up from last week when it averaged 5.2 percent. Points on both the 30- and 15-year averaged 0.6.  more...

Fugitive in real estate fraud scheme pleads guilty

The ringleader behind a large real estate scheme that bilked millions of dollars from lenders pleaded guilty Wednesday in Nassau County court in New York to attempted grand larceny and fraud charges.

Sam Hilany, a.k.a, Nahum Hilany, 35, faces up to six years in prison and will have to pay restitution for the money he stole in illicit loans, according to Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon. Hilany's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19.  more...

Real estate loan insurer grows earnings

Private mortgage insurance provider MGIC Investment Corp. today reported second-quarter income of $174.4 million, up approximately 13 percent from the $154.5 million reported for the same quarter a year ago.

Diluted earnings per share was $1.87 for the second quarter, up approximately 20 percent from $1.56 for the same quarter a year ago.

Net income for the first six months of 2005 was $356.4 million, up 25 percent from the $284.6 million for the same period last year.  more...

Fidelity National acquires real estate title insurer

Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. has acquired the assets of STG Associates, one of its premier title insurance agency relationships, Fidelity said today.

New York-based STG Associates will operate as a division of FNTIC and will continue its customer relationships in Floral Park, N.Y., according to Fidelity National.

The principals of STG Associates, Paul Holmes, Margaret "Peggy" Dato and Richard Frey, will continue in their respective management leadership roles, Fidelity said.

"This strategic acquisition signifi  more...

Target real estate recruits based on market performance

Real estate brokers now can target sales agent recruits based on their market performance using Terradatum's BrokerMetrics system.

The company this week announced enhancements to the system that enable brokers to determine how much business an agent does in a particular city, county, ZIP code or MLS area, and determine what that agent would contribute to the bottom line of their firm if they recruited them to join.

Founded in 1989, Terradatum provides technology systems to the real estate industry.  more...

Countrywide's real estate loan fundings climb

Mortgage loan fundings at Countrywide Financial Corp. totaled $47 billion in June, up 48 percent from June 2004, the lender reported today.

The company also re-affirmed its prediction that it would earn $3.60 to $4.60 per share for the year.

Second-quarter mortgage loan volume totaled $120 billion, 21 percent greater than the second quarter of 2004, the company said.  more...

Global real estate stocks post gains

Publicly listed real estate stocks around the globe recovered during the second quarter of 2005 to record 1.2 percent growth for the first half of 2005, according to ResearchWorldwide, a global real estate information service.  more...

Canadian markets shatter real estate records

Resale housing activity in Canada's major markets set new all-time monthly and quarterly records in June 2005, and are running ahead of sales activity in the first half of last year, according to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association.  more...

Overnight real estate rates move higher

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.16 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.26 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 4.85 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.73 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.4 percent.

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