Real estate classified ad spending up 7%

Real estate newspaper classified ad spending increased 7.2 percent to $2.1 billion in the second quarter of this year, and online ad spend increased by 28.6 percent, a newspaper association said today.

Advertising expenditures for newspapers and their Web sites totaled $12.2 billion for the second quarter of 2005, a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase, according to early estimates from the Newspaper Association of America released today.  more...

Home-value appreciation scores high with buyers

Residents of metropolitan Detroit say that when buying an existing home, they are most interested in its potential to appreciate in value, according to a new study from RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan.

The study asked Oakland, Wayne, Macomb and Monroe County residents in Michigan about the top characteristics they consider when buying a home.  more...

New Web service targets Latino home buyers

A Houston group has launched a new Web site to provide more Latinos with home-buying information at CasaNuevaHouston.com.

The local online home-buying guide is presented in Spanish and English. The site creators say it was launched to help dispel many of the myths that keep Latino families from owning homes.  more...

HUD awards $18.8 million to house people with HIV/AIDS

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson on Friday announced nearly $18.8 million in funding that aims to help low-income individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS get permanent housing and access to care.  more...

Real estate companies make it big on Fortune list

Fortune magazine's latest top-100 list of the fastest-growing companies in the nation includes four home builders, three mortgage lenders and two Florida land developers.

Zacks Investment Research supplied data for the list, which gives equal weight to three factors: profit and sales growth for three years through first-quarter 2005, and three-year total return through June 2005.  more...

Central Ohio real estate rebounds

Central Ohio home sales picked up in July after falling the month before, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Realtors reported 2,657 residential home sales during July, up 2.8 percent from 2,584 homes sold a year ago.

Year-to-date, home sales are running 1.2 percent above the same period last year, with 15,654 sales reported so far this year, compared with 15,465 last year.  more...

First Am scoops up Certified Closing Network

First American has acquired Certified Closing Network, a provider of customized title clearance and settlement services for clients with residential relocation-related transactions, the company said today.

CCN will become a part of First American Residential Group, a specialty business line addressing the service, technology and outsourcing needs of companies serving the residential real estate and relocation markets.

Terms of the transaction, which closed on Aug.19, 2005, were not disclosed.

"The high quality of the CCN team and their proven focus on customer service  more...

Overnight real estate rates flatten

Long-term mortgage interest rates held steady Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.21 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average stayed at 5.35 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate remained at 4.96 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.84 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield declined to 4.41 percent.

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