ENeighborhoods exec. has roots in real estate technology

Real estate technology and software is no new thing for Greg Robertson, who serves as executive vice president of eNeighborhoods. He oversees sales and marketing of all the company's products and services, which include real estate technology and marketing.

Robertson joined eNeighborhoods in 2003, and previously was one of the founding partners of IRIS, a real estate software company that launched in 1992.  more...

Worst-case scenario for housing next year

Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part story looking at housing market conditions for 2006. To read the first part, "Best-case scenario for housing next year," click here.

The scene opens on a devastated landscape, with the voices of a thousand wannabe homeowners crying out in pain.  more...

Overnight real estate rates dip slightly

Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped at 4.5 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 5.72 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate was down at 5.3 percent. The 1-year adjustable held steady at 4.54 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.5 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...

California real estate construction plummets

Housing starts fell significantly in November in most parts of California, but starts for the year are on pace with 2004, the California Building Industry Association reported this week.

During November, housing starts as measured by building permits issued for single-family homes totaled 9,405, down 17.2 percent from October and down 18 percent from November 2004, according to figures compiled by the Burbank-based  more...

Real estate purchases slide for third week

Overall mortgage applications fell 6.8 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, as refinancings continued to plummet, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 4.5 percent to 432.9 from 453.1 the previous week, whereas the refinance index decreased by 11.2 percent to 1,259.1 from 1,418.1 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 40.2 percent of total applications from 41.7 percent the previous week.  more...

Two Pennsylvanians indicted in alleged real estate scheme

Two Pennsylvania residents were indicted on charges of bank fraud, mail fraud and making false statements on loan applications in connection with alleged mortgage fraud schemes said to have taken place in 2002 and 2003.

Katie Gee, 28, of West Chester, Pa., and Michael Basilovecchio, 38, of West Chester were indicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  more...

Pulte Homes sells Mexico operations

Pulte Homes has sold its Mexico home-building business to a group of investors in a move toward curtailing its international operations to focus more on the U.S. market, the home builder said today.

The group of investors is led by affiliates of Walton Street Capital, a Chicago based real estate investment company, and advised by Banc of America Securities and Hipotecaria Su Casita, Mexico's largest independent Sofol.  more...

Condo, single-family housing prices heat up west of Boston

The high-priced Boston housing market has pushed many buyers to Western Massachusetts counties, causing those areas to record climbing prices on condos and single-family homes, according to figures released today.

Three Western Massachusetts counties experienced the largest median sales gains for condominiums and single-family homes during the past year, according to The Warren Group, a real estate and financial data provider.

The report detailed median single-family home and condo prices gains for each county in Mass  more...

Consumer confidence ends year with a bang

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had rebounded in November, improved further in December. The Index now stands at 103.6, up from 98.3 in November.

The present situation index surged to 121.5 from 113.2. The expectations index increased to 91.6 from 88.4 last month.

"Consumer confidence continues to bounce back and is now at its highest level since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.  more...