Real estate rates end week lower

Mortgage rates moved lower this week as financial markets grew more confident that the Federal Reserve would cool its 13-month-long interest-rate hikes, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.21 percent for the week ended today, down very slightly from last week's average of 6.22 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.76 percent, unchanged from last week.  more...

New Canadian FSBO service launches

A new online service for homeowners wishing to sell their own homes, CanadaByOwner.com, has been launched by established FSBO company ByOwner.com.

According to Kevin Wood, ByOwner.com's chief executive officer, the Canadian service scored 506 new listings in the first month.

"In Canada people tend to use real estate agents for transactions more than in the US, but I feel that's mostly because there was not near as many alternatives," said Wood.

Three-fourths of homeowners who try selling their homes themselves are successful, according to data released by  more...

Survey: ARMs now offer less interest-payment savings

Consumers are getting smaller interest-payment savings on adjustable-rate mortgages compared to fixed-rate loans now that the Federal Reserve has raised short-term interest rates, a study of such loans has found.

The Freddie Mac 22nd annual adjustable-rate mortgage survey, released today, also found that greater lender discounts for introductory ARM rates are now in effect and hybrid ARMs are increasingly popular compared to one-year adjustables.

"The Federal Reserve ratcheted up short-term interest rates at each of their meetings in 2005, raising their federal funds target f  more...

Opposition to real estate development grows

Americans are twice as likely to oppose new real estate development projects as they are to support them, according to a recent nationwide poll, and they are more likely to oppose quarries, casinos, landfills and big-box retail than single-family homes and grocery stores.

Those surveyed said they are most often opposed because of traffic and quality-of-life concerns and will use the political process to protect their neighborhoods from unwanted development, according to the poll on land-use issues conducted for The Saint Consulting Group<  more...

Real estate loan processors admit to fraud charges

Two Ohio loan processors agreed to plead guilty to fraud and other charges in the federal probe into mortgage fraud involving low-priced homes in Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Tuesday.

Ike Bronson, a former loan processor at Seven Hills Financial mortgage brokerage, agreed to plead guilty to charges of bank fraud, conspiracy and filing a false tax return, according to documents filed in U.S.  more...

Pending real estate sales drop for third month

Pending home sales slowed for the third straight month in November, demonstrating "that a market transition is firmly in place," the National Association of Realtors reported today.

The Realtor trade group's Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts signed in November, dropped 2.5 percent to a reading of 120.6 from 123.7 in October, and is 2.5 percent lower than November 2004.  more...

Virginia real estate sales cool

Virginia home sales fell for the third consecutive month in November, while home prices posted another month of double-digit growth, the Virginia Association of Realtors reported this week.

In November, 9,648 sales closed, an approximately 4.8 percent decrease from 10,129 reported in November 2004.  more...

Golden State real estate loses its luster

California's housing production is expected to drop slightly in 2006, the California Building Industry Association reported today.

The 2006 Housing Forecast, authored by the association's chief economist, Alan Nevin, projects that between 185,000 and 205,000 homes, condominiums and apartments will be built in 2006 – down from about 212,000 in each of the previous two years.

"The annual demand for new homes in California continues to be in the 240,000 range, but the home-building  more...

Overnight real estate rates come down

Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.35 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.68 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate was down at 5.25 percent. The 1-year adjustable gained to 4.5 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.54 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...