SigniaDocs adapts Encomia's EC3 mortgage suite for SMART Docs

Encomia and SigniaDocs Inc.  more...

Rising interest rates boost Freddie Mac earnings

Rising interest rates helped government-sponsored mortgage repurchaser Freddie Mac boost second quarter earnings, but managers expect declining interest rates will inflict a "significant reversal" of such gains in the third quarter.

Freddie Mac today released preliminary results for the first half of the year, estimating the company generated $1.2 billion in net income in the second quarter and $2.7 billion for the year. Freddie Mac's latest projection of year-to-date net income is up about $300 million from an earlier estimate at the end of July.  more...

Massachusetts shuts down three more mortgage lenders

Continuing a crackdown on alleged mortgage fraud, Massachusetts regulators issued cease-and-desist orders against two mortgage brokerages Monday and shut down a third unlicensed lender. 

Since issuing emergency regulations Sept. 8, the Massachusetts Division of Banks has conducted sweeps looking for instances in which borrowers' income was inflated to qualify them for loans they could not afford. Surprise inspections have turned up many instances in which falsified documents were used to inflate incomes.  more...

Real estate commission-bidding site now targets buyers

HungryAgents.com, a Web site that allows real estate agents to bid for sellers' business by lowering their commission rates, has expanded its services to target home buyers.

"Prices of existing homes have fallen for the first time in 11 years and the backlog of available homes for sale is at its highest since 1999.  more...

Housing costs soar nationwide

Median home values rose sharply between 2000 and 2005, with some of the highest increases rising more than 100 percent, according to new Census Bureau data released today. Along with rising values, monthly ownership costs have also increased nationwide, with the sharpest increases occurring in Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco.

The real median home value in San Diego jumped from $249,000 to $567,000 between 2000 and 2005, the largest increase in the nation among big cities.  more...

South Carolina home sales cool, prices jump

Home sales in South Carolina fell for the third straight month in August, while prices maintained a double-digit lead over a year ago, according to statistics provided by the South Carolina Association of Realtors.

Realtors recorded 6,485 sales in August, down 12.2 percent from 7,383 sales in August 2005.

A total of 47,942 homes have been sold so far this year, off 2.4 percent from the 49,129 sales recorded through the same period last year.

Among the areas reporting the largest declines in sales from a year ago were: the Hilton Head area, down 56.9 percent; Coastal Ca  more...

Overnight real estate rates advance

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.61 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average edged up to 5.81 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 5.51 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.23 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 4.75 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...