Fidelity National Title reaches out to Spanish speakers

Fidelity National Title has launched a bilingual English- and Spanish-language Web site, MihogarenCalifornia, which aims to educate consumers on the process of buying a home.  more...

Mortgage rates rise on higher job numbers

Mortgage rates moved higher this week after the U.S. Department of Labor revised its August-September employment numbers, reflecting stronger job growth than previously thought, Freddie Mac reported today in its weekly survey.

According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up to an average 6.33 percent this week, up from 6.31 percent a week ago.  more...

A la mode adds lead routing, management technology

Real estate technology company a la mode has added lead routing and management features to its broker Web site product, Broker XSites, offering a targeted and organized system of real estate lead delivery, the company said today.

"Broker after broker tell us that half the leads coming into their office don't get followed up on," said Rusty Lindquist, a la mode's vice president of broker and agent products.  more...

Countrywide mortgage production drops 12%

Countrywide Financial Corp. today reported a 12 percent drop in mortgage loan fundings in October compared to the same month last year, as activity fell to $41 billion last month.

Despite a boost in activity from September, year-to-date funding volume, at $375 billion, is still 7 percent below the same period last year, the company said.

"October operational results reflect both seasonal and economic mortgage market conditions," said Angelo R. Mozilo, chairman and chief executive officer.  more...

RealEstate.com inks marketing agreement with Point2

LendingTree's RealEstate.com has partnered with Canadian tech company Point2 Technologies Inc. to offer Point2's real estate lead management and online marketing platform to its agent network.

RealEstate.com, a company that provides lead-generation programs to real estate brokers and agents, chose Point2's Agent Professional platform "primarily for its ... lead incubation and conversion capability," the companies announced today. Point2 Agent Professional is a real estate lead management and online marketing platform.  more...

RELAY users get insurance break

Users of the RELAY online real estate transaction management tool will receive a 50 percent reduction in the deductible amount on the California Association of Realtors' endorsed errors and omission insurance program, the association announced this week.

"Realtors and brokers using RELAY online transaction management already reduce their risk through its automatic history and notes functionalities, and through an enhanced ability to track transaction progress and completion," said Bob Kulick, Real Estate Business Technologies LLC chai  more...

Overnight real estate rates down again

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell further Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.64 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 5.8 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate decreased to 5.52 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.34 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 4.73 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...

ZipRealty earnings fall in third quarter

ZipRealty Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIPR) today announced third-quarter net income of $600,000, down from net income of $2.9 million in third-quarter 2005.  more...