By Glenn Roberts Jr., Monday, December 18, 2006. Editor's note: An affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management L.P. has entered into an agreement to acquire real estate brokerage giant Realogy -- formerly the real estate arm of Cendant Corp. -- in a deal valued at about $9 billion. This article, published earlier this year, describes the Cendant/Realogy adventure in real estate. more...
By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006. An affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management L.P. has entered into an agreement to acquire real estate brokerage giant Realogy -- formerly the real estate arm of Cendant Corp. more...
By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006. Maryland home sales cooled for the 14th straight month in November amid a gigantic supply of listings, as annual price growth gained slightly, according to statistics provided by the Maryland Association of Realtors. There were 5,278 sales of new and existing single-family homes and condos last month, down 19.4 percent from a year earlier when 7,107 units were sold. more...
By Inman News, Monday, December 18, 2006. Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.59 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 5.64 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate sank to 5.4 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.3 percent. The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.71 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...
By Matt Carter, Monday, December 18, 2006. Each year, Inman News reports on what the major trade group economists are forecasting for real estate the coming year. Now, we look back at what they told us last year to see how their original predictions played out. Here's a look at what the trade groups thought was in store for 2006, and what each group now projects as the actual results for the year. more...
By Jack Guttentag, Monday, December 18, 2006.
"We are purchasing a $400,000 home that we want to finance with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. While we can more than afford the cost of a 20 percent down payment, I would prefer to keep my money in my investments instead. I was thinking of financing 100 percent (using an 80/20 to get out of paying PMI) but was unsure whether this type of loan structure would result in a higher interest rate on the first mortgage?" more...
By Dian Hymer, Monday, December 18, 2006.
There are pros and cons to stretching financially to buy a home. An advantage of pushing the limit of what you can afford to pay is that you may save in the long run if this means that you move less often in the future. The fees involved with buying and selling homes can add up to tens of thousands of dollars, or more. Also, moving takes time and energy. Less moving means less disruption. On the other hand, if you make a big leap monetarily, lose your job and can't afford to make the monthly mortgage payments, you could lose the house and jeopardize your good credit. more...
By Robert Bruss, Monday, December 18, 2006.
DEAR BOB: I recently refinanced my condominium with Countrywide Mortgage, a major nationwide lender. But I was shocked when Countrywide's appraiser valued my condo at only $468,000, which was less than my purchase price and less than identical units in the complex sold for in recent months. I brought this to Countrywide's attention and demanded another appraisal (with an appraiser of my choosing). As I suspected, the second appraisal came in much higher at $625,000. But the Countrywide underwriter refused to use the second appraisal and instead used the median of the two appraisals. more...
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