Real estate foreclosures soar in February

There were 117,259 properties nationwide that entered some stage of foreclosure in February, a 13 percent increase from the previous month and a 68 percent increase from February 2005, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

RealtyTrac's Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows a February national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure for every 986 U.S.  more...

Rudolph Giuliani, Vegas headliner

LAS VEGAS -- Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York, Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2001 and a possible presidential candidate (he still won't commit), shared his thoughts on former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a speech to a crowd of real estate professionals during a Help-U-Sell conference in Las Vegas.  more...

Austin real estate posts strong February

Home sales in the Austin, Texas, area grew at a double-digit pace in February compared to a year ago, according to the latest Multiple Listing Service report from the Austin Board of Realtors.  more...

Realtor.com, NRT extend marketing agreement

Realtor.com and NRT Inc. have extended their marketing agreement, which enhances the presence of NRT's local operating companies on the Realtor.com Web site, for an additional two years, according to an announcement today.

Realtor.com is the official Web site of the National Association of Realtors and is operated by Westlake Village, Calif.-based Homestore, d/b/a Move.com.  more...

Freddie Mac's CFO to resign

Martin Baumann, the chief financial officer of Freddie Mac since 2003, has resigned from the mortgage finance giant, the company said this morning.

Baumann had planned to stay with Freddie for only two years when he joined in 2003, but he agreed to stay another year, a company spokeswoman said, according to reports.

Baumann's resignation won't affect the company's timetable to state fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2005 in May, the company said.  more...

Sotheby's moves into New Zealand

Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates has expanded its luxury real estate network to New Zealand by awarding the exclusive master franchise rights for the country, the company said today.

The rights were awarded to Browns Real Estate, which will now do business as Browns Sotheby's International Realty and be the only firm located in New Zealand to offer Sotheby's International Realty luxury realty services.

Browns Sotheby's International Realty is located in Queenstown, New Zealand, a mecca for outdoor activities  more...

Realtor support for public MLS sites declines

Consolidation of multiple listing systems and expanded data-sharing agreements are the key issues facing MLSs as the industry's dynamics continue to evolve at an increasing pace, according to the latest survey of technology use in MLSs conducted by the Center for Realtor Technology of the National Association of Realtors.

CRT's fourth annual survey of technology use shows major new trends and emerging is  more...

Welcome to the brave new world of real estate

LAS VEGAS -- If you blink, you might miss the launch of another real estate technology company.

Steve Ozonian, who joined flat-fee pioneer Help-U-Sell Real Estate in January as CEO and chairman of the board, told company employees Tuesday, "We all know there has been a proliferation of new business models over the last few years.  more...

Real estate purchases slide

Despite a drop in interest rates last week, overall mortgage applications fell 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 2.3 percent to 393.6 from 403 the previous week, whereas the refinance index decreased by 0.6 percent to 1,574.5 from 1,583.6 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38.1 percent of total applications from 37.7 percent the previous week.  more...

Cendant spinoff on track, CEO says

Cendant Corp. remains on track to spin off its four businesses into independent publicly traded entities during the second and third quarters of this year, the company's chairman and chief executive, Henry Silverman, said Tuesday, according to reports.

During the company's investor day conference, Silverman said he doesn't anticipate any delays or roadblocks, barring some unforeseen external event, CBS MarketWatch reported.

"Obviously if the market shuts down for, say, bird flu or the SEC review process is elongated, h  more...

Overnight real estate rates inch higher

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.72 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average edged up to 5.88 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate rose to 5.57 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 4.89 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased 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...