Seniors go back to school with retirement housing

Four or five days a week, Christoph Schmidt, 72, of Brunswick, Maine, walks to the Bowdoin College campus, where he audits classes, attends concerts and watches sporting events.

Schmidt, a retired banker, and his wife, Babette, are examples of an emerging trend in which seniors are actively involved in college life, sometimes even living on campus.  more...

Fed raises key funds rate to 4.75%

In a widely expected move, the Federal Open Market Committee today raised its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4-3/4 percent, a five-year high.

The meeting of the committee marked the first time Ben Bernanke, new head of the Federal Reserve, had a chance to make a direct impact on interest rates.  more...

New survey names wealthiest U.S. counties

A survey released today by TNS Financial Services ranked Los Angeles County, Calif., the wealthiest county in the United States, based on the number of millionaire households.

TNS' annual survey of wealthy U.S. households is based on a representative national sample of more than 1,800 households with a net worth of $500,000 or more, excluding primary residence.

According to the survey, Los Angeles County has 262,800 millionaire households, which constitutes 23 percent of the state's wealthiest households, the survey found.  more...

Title insurance lead generation site launches

A Web site where consumers can comparison shop for title insurance launched today.

West Palm Beach.  more...

First American launches mortgage lead servicing tool

First American Fulfillment Solutions today announced the release of Mortgage Lead Servicing, a comprehensive lead management, lead qualification and lead servicing tool for the mortgage industry.

Mortgage Lead Servicing combines private-labeled call center and lead management capabilities with Dorado Corp.'s loan pricing and point-of-sale technology.  more...

ZipRealty sets up in second Florida market

ZipRealty has expanded its real estate brokerage footprint into Tampa, Fla., the company said today, and licensed agents are actively working with clients within the market.

Tampa joins Miami as the company's second active market in Florida and the 16th nationally.

Visitors to ZipRealty's Web site have access to all information and data available on the local multiple listing service.  more...

Fidelity launches free mortgage payment feature for MLSs

Fidelity National Information Services has launched a free mortgage payment tool for multiple listing services, enabling brokers and agents to provide instant, property-specific mortgage payment and qualification information to clients, the company said Monday.

The company's new RatePlug feature is an add-on tool that integrates dynamic, real-time mortgage product, rate and payment information directly into broker and agent Web sites and MLS platforms.  more...

Real estate brokerage franchise expands

Realty World Northern California added 74 new franchise agreements during 2005, bringing the number of independently owned, franchised real estate brokerage offices in its network to 440, the company said today.

Realty World said it anticipates adding a similar number of new franchisees to its roster in 2006, despite a real estate market slowdown that is expected to reduce the ranks of real estate brokers and sales associates and result in a higher-than-normal rate of attrition among its franchisees.

"We expect to see  more...

Consumer confidence improves

The Conference Board today reported that its Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in February, increased in March, as more Americans expect an improving job market in the coming months. The Index now stands at 107.2, up from 102.7 in January.

The present situation index rose to 133.3 from 130.3. The expectations index improved to 89.9 from 84.2 last month.

"This month's gain in consumer confidence has pushed the Index to a near four-year high (May 2002, 110.3)," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.  more...

Overnight real estate rates slip

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.7 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 5.87 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate edged down to 5.56 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 4.93 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased 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...