Another state cracks down on eminent domain

A bill strengthening property rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's June 2005 ruling on eminent domain has been introduced in Wisconsin and is awaiting finalization in the state legislature.

Wisconsin's Assembly Bill 657 would strengthen property rights by prohibiting the condemnation of property that is not blighted if the condemnor intends to convey or lease the acquired property to a private entity.

Essentially, the legislation is aimed at protecting single-family homes from being condemned a  more...

HUD awards universities $5 million for Katrina rebuilding

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said today that 16 universities will receive over $5 million through an innovative program using the expertise of these centers for higher learning to help rebuild communities throughout the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.

The funding is provided through HUD's new Universities Rebuilding America Partnership, known as URAP, HUD said.

Jackson announced the funding in New Orleans while touring Xavier University and said the funding is designed to tap into "  more...

Colorado man gets 101 years for real estate fraud

A Colorado man was sentenced Friday to 101 years in prison and $37 million in restitution for his involvement in a mortgage fraud case, media reports said.

Gerald P.  more...

Home-price growth continues at robust pace

House-price appreciation continued at a robust pace at the end of 2005, with average home prices increasing 12.95 percent from the fourth quarter 2004 through the fourth quarter 2005, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Appreciation for the most recent quarter was 2.86 percent, or an annualized rate of 11.4 percent, according to OFHEO's figures released last week.  more...

Real estate sales, prices climb in Northwest

Home sales in western Washington climbed 8.7 percent in January from the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

MLS members logged 5,775 closed sales during January, improving on year-ago totals by 462 transactions.

System-wide the median price of last month's closings of single-family homes and condominiums was $282,995, which represents a 14.1 percent increase from the year-ago figure of $248,000.  more...

Pending real estate sales drop for fifth month

An index that gauges pending home sales slipped in January for the fifth month in a row, and was down 4.8 percent since January 2005, the National Association of Realtors reported today.

The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in January, slipped 1.1 percent from December 2005 to 116.3 in January, the association reported.  more...

BlackBerry maker, NTP settle for $612.5 million

Research In Motion Limited (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry mobile device, has settled a lawsuit against it for $612.5 million, the company said Friday.

RIM and NTP, a small Virginia-based firm, Friday said that they have signed a definitive licensing and settlement agreement, and the litigation against RIM has been dismissed.

Real estate agents are among the most dedicated users of BlackBerries, and have been concerned because the legal actions could have shut down the approximately 4 million BlackBerries  more...

Overnight real estate rates reach higher

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up again Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.68 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.81 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 5.46 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 4.63 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.66 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...