National foreclosures dip 13% in March

The number of properties entering the foreclosure process in March were down 13 percent from February, but were up 63 percent from the same period a year ago, according to an industry report today.

A total of 101,587 properties entered some stage of foreclosure in March, according to RealtyTrac's March foreclosure market report. The report shows a March national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure for every 1,138 U.S.  more...

SoCal real estate sales dive

Home sales in Southern California dropped for the fourth straight month in March, while the median home price set a record, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 29,509 new and resale Southland homes were sold last month, down 17.4 percent from 32,674 for March last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The median price paid for a home in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties was $501,000 last month.  more...

Weichert Relocation expands reach in global mobility industry

Weichert Relocation Resources Inc.  more...

Wells Fargo reports huge drop in mortgage business

Wells Fargo said its mortgage business slumped but first-quarter profit rose 9 percent from the year-ago period, topping $2 billion for the first time in any quarter, as deposits rose and loan loss provisions fell.

In its earnings report for the first quarter of 2006, the San Francisco-based bank said net income jumped to $2.02 billion, or $1.19 a share, from $1.86 billion, or $1.08 a share.

Wells Fargo, one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, felt the impact of the slowdown in the housing market in the quarter.  more...

Online job postings hit new high

Some 2.4 million new online job ads were posted in March, rising sharply by 414,600, or 21 percent, from February, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series.

"Since March is not a particularly strong month in terms of labor demand, these latest numbers suggest the rise was not just due to seasonal factors," said Gad Levanon, economist at The Conference Board. "The number of new ads in March was significantly higher than the number posted during the summer months, typically the peak period for hiring.  more...

Real estate permits, starts fall in March

Single-family authorizations in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.54 million, which is 6.9 percent below the February figure and 0.6 percent below the March 2005 rate, the U.S.  more...

Northwest real estate sales slide

Home sales in western Washington fell 9.1 percent in March from a year ago, as prices posted another month of double-digit gains, according to the latest figures from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Brokers reported 8,043 closed sales last month, down from 8,776 reported a year ago.

Last month's closed sales of single-family homes and condominiums had a median selling price of $292,000, eclipsing the year-ago figure of $256,783 by 13.7 percent, according to NWMLS.  more...