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'Roaring' economy hikes real estate rates

By Lou Barnes, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Strong economic data gave long-term rates a tough time this week, the 10-year T-note rising as high as 5.14 percent and mortgages threatening a lurch to 7 percent, but stabilizing in response to Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's we-may-pause remarks to Congress.

The long-term-rate lid has been clamped down by bond market expectations for an economic slowdown, and trust in inflation vigilance at the Fed. Both expectations had less foundation at the end of this week than at the beginning.

The economy is accelerating -- roaring, really.  more...

Forecast calls for 12% dip in new-home sales Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, said he expects new-home sales to drop 12 percent this year compared to a record 1.28 million units in 2005.

New-home sales in the first quarter of this year were down 10 percent from fourth-quarter 2005, and he said he expects sales to ease further in the coming months before leveling off in 2007.  more...

Stewart profits plummet 75%

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Stewart Information Services Corp.  more...

Listing agents find way to shine, woo clients Premium Content

By Howard Brinton, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Marketing truly drives most home sales listings. Each piece of the listing is intended to advertise the property--from photos and virtual tours to attractive copy points on the home, neighborhood and schools. And, by putting this information in front of as many buyers as possible, you are increasing your seller's chance at securing the highest price.

Yet the personality behind the listing--the expertise and networking--falls to the seller's agent.  more...

Fair Isaac profit drops 21%

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Fair Isaac Corp., a developer of credit-scoring systems, Wednesday reported net income of $27 million, or 40 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, down 21.3 percent from earnings of $34.3 million, or 45 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Fair Isaac Corp., which develops credit-scoring systems, said second-quarter profit slipped largely due to costs related to new accounting rules on stock options.

Year-to-date fiscal 2006 results included share-based compensation expense of approximately $12.6 million a  more...

GMAC Real Estate adds franchisees in 9 states

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

GMAC Real Estate's franchise operations division added 10 new franchisees nationwide during the first quarter of 2006, the company reported Thursday.

The 10 franchisees included: A.C.R.E.  more...

Today's renter, tomorrow's real estate treasure

By Alison Rogers, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

I have no clients.

OK, that's not true, I have one listing to sell, but I have no other clients. There are a number of ways to attack this problem, and I'm trying them all. What I spend some of my time doing is attempting a classic Manhattan strategy: to start with renters.

Renters, the theory goes, grow up to be buyers. The best renters, of course, are budding doctors and lawyers; find a law student a rental today, and in three years, the theory goes, you harvest a million-dollar condo sale.

The only problem with this theory is that it doesn't work.  more...

Standard Pacific posts record earnings Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Home builder Standard Pacific Corp. announced net income of $94.76 million for the first quarter of 2006, up 15.4 percent from $82.12 million in first-quarter 2005, with earnings up 17 percent to a record $1.38 per share.

"This is on top of a 95 percent increase in earnings per share in last year's first quarter," said Stephen J. Scarborough, chairman and CEO.

The company reported a record 2,473 new-home deliveries in the first quarter, up 5 percent from the same quarter last year.  more...

Massachusetts real estate sales bounce back

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Sales of detached single-family homes in Massachusetts reversed a five-month decline in March, climbing to their second-highest level on record for the month, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported this week.

Across Massachusetts, sales of detached single-family homes increased 2 percent on an annualized basis, from 3,373 homes sold in March 2005 to 3,440 last month. Condominium sales improved 2.4 percent over the past year, from 1,691 units sold a year ago to a record 1,731 condos sold in March 2006.  more...

Overnight real estate rates stall

By Inman News, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly flat Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 5.07 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average held at 6.15 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate inched up to 5.82 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.24 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5.17 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...

Real estate agent puts MLS listings on Google Earth Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Google Earth put the world – at least a computerized version of it – at computer users' fingertips, and a real estate agent in Idaho has put a new spin on property listings by sprinkling local MLS data on this digital globe.

Bill Clark, an agent at Holland Realty in Boise, unified county property records and multiple listing service information and packaged this data for display on the Google Earth application. Google Earth allows users to zoom in and out on a map and to rotate and tilt the map view.  more...

Real estate dinosaurs still roam the earth Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Do you follow up on your e-mails promptly? Are you advertising using pay-per-click? Do you conduct digital transactions? Do you use transaction-tracking platform? Are your lead generation and lead follow-up systems automated? Do you know about Oodle, Trulia and Zillow? Do you use text messaging?  more...

Silence is golden: Tips for soundproofing your home

By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Your home is your castle, and the last thing you need is for your son's stereo or your daughter's phone to sound like an army of knights crashing through on their way to battle. Noise comes from sound waves, which are vibrations in the air that are generated by any physical action. If you can break, interrupt, alter or otherwise change the flow of those waves, you can change the amount of transmitted noise.  more...

Common myth about architects dispelled

By Arrol Gellner, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Thanks to the old stereotype of the architect hunched over a drafting board, T-square in hand, many people still think that an architect's main purpose is to draw "blueprints" (nowadays more properly called working drawings).

The trouble with this romantic notion is that it suggests that architects are paid to draw, when in fact, they're paid to think.

In truth, producing working drawings is a tedious but relatively incidental aspect of the architect's charge. It's roughly analogous to taking a novel that's been written in shorthand and typing it into a computer.  more...

Buying real estate for nothing down still possible

By Robert Bruss, Thursday, April 27, 2006.

"Is it really possible to buy a house for nothing down?"

That is the question I was asked by a "twenty-something" young lady at a cocktail party I recently attended.

My reply was, "Absolutely, yes." But then I quickly qualified that statement by adding she needs good income and good credit.  more...

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