Fannie, Freddie fight for mortgage market share

Time travelers from 2002 would have been shocked to hear public pleadings last week from the two pre-eminent government-sponsored housing agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSE pair, bedeviled by financial malfeasance (both alleged and admitted) the past couple of years, sounded like bloodied pugilists on the ropes, pleading forbearance and a second chance from their mortgage lender-customers.

"In the past year, Fannie Mae has shut up and listened to you, our customers," said Tom Lund, the company's chief acquisitions officer.  more...

Florida real estate sales fall 20%

Sales of Florida's existing single-family homes dropped considerably in the first quarter compared to a year ago, while the median price of an existing home grew by double digits, the Florida Association of Realtors reported today.

Statewide sales of single-family existing homes totaled 45,864 during first-quarter 2006, down 20 percent from 57,532 homes sold during the same quarter a year ago, FAR reported.

"Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida behaved like much of the U.S. across the 2006 first quarter," said Dr. David Scott, executive director of the Dr.  more...

Subprime real estate lender may be acquired

Aames Investment Corp., a national subprime mortgage lender based in California, is in discussions with several parties regarding a potential merger or sale of the company, Aames said last week.

The mortgage real estate investment trust said there could be no assurance that any transaction will be completed or of the price of any such acquisition, but it believes there is "significant probability" it will enter into a definitive agreement during the second quarter.

Aames has retained Credit Suisse Inc.  more...

Regional MLS provides sold property data for public display

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, a regional MLS that serves western Washington, is making available sold property information to real estate companies for public display.

John L.  more...

GMAC Bank adopts technology to store electronic mortgages

GMAC Bank has adopted a new technology system designed to store secure electronic mortgages, the bank said today.

The Pennsylvania-based national bank plans to put Houston-based Encomia's Vault module, an electronic storage system, into use as part of its overall mortgage note custodial services, GMAC Bank said.

The Vault module provides secure documentation authentication through smart cards and digital certificates and complies with critical encryption standards, the company said.  more...

Cendant Settlement Services gets new name

Cendant Settlement Services Group today said it will begin operating under a new name, Title Resource Group, as a result of Cendant's decision to spin off its four business lines as standalone companies.

The newly renamed Title Resource Group is a subsidiary of the Real Estate Services Division of Cendant Corp.  more...

U.S. real estate sales slow 2.1% in first quarter

About 26 states had an increase in sales activity in first-quarter 2006 compared to first-quarter 2005, the National Association of Realtors trade group reported today, while the national rate of sales dropped 2.1 percent.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales was 6.8 million units in the first quarter, the association reported.  more...

Overnight real estate rates advance

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up again Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 5.2 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average climbed to 6.21 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate was up at 5.88 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.34 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.31 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...