Home-price gains at 2-year low

Average U.S. home prices climbed 12.5 percent in the last year, but a slower rate of appreciation shows signs the market is softening, according to a government report released today.

Appreciation for the first quarter was 2.03 percent, or an annualized rate of 8.12 percent, the lowest rate since the first quarter 2004 and about one percentage point below the rate from the previous quarter.

"These data show average housing prices still growing stronger than some might have expected," OFHEO Acting Director James Lockhart said in a statement.  more...

Real estate rates rise on inflation fears

Mortgage rates continued higher this week after markets speculated the Federal Reserve may soon raise interest rates to counter inflation, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to an average 6.67 percent for the week ended today, up from last week's average of 6.62 percent, and has not been higher since the week ended June 13, 2002, when it averaged 6.71 percent.  more...

Pending real estate sales fall for third month

An index that tracks pending home sales fell for the third consecutive month in April, the National Association of Realtors reported, dropping 3.7 percent since March and 11.7 percent since April 2005.

The Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on pending sales of existing homes, was 111.8 in April 2006.  more...

International real estate network partners with Blogging Systems

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, an international real estate network, has partnered with blog technology company Blogging Systems, the companies said today.

The partnership means that the Leading Real Estate Companies' approximately 160,000 associates worldwide will be able to use bloggin  more...

Residential real estate construction spending slows

The rate of private construction spending on residential projects dropped 1.1 percent from March to April, and rose 7.1 percent compared to April 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of total construction spending in April 2006 was about $1.2 trillion, a 0.1 percent drop from the revised March estimate and 8.5 percent above the April 2005 estimate.  more...

Central Ohio real estate sales cool

Central Ohio home sales fell 2.8 percent in April from a year ago, as the inventory of for-sale homes soared to an all-time high, according to statistics provided by the Columbus Board of Realtors.

April statistics indicate that 2,192 homes were sold, down from 2,255 sold in April 2005.

There were 5,028 more homes listed in April, bringing the total inventory of homes for sale up to 17,109 -- almost 30 percent more homes than were on the market last year at this time, the board reported.  more...

Overnight real estate rates up

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 5.13 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 6.22 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate inched up to 5.88 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.28 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield rose to 5.23 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...