Freddie Mac participates in foreclosure-prevention effort

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac announced today it is joining 14 financial institutions and the NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions to cosponsor a new effort to assist borrowers in avoiding foreclosure.

Freddie Mac has agreed to contribute toward a $1 million contribution to the NeighborWorks Center to support an effort that will provide foreclosure avoidance counseling, undertake new research, and work with different public and private organizations to educate the public about foreclosure alternatives, according to an ann  more...

Housing.com for sale

The real estate Web domain and attached business at Housing.com is for sale, according to the firm representing the site owner in the sale.

Housing.com has been on the selling block since Thursday, according to Allan Mooney, director of Boston-based eBizBrokers Inc., which is representing Housing.com's current owner, Housing.com LLC, in the sale.

The minimum asking price is $800,000, Mooney said.

The ultimate buyer could choose to purchase only the assets of the domain name, or the buyer could purchase the domain name  more...

Canadian real estate headed for record books

Canada's resale housing market will set new records in 2006, according to a revised forecast prepared by The Canadian Real Estate Association.

After setting the fifth consecutive annual record in 2005 at 483,250 units, CREA expects national resale housing activity to inch even higher by 1 percent to 488,160 units in 2006. Activity is then projected to ease by 3.3 percent in 2007.

Rising interest rates have so far done little to cool resale housing transactions this year, CREA reported.  more...

Fraud-fighting technology offers help to mortgage lenders

As reports of mortgage fraud, identity theft and other financial crimes are on the rise, new tools are coming on the market to help lenders fight and manage borrower fraud.

Sacramento, Calif.-based CoreLogic, a provider of mortgage risk assessment and fraud prevention technology, has developed a tool to help lenders manage borrower fraud, the company said today.  more...

HomeSight eyes expansion for virtual real estate tools

HomeSight, a Decatur, Ill.-based company, has announced an agreement with Apex Software to expand its interactive floor plan and virtual tour services to a larger audience.

HomeSight offers rendered floor plans that are linked with property information and photos, allowing sellers and their agents to provide an online "open house."

"By partnering with Apex Software, HomeSight now has the resources and software tools to expand our Realtor support services nationwide and beyond," stated Tom Brinkoetter, HomeSight president.<  more...

John L. Scott to launch home search with Virtual Earth

Seattle-based John L. Scott Real Estate on Tuesday will launch new home search functionality to its Web site powered by Microsoft's Virtual Earth platform, the brokerage company said today.

Visitors to JohnLScott.com will be able to use aerial imagery and interactive mapping features to look for homes.  more...

PropertyShark.com partners with NYC real estate companies

PropertyShark.com, a source of detailed property information, has announced that it's offering automated property data and interactive map feeds to real estate firms in New York City.

"We have enabled integration of our ...  more...

Mortgage tech companies beef up fraud detection

DocuTech Corp., a provider of compliance services and documentation technology for the mortgage industry, today announced a partnership with Advantage Credit, a company that provides credit reporting and loan transaction services, to better guard against fraud.

The alliance between DocuTech's ConformX and Advantage Credit's LoanShield products provides DocuTech customers with an added layer of security when closing mortgage documents, according to the announcement.  more...

Overnight real estate rates inch lower

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down slightly Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 5.1 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 6.18 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate fell to 5.85 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.27 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 5.19 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...