Manhattan real estate prices jump 13%

Median sales prices for Manhattan cooperatives and condominiums increased 13 percent in the first quarter to $749,000 compared to first-quarter 2005, the Real Estate Board of New York reported today.

The median price of condos gained 22 percent to $838,000 while the price of cooperatives grew 5 percent to $665,000 compared to first-quarter 2005.

REBNY's Quarterly Residential Report incorporates sales data from Manhattan's largest brokerage firms and a group of smaller residential brokerage firms.

East Side apartment  more...

Interest rates drop on 'disappointing' job news

Mortgage rates reversed a three-week uptrend after lower-than-expected job growth in May eased market fears of excess inflation, according to the latest surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to an average 6.62 percent for the week ended today, down from last week's average of 6.67 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage sank to 6.23 percent from last week's average of 6.26 percent.  more...

Education key to fight predatory lending

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is urging the creation of financial literacy programs beginning in middle school as one way to address the growing problem of predatory lending.

During a Wednesday hearing before the Federal Reserve Board, NAMB President Jim Nabors said that while new regulation and legislation is being considered at the state and federal level, the only way to truly eliminate predatory lending is to empower consumers with knowledge from a very young age.

"We have a fundamental choice to make here," said Nabors.  more...

Real estate sales sink in Northwest

Home sales in western Washington fell 7.9 percent in May compared to a year ago, as prices continued to climb by double digits, according to the latest report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Brokers reported 8,568 closed sales last month, down from 9,307 reported in May 2005.  more...

Most Home to buy $30 million call center

Most Home Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire a $30 million U.S.-based call center operation in a move to create a support system for future growth, the company said today.

Most Home provides lead generation, qualification and management services to the real estate industry, as well as wireless MLS service to major markets throughout the United States and most of Canada.  more...

Real Estate Book, RealtyTrac form alliance to share property listings

The Real Estate Book a publisher of real estate information, today announced an agreement with RealtyTrac to publish its online property listings.

The deal makes The Real Estate Book the exclusive print publication provider of resale content to RealtyTrac, which maintains an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. RealtyTrac had about 3 million unique monthly visitors in April, according to comScore MediaMetrix data.  more...

Southern California real estate foreclosures escalate

The number of foreclosures have jumped 29 percent in Southern California since January 2006, according to Default Research, a real estate research company based in Pennsylvania.

Riverside had the highest increase of 56.5 percent, followed by San Diego County at 49 percent and Los Angeles at 16.2 percent.

"The real estate bubble continues to deflate in Southern California," said Serdar Bankaci, president and CEO of Default Research Inc., in a statement.  more...

Family pleads guilty to $2 million real estate fraud

A family of three pleaded guilty to a wide range of identity theft charges in a case in Washington state involving home loans totaling around $2 million, officials said Wednesday.

Mildreada Ruiz Rapa, 47, formerly of Vancouver, Wash., and her daughter Malanie Andrews, 24, also formerly of Vancouver, entered guilty pleas Wednesday in Tacoma, Wash., to a wide range of identity theft related charges that included real estate fraud, the U.S.  more...

Overnight real estate rates stall

Long-term mortgage interest rates held steady Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield inched up to 5.02 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average stayed at 6.19 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate dipped to 5.87 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.25 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.09 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...