Congressional hearing probes real estate

A congressional hearing next week will focus on competition and technology in the real estate industry.

The U.S.  more...

Demand slips for Central Indiana real estate

Home sales and prices in Central Indiana increased modestly during the first half of 2006 compared to the same period last year, impacted by rising for-sale inventory, according to data compiled by F.C. Tucker Co.

Home sales in the nine-county region surrounding Indianapolis eked out a 1.9 percent gain over the year-ago period, rising from 14,910 to 15,192. Average home sales prices gained 1.4 percent to $154,545, up from $152,469 during the January-June period in 2005.

"We expected growth in 2006 to be slow and steady, and that's exactly what we're seeing," said H.  more...

Web portal offers new place for new construction properties

A new Web portal offers consumers a place to search for new construction properties, builders, models and communities, according to an announcement from Real Living.

Residential real estate firm Real Living is partnering with home builders to launch the new construction portal at RealLiving.com.  more...

Saudi prince selling Aspen estate for $135 million

A Saudi prince is selling his sprawling home in the Aspen, Colo., area for $135 million -- the highest list price for a U.S. home.

Laurie Moore-Moore, founder and president of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, said in a statement, "The current world record for the most expensive residence was set in 2004 when a London home sold for $128 million. While Prince Bandar's property may break that record, don't look for it to happen quickly.  more...

Three indicted in $12 million foreclosure scam

Two Southern California women and one man were indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in a $12 million foreclosure scam in which homeowners who were in default on their mortgages were promised refinancing, but ended up having their homes sold to others after the equity had been skimmed.

The superseding indictment returned late Wednesday alleges a scheme orchestrated by Martha Rodriguez and Edward Seung Ok, who operated real estate and escrow agencies in Downey and Seal Beach, Calif.

Rodriguez, 35, of Downey, and Ok, a 40-year-old Torrance resident,  more...

Austin home sales jump 21%

Single-family home sales in the Austin, Texas, area posted a sixth consecutive month of double-digit growth in June and set a record for the month, according to latest Multiple Listing Service report from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Realtors reported 2,980 single-family home sales last month, up 21 percent from a year ago.

The median price of a single-family home last month hit a new high of $182,000, up 8 percent from June 2005.

Year to date, a record 13,073 single-family homes were sold in Austin -- a 13 percent increase over the same period in 2005, the board repo  more...

Real estate brokerage opens door for FSBO listings

CataList Homes, a real estate brokerage company based in Southern California that offers low-cost real estate services for buyers and sellers, is opening its Web site to for-sale-by-owner property listings.

FSBO home sellers can now post property descriptions and photographs to the CataListHomes.com Web site at no cost, and CataList offers to submit these listings to Google Base, a free classified site.

Michael Davin, co-founder and chief marketing offer for CataList, said that while accepting listings from sellers who  more...

Overnight real estate rates slip

Long-term mortgage interest rates were lower Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 5.03 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 6.27 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate dropped to 5.99 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.46 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 5.08 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...

Kansas City couple faces wire fraud, money laundering charges

A Kansas City couple has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a $475,200 home loan application, said Bradley J. Schlozman, United States attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

An indictment handed down by a federal grand jury Wednesday alleges that Ida Mathis, 52, and Larry D.  more...