Title insurers question California's right to regulate rates

SAN FRANCISCO -- California regulators have yet to prove a lack of competition in the title insurance industry that would give the state the legal authority to move forward with a plan to roll back and cap rates, industry advocates said Wednesday at a public hearing on proposed new regulations.

Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi wants to roll rates back to where they were six years ago, before a run-up in housing prices.  more...

Consumer confidence takes toll on mortgage rates

Mortgage rates fell for the sixth consecutive week as a cooling real estate market and weak consumer confidence eliminated inflation concerns, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage survey.

Freddie Mac said that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sank to an average 6.44 percent this week, down from last week's average of 6.48 percent, and is at its lowest since April 6, 2006, when it averaged 6.43 percent.

The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also dipped from last week, falling from 6.18 percent to 6.14 percent, and is now at its lowest since the week ending Apri  more...

Job market woes 'intensified' by gas prices, housing

A key indicator that measures job offerings in major U.S. newspapers declined two points in July, the Conference Board reported today.

The Help-Wanted Advertising Index now stands at 32; it was 39 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in eight of the nine U.S. regions.  more...

Redfin opens San Francisco office

Online real estate broker Redfin today announced the opening of a San Francisco office for software engineers and real estate agents.  more...

Canadian real estate sales remain near record pace

The rate of home sales via the Canadian multiple listing service dropped 3.1 percent from June to July and sales activity for the first seven months of the year is at a record pace, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported today.

A seasonally adjusted total of 39,319 homes were sold via MLS in July 2006.  more...

Buyer's market emerges in New York

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York fell by double digits between July 2005 and July 2006, while home-price growth slowed to a more normal pace, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors.

There were 9,392 sales recorded statewide in July, a decrease of 11.3 percent from the 10,681 homes sold in July 2005, according to the preliminary data.  more...

Overnight real estate rates taken lower

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.76 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.95 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate dipped to 5.66 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.33 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.91 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...