Home Possible mortgages now available to military personnel

Freddie Mac will offer its "Home Possible" mortgages -- which give teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and healthcare workers 30 percent more buying power -- to 1.5 million members of the U.S. armed forces.

Designed to foster home ownership in underserved communities and among at or below median-income families, Home Possible mortgages are available as 15-, 20-, 30- and 40-year fixed-rate mortgages or as 7/1 or 10/1 adjustable-rate mortgages for 1-2 unit properties.  more...

Company behind Mortgage101.com signs up five new clients

Online mortgage lead generator LION Inc. -- the company behind the Web site Mortgage101.com -- says it has signed up five new lenders as clients.

The lenders were not named. Seattle-based LION said three of the new clients had signed up to use Precision MTS, a suite of products designed to drum up business while reducing transaction costs.  more...

Surveys: Mortgage rates end week mixed

Mortgage rates declined for the second straight week in Freddie Mac's mortgage survey, thanks to the real estate slowdown and tamer inflation, while Bankrate.com reported that rates stood still, the companies announced today.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell this week to an average 6.4 percent, down from last week when it averaged 6.43 percent.  more...

Real estate magazine publisher buys Web site developer

Dominion Enterprises, which publishes a handful of real estate magazines, said today that it will acquire Advanced Access for an undisclosed cash purchase price. The combined company will provide Internet advertising and marketing services to 145,000 customers nationwide.

Advanced Access provides Web design, Internet marketing and hosting services for real estate professionals in the United States.  more...

North Carolina home sales steady in August

Existing-home sales in North Carolina were about even in August with their year-ago level, while the average home price eked out a slight year-over-year gain, the North Carolina Association of Realtors reported today.

According to statistics compiled by NCAR, the 13,582 residential units sold in August were just 0.3 percent above the August 2005 level.  more...

Real Living gives agents new choice for healthcare

Real Living Inc., one of the nation's largest residential real estate companies, has partnered with an insurance broker to make a benefits package available to its employees and affiliates.

The company this week announced a partnership with BenefitProtect LLC, which provides medical, discount health, prescription drug, critical illness, life insurance, dental insurance and accident insurance to a variety of associations and industries.

As many real estate agents ar  more...

Get Title Insurance ends consumer cash rewards

A company that provides home buyers with multiple quotes from title insurance companies is abandoning its strategy of offering consumers cash rewards because the practice falls into a "gray area" of the law, the company said Wednesday.

Get Title Insurance launched its Web site July 31, offering home buyers the ability to get quotes from title insurers who do business in their ZIP code.  more...

Another drop in overnight real estate rates

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down again Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield stayed at 4.73 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.89 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate declined to 5.59 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.35 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.85 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...