Redfin targets home sellers with flat-fee service

Online real estate broker Redfin said Wednesday it is now targeting the home seller market by offering an online home-selling service that allows buyers to submit questions about properties to sellers and listing agents.

Redfin Direct for Sellers is based on a Web application for capturing the information required to list a property in the multiple listing service.  more...

Surveys: Mortgage rates up, down this week

Mortgage rates posted mixed results this week following a better-than-expected unemployment report that seemed to quell fears of a dark economic downturn, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average 6.47 percent this week, up from last week's average of 6.44 percent.  more...

KB Home cuts earnings forecast

KB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, on Wednesday cut its full-year profit forecast, citing a challenging housing market and a decline in new home orders.

The Los Angeles-based company now expects diluted earnings per share of $8-$8.50 for the full fiscal year, and anticipates earnings for the third quarter, which ended Aug. 31, to range from $1.85-$1.95 per diluted share.

Preliminary net orders for the third quarter were down 43 percent to 5,989 units compared to the previous year's quarter.  more...

Agent review service now covers 1.5 million agents

Homethinking, a Web site that allows consumers to view information and reviews of real estate agents in a given area, re-launched today, now covering more than 1.5 million agents and more than 1.5 million transactions from this year.

As part of the re-launch, Homethinking unveiled a new site that allows consumers to search and navigate via dynamic maps.  more...

Forecast: Slower-than-expected home sales in '06

The National Association of Realtors trade group has lowered its expectations for annual home sales in 2006.

Existing-home sales are forecast to fall 7.6 percent this year to 6.54 million, while new-home sales are forecast to drop 16.1 percent to 1.08 million compared to the previous year.

In the group's previous annual forecast, released Aug.  more...

Local online ad spending continues double-digit growth

Led by real estate ads, spending on local online advertising is expected to grow by 31.6 percent next year to $7.7 billion, according to a Borrell Associates report released Thursday.

Real estate companies are the biggest buyers of local online advertising, accounting for 21.8 percent of all spending, the report said. With a 12.7 percent share, auto marketing was the second-biggest source of local online ad revenue.  more...

HUD settles kickback cases with New England attorney, appraiser

The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday announced separate settlements with two New England-based real estate companies that were allegedly paying kickbacks for business referrals.

In the first settlement, HUD and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reached an agreement with a Boston-area real estate closing attorney for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, known as RESPA. HUD determined that R.  more...

Overnight real estate rates gain

Long-term mortgage interest rates inched higher Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.8 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.95 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate edged up to 5.66 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 5.32 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.95 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...