Real estate rates up overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates moved higher Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.6 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.69 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.46 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.31 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.73 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...

Home loan apps plummet 14%

Overall mortgage application volume declined by double digits last week from one week earlier amid gradually rising interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total home loan volume, fell to 555.8 last week, down 14.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 647.6 the week before.

Refinancings took the largest hit, as the seasonally adjusted refinance index decreased by 18.5 percent to 1,604.6 from 1,968.8 the previous week. The purchase index decreased by 10.6 percent to 390.2 from 436.5 one week earlier.  more...

New single-family home sales fall in November

The rate of new single-family home sales fell about 15.3 percent in November compared to November 2005 and increased about 3.4 percent compared to October 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new single-family home sales reached about 1.05 million in November, according to the report. Sales reached an annual low of about 1.01 million in October -- compared to the annual high of 1.17 million in January.  more...

Homeowners insurers slash rates in California

Farmers Insurance -- California's second-largest homeowners insurer -- will lower its rates in the state by 18 percent, joining State Farm, Safeco, Hartford, USAA, Nationwide and Kemper in heeding Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi's call for lower rates.

Garamendi, who will be sworn in as California's lieutenant governor Jan. 7, said the rate reductions by all seven companies will save homeowners $439 million a year on their insurance policies.  more...

Central Indiana endures buyer's market

Home sales and prices across central Indiana fell further in November, although the declines were not as steep as October's, according to the latest MLS statistics from the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors.

Realtors recorded 2,219 home sales last month in the nine-county region surrounding Indianapolis, down 6.5 percent from the 2,374 homes sold in November 2005.

The median sales price of a home dipped to $122,900 in November from $124,995 a year ago -- for a 1.7 percent drop.

New listings declined for the fourth straight month in November, as just 3,794 hom  more...