Inman Blog challenge: Share your weirdest real estate deal

Editor's note: The following excerpt comes from the Inman News Blog. Click here to join a discussion and offer input on your weirdest real estate transaction.

Weirdest real estate transaction  more...

RE/MAX reports big home-price gains in Canada

A RE/MAX report on Canadian markets found that the average home price in that country increased 264 percent in a 25-year span, or 11 percent per year.

Nationally, the compounded annual rate of return was 5.3 percent, the compounded annual return of Barrie is 6.4 percent, and the top seven markets in the country realized an annual compounded rate of return ranging from 5 percent to 6.4 percent while the worst-performing market had a 3.6 percent rate of return, RE/MAX reported.

The average home price in 2006 was about $234,300 (i  more...

South Florida home sales up, prices down

Home sales in South Florida's Broward County edged up in December, as a massive selection of inventory and lower prices lured buyers into the market, according to statistics provided by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Single-family home sales totaled 599 last month, up 1 percent from 593 sales a year earlier. The median home price slid 7.9 percent during the period -- from $379,900 to $350,000.

"Overall the market appears to be returning to reality," said RAGFL President Christine Hansen.  more...

Home loan apps drop 8.4%

Another round of rising interest rates last week sent mortgage application volume tumbling, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total mortgage application volume, declined 8.4 percent last week, falling to 611.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 667.2 one week earlier.

Refinancings took the largest hit last week, as the seasonally adjusted refinance index dropped 9.6 percent from the previous week, reducing the refinance share of activity to 47.8 percent of total applications.  more...

National City still holds $7.3 billion in subprime loans

National City Corp. reported a $622 million after-tax gain on the sale of its First Franklin subsidiary, but is still trying to unload $7.3 billion in loans made by the subprime lender before the sale.  more...

Uptick in overnight real estate rates

Long-term mortgage interest rates moved higher Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.81 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.78 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.56 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.38 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.91 percent.

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

Reward offer can lead to legal complications

Inman News received several comments from readers questioning the legality of a real estate flier advertising a $1,000 reward to the person who finds a buyer for a property in the San Francisco Bay Area (see story).

Readers asked whether a person without a real estate license who is not directly involved in a real estate transaction can receive money for finding a buyer for a property.