Mortgage rates up again this week

Long-term mortgage rates rose steadily this week to highs not seen since October on news that the economy grew better than expected in the fourth quarter, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage this week jumped to an average 6.34 percent from last week's 6.25 percent, while the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 5.98 percent to 6.06 percent. Points, which are fees lenders charge for loan processing expressed as a percent of the loan, averaged 0.4 on the 30- and 15-year loans.  more...

New York home sales, prices fall by double digits

Although the decline in existing-home sales and prices across New York state deepened in December, sales for the year posted their third-highest level on record, according to preliminary data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors.

There were 7,462 existing single-family home sales recorded in December, down 19.2 percent from the 9,238 sales in December 2005. The statewide median home price lost 14.2 percent during that period, falling from $265,000 to $227,500.  more...

Pending real estate sales index falls 10% in '06

An index that measures pending home sales dropped 10.1 percent in 2006 compared to 2005, according to preliminary data released today by the National Association of Realtors.  more...

TenantMarket.com pairs owners with prospective renters

A new Web site, TenantMarket.com, allows apartment owners and managers to search through a national database of prospective renters -- it's like "the rental industry equivalent of Match.com," says founder and CEO Jeremy Bencken.  more...