'Bonnie and Clyde of mortgage fraud' will call prison home

Matthew Bevan Cox -- who, along with an accomplice was dubbed "The Bonnie and Clyde of mortgage fraud" -- has pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud charges in three states.

Cox, 37, faces up to 54 years in prison and $2 million in fines when he's sentenced Aug. 22, prosecutors said, but is expected to receive a lesser sentence as part of a plea bargain arrangement.  more...

NAR expects home sales to drop in '07, rebound in '08

The National Association of Realtors expects an 18.3 percent drop in housing starts, a 13.9 percent drop in new-home sales and a 2.2 percent decline in existing-home sales this year compared to 2006, according to the trade group's latest forecast.

"Tighter lending criteria and fallout from the subprime loan debacle will lead to a healthier housing market with greater assurance that owners can handle mortgage adjustments," the association announced, "but higher loan standards will slow the housing recovery."

The national median existing-home price is expected to decline 0.7 per  more...

Borrowers eye home purchases as rates rise

Another sizeable drop in refinancings last week sent overall mortgage application volume down for the fourth week in a row, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, a measure of home loan applications, dipped 0.4 percent, falling to 646.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 649.5 the week before.

While refinancings fell 4 percent, the index that tracks home purchases rose 2.7 percent from the end of March, giving purchase loans a 38.5 percent share of the market, MBA reported.  more...

Overnight real estate rates slowgoing

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly unchanged Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield sank to 4.72 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 5.79 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 5.54 percent. The 1-year adjustable stayed at 5.37 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 4.9 percent.

Rates and bonds 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...