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BofA waives private mortgage insurance on 'no-fee' loan Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Bank of America is expanding the definition of "no-fee" mortgage loans with a product that pays lender fees and doesn't require private mortgage insurance for those who want to put as little as 5 percent down on a home purchase.

"There is no catch, and there are no surprises" to the loan, which can save borrowers more than $3,000 in fees on a $200,000 loan, BofA officials said Monday as they  more...

Apartment markets remain strong

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

As the market for new and resale homes continued its sluggish streak in many areas of the country, consumer demand for apartments grew for the 15th consecutive quarter, according to a recent survey.

The multifamily housing sector's strong conditions continue to attract equity investors with the availability of equity capital for apartments also rising for the 15th consecutive quarter, according to the National Multi Housing Council's April quart  more...

EmeryBay sells near San Francisco

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

EmeryBay Club, a 261-unit apartment community in Emeryville, Calif., has sold to an out-of-state investor for $59.6 million.

Englewood, Colo.-based Archstone-Smith purchased the property -- which is located approximately 10 miles east of San Francisco -- from EmeryBay II Associates.

The property is located at 6401 Shellmound St. and comprises three four-story buildings with an average unit size of 820 square feet.  more...

McCarter & English renews in New Jersey

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Law firm McCarter & English LLP recently renewed its 143,000-square-foot lease at Four Gateway Center in Newark, N.J., for an undisclosed price.

The renewal marks the first lease transaction at Four Gateway Center since Heritage Management Co. purchased the 327,000-square-foot, class A office tower last fall.  more...

Seven-property Berkeley apartment deal

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Panoramic Interests recently sold a seven-property apartment portfolio in Berkeley, Calif., for an undisclosed price.

The portfolio, which includes 418 apartment units located in the heart of downtown, was purchased by Equity Residential.  more...

Time to change how loan brokers are compensated

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Editor's note: Inman News will hold a contest each week asking readers to submit articles to the InmanWiki focused on a particular topic. The best entries will be featured the following week in Inman News.

Last week's winner was Michael Hoskinson, a Realtor with Foundation Realty in Huntington Beach, Calif.  more...

Eight real estate sites break into Hitwise top 100 Premium Content

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

The top 20 real estate Web sites on the Internet are well entrenched, but there's still lots of "churn" among the top 100, according to the latest numbers from Hitwise.

So far this year, the top eight real estate Web sites as ranked by Hitwise have maintained their positions, and only one newcomer has been able to break into the top 10 list.  more...

Sluggish night for real estate rates

By Inman News, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates barely moved Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 4.64 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose slightly to 5.77 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate held at 5.5 percent. The 1-year adjustable gained to 5.61 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 4.81 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...

First-time home seller blogs about learning the ropes Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

When Dean Comber and his wife put their home in the western suburbs of Chicago up for sale last summer, they didn't realize how much the market had changed in the two years since they'd purchased it.

"When we bought our house (in 2004), it was a seller's market, and it was a multiple-offer situation where the house was on the market for two weeks," Comber said.  more...

Stricter lending rules impact borrowers

By Jack Guttentag, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Bad news has been emerging from the subprime market every week, as the trade press reports one lender after another in trouble. As of April 16, 2007, National Mortgage News, a trade publication, counted 32 subprime lenders that had become "defunct" since early 2006.  more...

Get the most out of your home stager

By Dian Hymer, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Waiting until the last minute to get your home ready to sell is bound to make your move more stressful. It could also result in a lower sale price if you forego properly preparing your home for sale.

The extent to which sellers put time and money into fix-up-for-sale work varies from one area to the next. In the San Francisco Bay Area, so many sellers stage their homes for sale that you could be at a disadvantage if your home is not staged. In other areas of the country, sellers do virtually nothing to ready their homes for sale.  more...

How can mortgage balance grow instead of decline?

By Robert Bruss, Sunday, May 6, 2007.

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, April 2, 2006.

DEAR BOB: We look forward to your educational and entertaining columns. But now we have a real estate problem we never expected. About a year ago, we bought our home with the help of an adjustable-rate mortgage at 1.95 percent interest. We knew it would adjust after six months to 4.95 percent interest. That was quite a jump in our monthly payment, but we handled it.  more...