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Date

Nov

26
2008

An Invitation to Connect

By Jeff Bernheisel, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

As you're probably well aware, we're counting down the final days before discount pricing en  more...

Curing the real estate disconnect

By Inman News, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

Besides the field of top real estate industry executives, the Jan. 7-9 Real Estate Connect conference in New York City will feature a wine and Web 2.0 expert; the economist behind the Case-Shiller home-price indices and author of "Irrational Exuberance"; the man behind the global empire of community sites that is craigslist; the top economist for the National Association of Realtors; and a New York Times financial news reporter, to name a few (see conference program).  more...

Fed seeks to avoid Great Depression II

By Lou Barnes, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.
Source: National Archives

Yesterday the Fed announced that it would begin to buy mortgage and other private debt securities -- easily the most dramatic and unprecedented action in the Fed's 95-year history.

Mortgages immediately fell a half-percent to 5.5 percent. An immense volume of loan-rate locks has pushed rates back up a bit today, but the decline is highly likely to resume. For the first time in the last 18 months' credit-market nightmare the authorities have moved in front of the crisis, jumping past broken banks to fund the nation.  more...

New-home price slips to '04 level

By Inman News, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

October sales of new single-family homes dropped to the lowest annual pace since January 1991, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today, and fell about 40.1 percent compared to October 2007.

The median price of new single-family homes dropped to the lowest level since September 2004.  more...

Better roof longevity: composition or concrete?

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

Q: My husband and I are having a new home built in the California foothills. I resisted suggestions to go with vinyl windows to save on cost. The latest struggle is the roof. The architect designed the house with a concrete tile roof to go with the English Tudor style. My husband and the general contractor have been encouraging me to consider a composition roof to save money, and I suspect, make the process easier for the contractor.  more...

Is predatory lending a thing of the past?

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

Predators have come to the party wearing a variety of hats, yet their intent clearly is common.

Webster's gives the definition of "predatory" as "relating to, or practicing plunder, pillage or rapine … showing a disposition to injure or exploit others for one's own gain … "

In the home mortgage business, predators historically have jockeyed to the most vulnerable rung of the housing ladder, seeking to "dine and dash" with the least suspecting group of borrowers having to pay the bill.  more...

LandAmerica files for bankruptcy protection Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to sell its title insurance underwriting subsidiaires to companies under the umbrella of rival Fidelity National Financial Inc., a week after Fidelity backed out of a planned merger of the companies.

Fidelity subsidiaries Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. and Chicago Title Insurance Co. have agreed to pay $298 million to acquire LandAmerica subsidiaries Lawyers Title Insurance Corp., Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, and United Capital Title Insurance Co., LandAmerica said.  more...

One in three apps seek FHA, VA loans

By Inman News, Wednesday, November 26, 2008.

Government-insured loans -- primarily those backed by the Federal Housing Administration -- accounted for about one in three mortgage applications in October, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

That's a dramatic rise from one in 10 applications a year ago, the MBA said, and the biggest share of applications for FHA, VA and other government insured loans since February, 1991. The MBA cited lower down payment requirements and less strict underwriting standards for the loans as reasons for their popularity.  more...