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Mortgage rates hit 4-year low

By Inman News, Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at a four-year low this week after a government report of massive layoffs in November pushed bond yields down, Freddie Mac reported.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.47 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 11, down from 5.53 percent last week and 6.11 percent a year ago. The rate hasn't been lower since March 25, 2004, when it averaged 5.40 percent.  more...

Unemployment to weigh on housing Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Thursday, December 11, 2008.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/bobjagendorf/2396411807/" target=blank>Bob Jagendorf</a>.

The U.S. is entering a "severe recession" driven by contraction in credit and a financial crisis with few historical parallels, making it difficult to forecast its length and severity, analysts at Fitch Ratings say.

The worsening outlook for unemployment means home prices may fall harder and take longer to bottom than previously anticipated, Fitch analysts said.  more...

Saving husband, kids from abusive wife

By Janet Portman, Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Q: I have a family in one of my rentals that is experiencing a very rough time -- I think the wife, who has a huge temper, is physically abusing the husband. In fact, the husband wants to move out with the kids, but when he went to the local shelter for victims of domestic violence, he was turned away because he's male. This makes it practically impossible for him to leave, because he doesn't have the finances to set up a separate household. Isn't this unequal treatment against the law? What should I do to help? --Wendy S.  more...

Checking up on the Joneses

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Q: I am looking to buy a house, and have focused in on a particular home I really like. We're about to do inspections, and I want to know more about the neighbors. My Realtor didn't give me any information about them, and she sort of made me feel like I was being a snob to be so curious about the people who live nearby. Is this a reasonable thing to investigate? How can I get more information?  more...

Searching for a real estate 'Santa'

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, December 11, 2008.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/oddwick/2677849209/" target=blank>Todd Huffman</a>.

Some people believe in Santa Claus and some don't. Some believe in magic or angels. In our industry people are looking for something to believe in again and they are looking for leadership. Most of us know there isn't any magic, just hard work, but we are always looking for ways to make it easier.

Last Friday I wrote a members-only post on the ActiveRain real estate network. I wrote a fictionalized story on the site about a blog post that led a seller to list a $5 million home with me.  more...

Home-price slide approaches $4.5 trillion Premium Content

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, December 11, 2008.
A University of California, Los Angeles, economic forecast report notes that U.S. home prices have fallen an estimated 22 percent from their 2006 peak, "accounting for about a $4.5 trillion wealth loss."

And "Perhaps more astonishingly, stock prices are on track to either having their biggest decline in history or, if not that, their worst performance since either 1931 or 1937," the report concludes.  more...

Foreclosures off from peak

By Inman News, Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Foreclosure-related filings fell 7 percent in November, in part because of state laws that prolong the foreclosure process and more aggressive efforts by lenders to modify the loan terms of some troubled borrowers, data aggregator RealtyTrac said today.

The drop in filings may only be a lull, RealtyTrac said, citing a recent report by the Mortgage Bankers Association that the delinquency rate for loans not yet in the foreclosure process climbed to a record 7 percent during the third quarter.  more...

Scaling the mountain ... and scaling down Premium Content

By Inman News, Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Jeffrey Bastress, founder, president and broker-owner for East Coast brokerage company Startpoint Realty. He will speak at the upcoming Inman News Real Estate Connect conference in New York City, which runs from Jan. 7-9, 2009. Startpoint is a full-service brokerage that operates in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Florida.

Bastress responded to a set of questions posed by Inman News:

What do you see happening in the real estate market in 2009?  more...