Home buyers 'pass out over amount of small words'

Housing has appeared again on the Presidential radar screen.

A speech President George W. Bush delivered this week included remarks about home ownership rates, a down payment assistance program and the U.S. Housing Department's plan to revise the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

What he said:  more...

East Coast real estate shatters records

Home sales in North Carolina and Virginia hit new highs during 2003, with resort communities and metropolitan areas reporting the greatest increases in closed transactions, according to the Realtors associations in both states.

According to statistics compiled by the North Carolina Association of Realtors, 91,977 residential units were sold in 2003 on an adjusted basis, surpassing the previous year's figures by 16 percent. When combined with a 3 percent increase in the average sales price, total sales dollars for the year were up 19 percent to more than $17 billion.

California home construction hits 14-year high

California home builders began construction on 194,956 new homes and apartments in 2003, the highest level since 1989, according to preliminary building permit statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board in Burbank. Included in that total were 138,679 single-family homes and 56,277 multifamily units, mainly apartments.

December production was also up sharply in most parts of the state compared to both December 2002 and November 2003, signaling that builders believe the strong housing market will continue in 2004.  more...

Multifamily real estate posts improvement

Conditions in the apartment market are looking up after several quarters of increasing vacancy rates, according to the National Multi Housing Council's January 2004 quarterly survey of apartment market conditions.  more...

Real estate appreciation doesn't add up

Dear Real Estate Ethicist,

My home is not worth as much as my children, my neighbors and my Realtor say it is: $989,775! My deceased husband Charlie and I paid $13,000 for it in 1949 when he returned from the war. And all we did was put in a new kitchen, four new paint jobs, some new wiring and lots of love, you must be kidding me? This is wrong. –House Rich Guilt

Dear House Rich Guilt,  more...

Mortgage interest rates climb

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield remained at 4.19 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to 5.44 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate climbed to 4.72 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 3.3 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased slightly to 5.01 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  more...

Shooting in ERA office

A gunman entered a real estate office in Seminole, Florida and opened fire a few hours ago, killing one person and wounding another before apparently killing himself, according to AP.

The incident occurred inside ERA Professional Realtors on Seminole Boulevard. A man inside was killed and a woman was wounded.

The gunman was found dead, a suspected suicide, according to AP.

A real estate agent who works out of the office said the company had a meeting Wednesday and "everyone was fine," according to the AP report.

E-Loan profits sink

Online consumer-direct lender E-Loan's profit plunged from $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2002 to just to $200,000 in the fourth quarter of last year due to a rapid decline in the mortgage refinance business, the company said today. The lender also announced the resignation and replacement of president and COO Joe Kennedy.  more...