Technology gives 24/7 access to home sale status

NewportWorks has launched an enterprise-level system for the real estate industry, AnytimeTransact, utilizing IBM speech-recognition technology to give real estate agents, buyers and sellers access to critical and up-to-date transaction data anytime over the phone.

AnytimeTransact aims to cut the amount of time loan officers, title representatives, and other operations staff would spend answering customer inquiries about their transaction status while simultaneously keeping everyone more informed.  more...

Another move toward one-stop real estate

RE/MAX of California & Hawaii is the latest real estate brokerage company to team up with a mortgage company to provide mortgage services to its customers. The company recently formed an alliance with Metrocities Mortgage, a residential mortgage lender.  more...

Is becoming a real estate agent a fad or a trend?

Fad.n. A fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze. trend n. The general direction in which something tends to move; 2. A general tendency or inclination; 3. Current style; vogue: the latest trend in fashion.

Hollywood – the entertainment capital of the world. Lights, camera, action. The place where dreams come true and hearts are broken every day of the week. People of all ages arrive here each day to try to stake their claim and take a piece of the action.  more...

Chicago MLS elects new board of directors

The Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois (MLSNI), the largest real estate listing service in the Chicagoland area, recently announced the election results for its board of directors.

The MLS has been at the center of controversy this year, undergoing an expensive forensic audit, terminating its CEO and losing certain listings from som  more...

Countrywide teams with West Coast home builder

Countrywide Home Loans Inc. today announced a joint venture with Pacific Coast Communities, a San Diego home builder. The residential mortgage powerhouse and home builder formed PCC Mortgage Group, which aims to provide more home-financing options to San Diego County homeowners.

"PCC Mortgage Group will offer some of the most competitive loan products, interest rates and services in the industry. A variety of loan programs, including zero-down-payment loans and fixed- and adjustable-rate options will be available through PCC Mortgage Group," company officials said today.  more...

EappraiseIT to offer real estate appraisal discounts

Mortgage Benefits Corp. has entered an agreement with real estate valuation provider eAppraiseIT to offer discounted fees on property appraisal services to members of the MortgageChoice Plan group mortgage benefit. EappraiseIT is a joint venture between The First American Corp. and LandAmerica Financial Group, and is managed and majority owned by First American.  more...

Real estate foreclosures to rise in California, Nevada

Mortgage defaults in California will surge by the second quarter of 2005, according to Foreclosures.com, a real estate investment advisory company that focuses on distressed properties.

"Employment, or the lack thereof, is no longer the primary cause of foreclosure activity," said Alexis McGee, president of Foreclosures.com. "The problem now is that too many households are overloaded with debt."

During a long period of below-normal interest rates, consumers continued spending and financed their purchases with adjustable-rate home equity credit lines, she said.  more...

Virginia real estate market reports strong October

Virginia home sales and prices in October gained significantly over their year-ago levels, according to the Virginia Association of Realtors.

During the month of October, 11,365 home sales were closed, up approximately 5.3 percent over last October's 10,795. Year-to-date, 114,338 transactions have closed, an approximately 10.3 percent increase over the 103,699 closed sales during the same period last year.  more...

Overnight real estate rates mostly flat

Long-term mortgage interest rates showed little movement Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield fell to 4.18 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average remained at 5.3 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate inched up to 4.75 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 3.37 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.96 percent.

Rates 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...