By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. 2004 was another year of record success in real estate. But perhaps more importantly, online real estate made a big comeback. The public debut of ZipRealty and HouseValues, along with real estate heavyweight Cendant entering the online lead business, and a major lawsuit victory for online real estate advertiser ForSaleByOwner.com were among the highlights for this sector in 2004. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Editor's note: The real estate industry is heading for big change in 2005. Experts once again are predicting slower home sales and easing price appreciation due to an anticipated rise in interest rates. In this Inman News forecast series, we attempt to get a clear picture of the industry next year, including what we can expect from housing numbers, who the industry should be watching and what the best and worst-case scenarios might be for housing in 2005. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Court Lorenzini co-founded Seattle-based DocuSign in 2003 so that business documents could be signed without ever needing to be converted to paper. Lorenzini now serves as CEO. An experienced senior executive, Court has been the founder, president and CEO of several other venture-backed companies, including Point.com, Flatrock and Acora Growth Solutions. He has a 20-year track record of managing periods of rapid change in start-up and corporate environments. Lorenzini earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Duke University. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. California's home builders continued to post strong gains in housing starts in November, the California Building Industry Association announced today. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Long-term mortgage rates rose for the second consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage survey. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.81 percent for the week ended today, up from last week when it averaged 5.75 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage this week is 5.23 percent, up from last week when it averaged 5.18 percent. Points on both the 30- and 15-year averaged 0.6. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index, which had been on the decline since August, rebounded in December, as consumers grew more upbeat about job prospects and the economy. The index now stands at 102.3 (1985=100), up from 92.6 in November. The expectations index rose to 99.9 from 90.2. The present situation index increased to 105.9 from 96.3. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Sales of existing homes reached record levels in November, increasing 2.7 percent since October. Existing-home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.94 million units in November, up from 6.76 million units in October, the National Association of Realtors announced today. The seasonally adjusted annual rate projects a monthly sales total over a 12-month period. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Overall mortgage applications dropped slightly last week, decreasing 1.7 from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey. The MBA seasonally adjusted refinance index decreased by 7.9 percent to 1,803.9 from 1,958.2 one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 2.7 percent to 483.8 from 471.1 the previous week. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Home sales in Illinois rose 18.8 percent in November and the median price of an existing single-family home increased 9.2 percent compared to the same period a year ago, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported today. November existing single-family home sales totaled 9,977, up from 8,398 homes sold in November of 2003. The median price of an existing single-family home in November was $184,000, up from $168,600 in November 2003. more...
By Inman News, Wednesday, December 29, 2004. Long-term mortgage interest rates rose Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 4.29 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate average inched up to 5.38 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate gained to 4.79 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 3.42 percent. The 30-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.91 percent. Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. more...
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