Northwest real estate sales climb

Home sales in western Washington rose 16.5 percent in April from the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

NWMLS brokers notched 7,622 closed sales during April, topping the year-ago total by more than 1,000 transactions. All areas except San Juan and Grant counties reported increases.  more...

Online real estate brokerage launches new Web site

Online real estate brokerage ZipRealty has undergone a facelift with a new company logo, slogan and Web site.

The Emeryville, Calif.-based company operates in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Ventura and Orange counties, San Diego and Sacramento in California, plus Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, northern Virginia, Phoenix, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

ZipRealty is among the few surviving real estate dot-coms.  more...

Condo sales maintain muscle in real estate market

Sales of existing condominiums and cooperatives slowed in the first quarter but posted the third highest sales pace ever, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for existing-condo and -co-op sales slipped 0.3 percent to 937,000 units in the first quarter from an upwardly revised 940,000-unit rate in the fourth quarter. Sales activity in the first quarter was 11.2 percent above the 843,000-unit sales level during the same period in 2003.  more...

Interest rates above 7% may cool real estate market

Most respondents to an Inman News informal survey on mortgage interest rates said rates could safely rise to 7 percent without endangering the health of the real estate market.

The survey asked: "At what level can mortgage interest rates reach without significantly impacting the real estate market?" Survey respondents picked from several different rate amounts, ranging from 6.5 percent to "above 10 percent."

The results, tallied Wed  more...

Identity theft in the spotlight

In response to the growing concern over identity theft crimes, the Strategic Research Institute will host, "Identity Theft in Financial Services: Cause, Effect and Remedies," June 30 through July 1 at the Metropolitan Hotel in New York City.  more...

Texas, Georgia top real estate foreclosure charts

There were 29,938 newly foreclosed residential properties listed in the country in April, according to a Foreclosure.com monthly report released today. And the total number of foreclosed properties was about 75,500.

Texas had the highest total in both categories, with 3,812 new foreclosed properties and 8,137 total foreclosed properties in April.  more...

Real estate purchases jump despite rising interest rates

Overall mortgage applications increased by 4.4 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, despite rising interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The MBA seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 4.1 percent to 482.5 from 463.5 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance index increased by 4.7 percent to 2,516 from 2,403 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 44 percent of total applications.  more...

Mortgage rates stand pat

Long-term mortgage interest rates were flat Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield inched up to 4.54 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average remained at 5.8 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate held at 5.14 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up slightly at 3.26 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.33 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...