HUD to examine restraints on affordable housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will release a report Monday, examining the impact of excessive regulations on the availability of affordable housing.

The report, "Why Not in Our Community?" is the first substantive update of a previous HUD study titled, "Not in My Backyard," published in 1991. Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi and a collection of housing experts will discuss the report's findings on how to help millions of working families who struggle to find a home they can afford.  more...

Alternative real estate franchise model grows

Help-U-Sell Real Estate reportedly ranked #15 in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of the 20 Fastest Growing Franchises in America. The company also said it moved from 98 to 44 on the magazine's Franchise 500 list.  more...

SharperLending connects real estate lenders, vendors

SharperLending has beefed up its Web services, making it possible for lenders to place a single order for any number of vendor services without leaving the software they normally use, the company said Friday.

Lenders can now order appraisals, credit reports and other third-party information on SharperLending via their familiar software. SharperLending provides a secure Web-based platform where lenders can order, store and manage products and services from multiple vendors.  more...

Real estate: The week ahead

• The Century 21 International Convention is slated for Feb. 17-20, at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Thomas R. Kuntz, Century 21 Real Estate Corp. president, will address the annual gathering.

• The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association will host the 9th Annual Integrating GIS & CAMA Conference, Feb. 15-18, in Savannah, Ga.  more...

New Web service prepares, tracks real estate documents

North American Holding Co., a national document preparation and recording service, has launched TitleRight, a Web-based document service designed to help lawyers, lenders, title companies and others create and track documents, templates and forms.  more...

Proposed Florida law targets 'foreclosure vultures'

The Florida Supreme Court suspended Miami real estate attorney Terry Rosenberg Jan. 7 as a result of a lawsuit against him by the Florida Bar. The suspension prompted lawmakers to quickly draft a bill to protect homeowners from "foreclosure vultures," Daily Business Review reported Friday.

Broward County Circuit Judge Robert Rosenberg issued a scathing order and sanctions in December against Rosenberg in a foreclosure case in Judge Rosenberg's court, according to Daily Business Review.  more...

Twin Cities real estate sales start year strong

Home sales in the 13-county Twin Cities, Minn., metro area gained 15.2 percent in January from their year-ago level, resulting in the strongest start in five years, according to figures compiled from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota Inc.

Closed sales totaled 2,885 in January, up from 2,504 recorded in January 2004.

The median sales price for a home in the metro area rose 9.8 percent in January to $219,584 from the January 2004 median price of $200,000.  more...

Overnight real estate rates continue to fall

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell further Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.07 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank slightly to 5.09 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate dipped to 4.67 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 3.6 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.47 percent.

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