Buying the 'bad egg' home

When the market is hot, it's hot. And when it's not it's not. That's not brain surgery by any means. So if you can buy a house for a bit of a "discount" because it's on a busy street in a great neighborhood and save a bit of money, should you?

"I remember my first house very distinctly," a friend said over dinner the other night in his beautiful home with a drop-dead view. "We couldn't afford a house in the neighborhood with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms that we needed for our growing family so we bought one with an 'adverse condition.'"  more...

San Francisco area real estate prices remain red-hot

San Francisco Bay Area home prices jumped 20.5 percent from January 2004 to January 2005, marking the largest annual gain in four years, according to DataQuick, a real estate information service.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home last month was $534,000, a new record. That was up 0.2 percent from $533,000 in December, and up 20.5 percent from $443,000 for January a year ago, DataQuick reported.  more...

Home builders reveal solid outlook

Home builders this month expressed a solid outlook for the housing market for newly built, single-family homes, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released today.

The index dipped two points to 68 in February, and builder expectations for the next six months held steady from the beginning of the year.

The monthly index surveys home builders about current sales of new homes and prospects for sales in the next six months.  more...

New home buyers in California lack income

California households had a median household income of $53,240 in fourth-quarter 2004, which was $56,070 short of the $109,320 qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home in the state, the California Association of Realtors reported today.

The statewide median home price in fourth-quarter 2004 was $470,920, while the statewide median price for condominiums was $380,560, according to the association's Homebuyer Income Gap Index.

This quarterly index is an analysis of the difference between the me  more...

Laws artificially drive up real estate costs

A new report released by the U.S.  more...

Ellie Mae's loan origination system gets personal

Individual mortgage professionals now have their own version of Encompass, Ellie Mae's mortgage management software, with the release of Encompass Personal Edition, the company said today.

The product is easy to install and simplified for non-networked offices, the company said. It offers an overview of the loan pipeline so brokers and loan officers can monitor the process, control of loan activities from the desktop, access to Ellie Mae's ePASS Network and an integrated contact manager.  more...

New homes options now accessible online

New-home buyers now can go online and select various options for their new home with a new technology platform launched by a group of home builders and product manufacturers. The technology, Envision, is an industry-owned options management platform developed by New Home Technologies.

Home-product manufacturers have been entering product data into Envision's Product Manager for several months through XML feeds or an online interface. The data includes descriptions, features, styles, multimedia presentations and product manuals and warranties.  more...

Third time not a charm for real estate investor

A Belton, Kan. real estate investor has been charged with mortgage fraud by federal prosecutors for the third time in less than a year, the Kansas City Star reported Monday.

Brent Michael Barber was accused of conspiracy and fraud in 66 felony counts in an indictment returned late Thursday afternoon, the Star reported. Prosecutors are also seeking forfeiture of about $4 million in cash or real estate, including Barber's home in Loch Lloyd, Kan.  more...

Fidelity's fourth-quarter earnings sink

Fidelity National Financial today reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $174.9 million, or $.98 per diluted share, down 10.8 percent from a year ago.

The company's net earnings totaled $196.2 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2003.

For all of 2004, net earnings were $741 million, or $4.21 per diluted share, down 14 percent from $861.8 million, or $5.63 per diluted share, reported for 2003.  more...