Ex-mortgage loan officer to do heavy time for fraud

A federal judge has sentenced a former mortgage loan officer convicted of organizing a Washington, D.C., house-flipping scheme involving mortgage fraud to more than 24 years in prison.

In sentencing Charles E. Hall Sr. to serve 293 months in prison and to pay restitution of $5.04 million, Judge Sterling Johnson called the former loan officer "a predator" whom the community must be protected from.  more...

Real estate rates sink overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates came down Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.65 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 5.68 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate declined to 5.44 percent. The 1-year adjustable held steady at 5.31 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.78 percent.

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

Consumer confidence improves

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index posted growth in December, rising to 109 from 105.3 last month, although the chances of a more upbeat 2007 are still up in the air, according to an economic analyst.  more...

Realtors report drop in existing-home sales, prices

Existing-home sales and prices dropped in November compared to the same month last year, the National Association of Realtors reported today.

The median price of existing homes dropped for the fourth consecutive month to $218,000, down 3.1 percent compared to November 2005.  more...

Consumer spending jolts mortgage rates

Mortgage rates climbed for the third straight week following recent reports that home sales and consumer spending performed better than expected in November, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today in their weekly surveys.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed this week to an average 6.18 percent from 6.13 percent last week, and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage gained from 5.89 percent to 5.93 percent.  more...

D.C.-area bank to close mortgage banking subsidiary

Alliance Bankshares Corp. says it is closing its mortgage banking subsidiary, Alliance Home Funding LLC, which employed 43.

Chantilly, Va.-based Alliance Bankshares will bring 10 Alliance Home Funding employees into an in-house mortgage banking division, which will offer home loans in the Washington, D.C., metro area, the company said.

Closing Alliance Home Funding will put an after-tax dent in the bank's fourth-quarter earnings of between $350,000 and $450,000, including employee severance pay, systems charges and subleasing costs.  more...

Harbourton Mortgage Investment Corp. goes under

The parent company of Harbourton Mortgage Investment Corp. says the Virginia-based lender has closed its doors.

HMIC was forced to stop funding new loans and "initiate a process to wind down its operations" on Dec. 20, after investors who had purchased loans from the company demanded the lender buy them back, according to a statement issued by parent company Harbourton Capital Group Inc.  more...

For sale: the home that housed a president

The White House was not yet ready for Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. and his family when he became president following Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974.

So Ford spent the first 10 days of his presidency at the family home in Alexandria, Va. Ford and his family spent about 20 years in the colonial-style brick and wood-siding home on Crown View Drive in Alexandria. The Fords were the first owners of the home, which was built in 1953 and is now up for sale.  more...

Real estate rates up overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates moved higher Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.6 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.69 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.46 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.31 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.73 percent.

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

Home loan apps plummet 14%

Overall mortgage application volume declined by double digits last week from one week earlier amid gradually rising interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total home loan volume, fell to 555.8 last week, down 14.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 647.6 the week before.

Refinancings took the largest hit, as the seasonally adjusted refinance index decreased by 18.5 percent to 1,604.6 from 1,968.8 the previous week. The purchase index decreased by 10.6 percent to 390.2 from 436.5 one week earlier.  more...

New single-family home sales fall in November

The rate of new single-family home sales fell about 15.3 percent in November compared to November 2005 and increased about 3.4 percent compared to October 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new single-family home sales reached about 1.05 million in November, according to the report. Sales reached an annual low of about 1.01 million in October -- compared to the annual high of 1.17 million in January.  more...

Homeowners insurers slash rates in California

Farmers Insurance -- California's second-largest homeowners insurer -- will lower its rates in the state by 18 percent, joining State Farm, Safeco, Hartford, USAA, Nationwide and Kemper in heeding Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi's call for lower rates.

Garamendi, who will be sworn in as California's lieutenant governor Jan. 7, said the rate reductions by all seven companies will save homeowners $439 million a year on their insurance policies.  more...