Fair Isaac boosts earnings

Fair Isaac Corp., a developer of credit-scoring systems, today reported first-quarter revenues of $202.8 million in fiscal 2006 versus $195.5 million reported in the prior-year period.

Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2006 totaled $28.5 million or $0.43 per diluted share for the company, whose FICO credit scores figure decisively in real estate and other loans.

First-quarter fiscal 2006 results included compensation expense of approximately $6.1 million after-tax, or $0.09 per diluted share, because the company b  more...

Strong real estate loans push up IndyMac profit

Stronger mortgage production at IndyMac Bancorp Inc. in the fourth quarter pushed profit up 29 percent, the company said today.

Profit rose to $72.3 million, or $1.09 per share, from $56 million, or 87 cents, the company said. The quarter included a 9-cent-per-share charge for an accounting change related to mortgage servicing rights.

Excluding the charge, IndyMac reported profit of $1.18 per share.  more...

Real estate rates end week higher

Mortgage rates ticked higher this week as markets began to factor in another likely rate hike from the Federal Reserve next week, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.12 percent, with an average 0.5 point, for the week ended today, up from last week's average of 6.1 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed is 5.7 percent, up from last week's average of 5.67 percent.  more...

Job growth ends year sluggish

The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index, a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America, remained unchanged in December at 39.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising increased in four of the nine U.S. regions. Increases occurred in the East North Central (14.5 percent), West South Central (13.3 percent), West North Central (8.3 percent) and Pacific (0.8 percent) regions.  more...

Freddie Mac assists in Mississippi real estate recovery

Freddie Mac announced this week it will buy $40 million in bonds that will be used to finance low-cost mortgages to promote recovery efforts in Mississippi areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Mississippi Home Corp., a state-created corporation that provides financing for affordable housing, will sell the bonds to mortgage giant Freddie Mac, which will allow about 350 borrowers to receive loans with a 5.61 percent interest rate.  more...

Investors grow in Canada's residential real estate markets

Recent gains in average property prices are attracting a growing number of investors to major markets across Canada, and one in six Canadians plans to buy an investment property in the next 12 to 24 months, according to a report released today by RE/MAX in Canada.

The report is based on online interviews conducted in December 2005 with 1,200 homeowners across Canada and highlights developing interest in residential real estate as an investment.  more...

Central Ohio posts record year in real estate

Central Ohio home sales again outpaced last year for the fifth consecutive year, with Realtors reporting a record 27,493 residential homes sold in 2005, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors.

This represents an increase of 3.1 percent from the 26,660-plus homes sold in 2004, the board reported.

The average sale price of $177,978 in 2005 showed a 4.4 percent increase over 2004 prices. When looking at the last five years, homes have appreciated 18.5 percent.  more...

Overnight real estate rates move higher

Long-term mortgage interest rates were up Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield jumped to 4.48 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average rose to 5.67 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate climbed to 5.25 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 4.5 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.66 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...