California real estate affordability falls

An affordability index produced by the California Association of Realtors trade group held steady from November to December but was down 5 percentage points since December 2004.

The percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home stood at 14 percent in December, compared with 19 percent for the same period a year ago, the group reported today.

C.A.R.'s monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can af  more...

BlackBerry details plan to keep running

The maker of the BlackBerry today set forth details on its method for keeping the mobile device running if a court should rule against the company in an ongoing patent case.

Research in Motion, the company behind the wireless device, said it has developed special software that will enable the service to keep working even if RIM loses in a hearing that will take place in just two weeks. Individual users will be able to download the software to their BlackBerries from a designated Web site if need be, according to RIM.

On Feb. 24, U.S.  more...

EAppraiseIT buys Network Appraisal Services

Real estate valuation company eAppraiseIT has acquired Network Appraisal Services of Kalamazoo, Mich., the company said in an announcement today.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

NAS manages appraiser networks for national and regional lenders and develops online services and products that help lenders systematically comply with requirements mandated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency designed to prevent directed appraisals.

"NAS expands the range of services that we are able to deliver t  more...

Fidelity National fourth-quarter profit drops

Fidelity National Financial late Wednesday reported that its profit for the fourth quarter of 2005 fell 34 percent, reflecting a tax on a stock distribution for its Fidelity National Title Group title insurance unit, which went public in October.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said net income fell to $115.2 million, or 64 cents per share, from $174.9 million, or 98 cents.

Excluding the distribution, adjusted net income totaled $215.2 million, or $1.20 per share.

A group of analysts polled by Thomson Financial had for  more...

'Seasonal' cooling impacts Countrywide's loan production

Mortgage loan fundings at Countrywide Financial totaled $33 billion in January, up 16 percent from a year ago but down from the previous month, the company announced today.

In December, mortgage loan fundings hit $44 billion.

Monthly purchase volume was $14 billion last month, an increase of 14 percent from January 2005.

"Countrywide was the number one mortgage originator and servicer for 2005, according to Inside Mortgage Finance," said Stanford L. Kurland, president and chief operating officer.  more...

Real estate rates up for third week

Mortgage rates inched higher for the third consecutive week, according to surveys conducted this week by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.24 percent for the week ended today, up from last week's average of 6.23 percent. The average for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.83 percent, up from last week's average of 5.81 percent.  more...

Real estate company refers flat-fee listings to Realtor network

A Seattle-based discount real estate referral company allows consumers to pay a flat fee online with a credit card to sell their home with agents at brand-name brokerages, according to a company announcement today.

Progressive Homesellers Inc. announced that it refers consumers to agents at brokerages such as "Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and Prudential who have agreed to list and sell homes for a $2,500 flat fee."

Jeremy Stamper, CEO for the company, said in the announcement, "We've taken the hassle out of lis  more...

Overnight real estate rates in holding pattern

Long-term mortgage interest rates were mostly flat again Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield gained to 4.59 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average held at 5.81 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate inched up to 5.43 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 4.55 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.67 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...

Zillow.com down most of Wednesday

Zillow.com, which launched its home valuation service Wednesday, was plagued with outages throughout the day.

Hundreds of thousands of people visited the site, Zillow reported on its blog.  more...