Survey uncovers emotional side of buying, selling real estate

About 70 percent of homeowners who completed both a home-sale and home-purchase transaction within the past five years said they felt worried during the buying and selling process, while 67 percent said they felt hesitant, according to a survey conducted for RealEstate.com.

About 42 percent said the uncertainty of knowing how quickly their home would sell was difficult or more difficult than expected, and considered that time the m  more...

Fannie Mae CEO's bonus target set at $2.6 million

Fannie Mae set the 2006 target bonus of Chief Executive Daniel H. Mudd at 2.75 times his salary, or $2.61 million, and added a new performance goal for him, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday.

The new goal will be "to optimize the company's business model and generate shareholder value," according to the mortgage giant's SEC filing.

"The goals for 2006 are similar to the company's goals for 2005 with the addition in 2006 of the goal to optimize the company's business model and generate shareholder value.  more...

IndyMac Bancorp considers IPO for reverse-mortgage unit

IndyMac Bancorp, which runs one of Southern California's largest savings and loans, today said it is pondering selling through an initial public offering a 20 percent stake in a unit that provides reverse mortgages.

The company said its board of directors authorized management to evaluate and plan for the potential sale of a minority economic stake of approximately 20 percent in IndyMac Bank's reverse mortgage subsidiary, Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp.

Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac said conducting an IPO for Financial Freedom will allow it to monetize its investment  more...

North Carolina real estate sales jump 20%

Existing-home sales in North Carolina posted another month of double-digit gains in March, rising 20 percent from a year ago, the North Carolina Association of Realtors reported.

According to statistics compiled by NCAR, 12,022 residential units were sold in March, up from 9,984 reported in March 2005.

The average existing-home sales price dipped 1 percent in March to $207,318, compared with $209,421 posted a year earlier.

There were 29,775 residential units sold during the first three  more...

Real estate construction spending grows in March

Spending on private residential construction increased 1.6 percent from February to March and was 8.6 percent higher than in March 2005, the U.S.  more...

Virginia real estate sales fall 12%

Home sales in Virginia dropped for the seventh consecutive month in March, while home-price growth returned to a more normal pace, according to the Virginia Association of Realtors.

Closed sales totaled 10,088 in March, down 12 percent from 11,464 sales in March 2005.  more...

Overnight real estate rates move lower

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 5.06 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dipped to 6.13 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate fell to 5.78 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.24 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5.16 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. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5.  more...