2007 real estate forecaster report card

It's an Inman News tradition to report on the predictions made by economists at major trade groups for real estate in the coming year, and to look back to see whether what they said last year panned out.

Here's a look at what the National Association of Realtors, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Home Builders, and the California Association of Realtors see in store for 2008, and how close their 2007 projections came to the mark.

Many experts didn't foresee the massive disruption of credit and financial markets that took hold in 2007, and now threatens to e  more...

New-home sales rate hits 12-year low

The rate of new-home sales in November sunk to its lowest level since April 1995, while the sales rate for previously owned homes dropped 20 percent in November compared to the same month last year, according to government and National Association of Realtors reports.  more...

Top real estate stories of 2007

"Downturn," "subprime," "foreclosures" and "credit crunch" are the top phrases that come to mind when looking back at the year in real estate news. 2007 will be remembered as the year the subprime mortgage market collapsed, causing a credit crunch whose effect on the broader economy is still to be determined. The credit crunch has caused everyone to wonder whether the housing market will now play a role in tipping the economy into recession in 2008.  more...

Top real estate video segments of 2007

Inman News debuted a new real estate video channel this year, InmanTV.com.  more...

Countrywide working with protesters on foreclosure prevention

Countrywide Financial Corp. announced Friday that it's working with a community group that has been critical of its efforts to engage in workouts with troubled borrowers on a foreclosure prevention initiative that it hopes to launch in early 2008.  more...

2008 not so great, says builders' economist

Single-family housing starts are expected to plummet 29.3 percent this year compared to 2006, and to drop another 23.6 percent in 2008, National Association of Home Builders chief economist David Seiders said in a forecast report Thursday.  more...

Overnight real estate rates in 3-day drop

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down again Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.05 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.74 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate dipped to 5.3 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate was down at 5.49 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield edged up to 4.48 percent.

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

Mortgage brokers lose subprime share to retail, Internet lenders

Retail lenders like banks and direct Internet operations picked up a larger share of subprime loan originations in the first half of 2007, according to a survey of subprime lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Retail lenders grew their market share of subprime first loans from 23 percent in the last half of 2006 to 36 percent in the first six months of 2007, the survey found.

While mortgage brokers still accounted for the majority of subprime loan originations -- 58 percent, measured by dollar volume -- that's down from 72 percent in the second half of 2006.  more...