Subprime lenders hit Wall Street funding wall

Mortgage Lenders Network USA Inc.  more...

Lennar expects fourth-quarter loss

Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest home builders, on Tuesday said it expected a fourth-quarter loss and will continue to review the value of its assets as market conditions decline in many areas.

Lennar expects a quarterly loss of 88 cents to $1.28 per share after valuation adjustments and write-offs. The company will release official earnings for the quarter and fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2006, before the market opens on Jan. 17.  more...

Massachusetts buyer's market continues

The Massachusetts housing market cooled for the eighth straight month in November as home sales and prices continued to decline from their 2005 levels, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

There were 3,246 detached single-family homes sold in November, down 12.6 percent from November 2005 when sales hit 3,713. The median home sales price slipped 4 percent from a year ago, falling from $354,000 to $340,000.  more...

Residential construction spending falls for eighth straight month

The rate of private residential construction spending fell for the eighth consecutive month in November and dropped 11.1 percent compared to the November 2005 level, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of private residential construction spending was $589.3 million in November, compared with $663.1 million in November 2005.  more...

Home loan apps pull out of rut

Overall mortgage application volume rebounded last week after two straight weeks of significant slowing, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

The market composite index, which measures total home loan volume, gained 3.6 percent last week, rising to 575.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 555.8 one week earlier.

Loans to buy homes saw the greatest rise in activity last week, with the seasonally adjusted purchase index increasing by 4.3 percent to 406.9 from 390.2 one week earlier.  more...

Real estate rates climb overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.68 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average gained to 5.76 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate edged up to 5.52 percent. The 1-year adjustable was up at 5.32 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.79 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...