Eight tech pioneers compete for innovation award

The Inman Innovator awards will be presented Aug.  more...

Standard & Poor's sees dramatic rise in Alt-A delinquencies

Alt-A mortgage loans made in 2006 are going bad at more than four times the rate as similar loans made in 2004, analysts at Standard & Poor's said Tuesday.

Alt-A loans are offered to home buyers who don't have perfect credit, but who are considered less of a risk than subprime borrowers.  more...

Annual declines continue in home-price index

A home-price index that tracks 20 U.S. metropolitan areas measured the 17th consecutive period of annual decline in April, according to a report released today.

The monthly Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite index has been in negative territory since January 2007 when compared to index results in 2006. And the 10-city index experienced an annual decline of 2.7 percent in April, the largest decline since late 1991 for that index, according to the report.  more...

Fidelity National Title says credit monitoring will deter mortgage fraud

Saying it will help detect mortgage fraud, Fidelity National Title Group plans to provide its customers with one year of free credit monitoring through a partnership with Experian Consumer Direct.

Fidelity National Title Group, which includes Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title, plans to roll out the offering of Experian's CreditCheck Basic in California and Texas in the next few weeks, followed by other states where the company does business. Implementation of the program in some states may require regulatory approval, the company said.  more...

New-home sales fall 15.8% in May

The sales rate of new single-family homes dropped in May to the lowest level for that month since 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today, and fell 15.8 percent compared to May 2006.

The agencies reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 915,000 new single-family home sales in May, compared to 930,000 in April and 1.09 million in May 2006.  more...

Consumers more cautious about jobs, economy

Consumer confidence dropped in June as more Americans grew disappointed with the current state of the economy and the job market, The Conference Board reported today.

The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 103.9 this month from 108.5 in May, and the outlook for the next six months could bring further declines.

"A perceived softening in present-day business and employment conditions are the major reasons behind this month's pull-back in confidence," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a prepared statement.  more...

Real estate rates drop overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dipped to 5.08 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 6.31 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate sank to 6.01 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.54 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield declined to 5.2 percent.

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