Short-term interest rate stays at 5.25%

The Federal Reserve left the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans at 5.25 percent Thursday, saying that despite an "ongoing adjustment in the housing sector," the economy seems likely to continue to expand at a moderate pace.  more...

Housing woes send mortgage rates lower

Long-term mortgage rates continued to fall this week as problems in the subprime market forced investors to seek more stable securities, driving up bond prices and lowering yields, Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com reported today.

In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to an average 6.67 percent from 6.69 percent last week, and the 15-year fixed-rate loan fell to 6.34 percent from 6.37 percent.  more...

Builder Beazer boots chief accounting officer

Home builder Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) this week announced that Michael T. Rand, the company's chief accounting officer and senior vice president, has been terminated for "attempts to destroy documents in violation of the company's document retention policy."  more...

PIMCO chief: Subprime poised to take down economy

The manager of the world's biggest bond fund, PIMCO, says the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that helped fuel the housing boom dazzled ratings agencies with their "6-inch hooker heels."

In a strongly worded commentary on the impact of the subprime lending crisis, PIMCO's Bill Gross says that the practice of slicing up such securities into various tranches of varying risk -- and the use of financial derivatives to help manage that ri  more...

Real estate rates down further overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates fell again Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield held at 5.08 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 6.28 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate dipped to 5.98 percent. The 1-year adjustable sank to 5.52 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield slipped to 5.19 percent.

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

'Open House Bandits' may have struck again in Utah

A duo that has targeted real estate agents and open houses in a theft spree in the San Francisco Bay Area may have been spotted in the Park City, Utah, area, according to law enforcement reports.

Berkeley (Calif.) Police on June 21 reported that Paul McClung, 30, is a suspect in a string of thefts at open houses and real estate offices in the San Francisco area.  more...