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Rates below 5% before Fed action

By Inman News, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped below 5 percent this week, according to a survey of lenders taken before Wednesday's announcement that the Federal Reserve plans to buy up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities this year.

At 4.98 percent with an average of 0.7 point, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) has not been lower since Jan. 15, when it hit an all-time low of 4.96 percent, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. At this time last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.87 percent.  more...

OpenHouse.com offers fee-based 'Featured Listings'

By Inman News, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

OpenHouse.com, an online site that provides information for open houses scheduled across the nation by its real estate brands and by other participating companies (see Inman News), is now accepting free agent uploads of open-house information and a bulk-feed service for information on multiple properties.  more...

Prudential exec moves to Windermere

By Inman News, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

Steve Rodgers, the former president and CEO of Prudential California Realty, Southern California, has joined Windermere Exclusive Properties as partner and president.

According to a Windermere announcement, Rodgers plans to expand the company's presence in San Diego and open offices in the Rancho Bernardo area and in Orange County.

Rodgers had worked with Prudential for more than 14 years. Windermere Exclusive Properties is a part of Windermere Real Estate, which has 300 offices and 8,000 associates.

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Coldwell Banker office offers coffee and Wi-Fi

By Glenn Roberts Jr., Thursday, March 19, 2009.
Coldwell Banker's new Huntington Beach, Calif., office

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Orange County, Calif., is banking on a new breed of office to satisfy agents' and clients' needs while providing more efficiency in operations.

This week, the brokerage opened a new office, which the company dubbed an "entertainment conference venue," in Huntington Beach, Calif., to serve as a satellite to a larger office in Newport Beach.  more...

Partnership targets affordability, transportation

By Inman News, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced a partnership that seeks to improve access to affordable housing while lowering transportation costs.  more...

Fed keeps hammer down on mortgage rates

By Inman News, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

In a bid to keep mortgage rates low, the Federal Reserve said Thursday it will boost purchases of mortgage-backed securities this year to as much as $1.25 trillion this year -- a $750 billion increase from a previous committment.

The move is part of a $1.05 trillion expansion of the Fed's balance sheet that's intended to encourage borrowing and revive the economy. Having effectively slashed short term interest rates to zero, the Federal Open Market Committee is resorting to other means to stimulate growth.  more...

ResidentialNYC.com gets new look, features

By Inman News, Thursday, March 19, 2009.

The Real Estate Board of New York, the largest real estate trade group in New York City, has upgraded its ResidentialNYC.com Web site with a new design and new search features.

The site now offers a "My Search Results" box that allows potential homebuyers to compare a property's price with other average property prices in the area and a variety of real estate guides with real estate market statistics and trends.

Site users can now enter specific keywords to search for properties and search open house schedules.  more...