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States get room to regulate lending

By Inman News, Monday, June 29, 2009.

Federal law doesn't entirely preempt states from passing consumer protection laws governing national banks and seeking to enforce those laws in court, the U.S. Supreme Court held today.

The 5-4 decision was a defeat for the banking industry and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal regulator which maintained only it had the power to conduct bank examinations or enforcement actions against national banks.  more...

Bill would suspend new appraisal rules

By Inman News, Monday, June 29, 2009.

Legislation that would grant a plea by the National Association of Realtors to suspend for 18 months new rules governing appraisals conducted on loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been introduced in the House of Representatives.  more...

Realtor membership rises in some areas Premium Content

By Erik Pisor, Monday, June 29, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205/" target=blank>victoriapeckham</a>.

From 2004 through 2005, home-sale activity surged toward a peak in most U.S. metropolitan real estate markets. The feverish market activity lured a long line of individuals to obtain a real estate license, with the hopes of cashing in on the booming sales.

The exodus of Realtors into the business began to reverse with the slumping real estate market. According to the National Association of Realtors, all but one state association's May 2009 membership totals trailed membership totals for May 2008, with 28 state associations experiencing a double-digit percentage drop in membership -- that trend has not held for all local and state Realtor associations, though.  more...

Inman News wins blog award Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, June 29, 2009.

The Inman News Blog won a "Best Blog" award in an annual competition by the National Association of Real Estate Editors, and James Randel, author of "The Skinny on the Housing Crisis," took first place in the Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Awards, named for the longtime Inman News real estate columnist who died in 2007.

NAREE, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, announced the winners of the real estate journalism and book awards during a conference this month in Washington, D.C.  more...

For-sale inventory halved in California

By Inman News, Monday, June 29, 2009.

The for-sale inventory of homes has dropped by more than half from May 2008 to May 2009, according to the latest California Association of Realtors report on May home sales and prices.

The association's Unsold Inventory Index for May, which measures how long it would take to sell all for-sale single-family resale homes given that month's sales pace, suggested that the market had reversed from a buyer's market in May 2008 to a seller's market in May 2009.  more...