RealEstateRama

WASHINGTON, DC — With Countrywide Financial Corp. increasingly turning to the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system for cash advances to stay afloat as other liquidity sources shun the company, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) urged the overseer of the federally-supported bank network to probe the underlying risk of Countrywide’s collateral and to issue new, system-wide regulations to reduce the banks’ exposure to risky or predatory loans.

Washington, DC, November 29, 2007 – For the first time in nearly thirteen years, U.S. home prices experienced a quarterly decline. The OFHEO House Price Index (HPI), which is based on data from sales and refinance transactions, was 0.4 percent lower in the third quarter than in the second quarter of 2007.

Detroit, MI – The U.S. Conference of Mayors unveiled today an economic impact report on the foreclosure crisis that forecasts sharp losses in the growth of gross domestic product and projects economic output losses for 361 metro areas -- referred to as gross metropolitan product (GMP).

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 28, 2007 The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 23, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 652.5, a decrease of 4.3 percent on a seasonally and holiday adjusted basis from 681.7 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 25.5 percent compared with the previous week reflecting the Thanksgiving holiday on November 22 and was up 24.6 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

WASHINGTON, November 28, 2007 - Single-family existing-home sales were stable in October while the condo sector was down, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Lingering effects of the credit crunch were a drag on sales but the mortgage situation has improved significantly

Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) November 26, 2007 -- Eighty percent of people across the country who bought a new home last year used the Internet while house hunting, and they rated photographs as the most useful tool in their search, according to a survey of buyers and sellers by the National Association of Realtors. Since property photos are meant to be a sales tool, Fizber.com,

WASHINGTON, November 27, 2007 -- The National Association of Realtors® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have named Fort Smith, Ark., a 2007 Ambassador City for its City of Fort Smith Homebuyers Assistance Program. The program provides potential buyers with credit counseling and mortgage readiness education.

Advantage Realty Services, Inc provides a fee for service or flat fee service. With its new campaign designed to educate the public on the benefits of using a discount broker like themselves, the company allows people to save thousands of dollars on the sale of their home over traditional broker costs.

Ferrari Capital Partners a large scale real estate developer in the southeastern United States, has announced plans to scale back a proposed 523 lot Planned Unit Development (PUD) subdivision in order to better serve the needs of the community.

NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2007 - Chase today introduced New Additions, a discounted home-equity loan program to help families pay the often steep expenses of adopting a child.

In early October, when Dorte and Houschang Pakpour put their Mediterranean-style villa in Laguna Beach, Calif. on the market, they put a little extra bait on the hook. In the glossy sales brochure touting the ocean and canyon views, European gardens and cathedral ceilings, the Pakpours noted that seller financing was available.

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 21, 2007 — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 16, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 681.7, a decrease of 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 707.3 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 5.2 percent compared with the previous week and was up 9.8 percent compared with the same week one year earlier

In only one week, hundreds of top real estate agents from across the country have contributed over 1,000 ideas to publish Real Estate in 2008. During the National Association of Realtors (NAR) annual conference in Las Vegas from November 12-16, 2007, the conference helped to write and publish an entire book of ideas.

Can homeowners really sell their homes in 30 days or less without a Realtor? Jennifer Gibson of RealAsell.com thinks so. The new Web site boasts a "Sell in 30 days or Less... Guaranteed" service by providing its clients the opportunity to gain additional exposure through the RealAsell.com national lender network.

Scaled-back lending practices, risky loans, oversupply and low demand continue to plague the nation's housing markets, driving down prices and stalling sales.

The weekly Mortgage Application Index fell 3.6 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis to 707.3. On an unadjusted basis, the index declined 5.2 percent compared to the previous week, but was up 9.8 percent compared with the same week last year.

The vast majority of U.S. metropolitan areas showed rising or stable home prices in the third quarter, with most experiencing modest gains compared with a year earlier, says the latest quarterly survey by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Nov. 19, 2007) – Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC announces the launch of its third “My Home: The American Dream” contest. In collaboration with Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, Coldwell Banker® invites students in kindergarten through eighth grade to tell their personal stories, through images and words, about how their houses, apartments, or condominiums are not just places they live, but homes where dreams are shared and memories are made.

U.S. home builders broke ground on more apartment buildings in October, driving housing starts up 3 percent to an unexpected seasonally adjusted rate of 1.229 million, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The vast majority of metropolitan areas showed rising or stable home prices in the third quarter with most experiencing modest gains compared with a year earlier, despite a broad decline in existing-home sales, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors.