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WASHINGTON, DC - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. house prices fell in the fourth quarter of 2010 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI). The HPI, calculated using home sales price information from Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-acquired mortgages, was 0.8 percent lower on a seasonally adjusted basis in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter of 2010. The unadjusted national decline was 2.2 percent. Over the past year, seasonally adjusted prices fell 3.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the fourth quarter of 2010

Washington, DC - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency today reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 4.71 percent based on loans closed in January. This is an increase of 0.13 percent from the previous month.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications increased 13.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 18, 2011

Washington, DC - February 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The uptrend in existing-home sales continues, with January sales rising for the third consecutive month with a pace that is now above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS

Des Plaines, IL - February 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly three in four (72 percent) U.S. homeowners agree the home inspection they had when they purchased their current primary residence helped them avoid potential problems with their home, according to a survey released today by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).? Also, almost two in three (64 percent) noted, in the long run, they saved a lot of money as result of their home inspection. As the housing market begins to recover, ASHI encourages homeowners and buyers to hire a certified home inspector and to get a home inspection to help further protect their investment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.22 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, a decrease of 91 basis points from the third quarter of 2010, and a decrease of 125 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate decreased 46 basis points to 8.93 percent this quarter from 9.39 percent last quarter.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing affordability during the fourth quarter of 2010 rose to its highest level in the 20 years since it has been measured, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) data released today.The HOI indicated that 73.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. The record-setting index for the fourth quarter surpassed the previous high of 72.5 percent set during the first quarter of 2009 and marked the eighth consecutive quarter that the index has been above 70 percent. Until 2009, the HOI rarely topped 65 percent and never reached 70 percent.

McLean, VA - February 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), which shows a drop in long-term fixed rates this week

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts rose 14.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 596,000 units in January, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. The gain was entirely due to a 77.7 percent increase in the multifamily sector, where significant month-to-month swings in activity are not unusual and where new building has been below expectations for the past several months. Meanwhile, single-family housing starts remained virtually flat for the month, with a 1.0 percent decline.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 11, 2011. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 9.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 7.9 percent compared with the previous week.

McLean, VA - February 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the fourth quarter of 2010, fixed-rate loans accounted for more than 95 percent of refinance loans, based on the Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) quarterly Product Transition Report released today. Refinancing borrowers overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate.

February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- WHAT: Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 4th Quarter 2010 National Delinquency Survey (NDS) Media Conference Call. Conducted quarterly since 1972, MBA's National Delinquency Survey covers more than 40 million loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties, representing more than 80 percent of all first-lien residential mortgage loans outstanding in the United States

EMERYVILLE, CA - February 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home sellers continue to discount their asking price in an attempt to entice buyers to move towards a purchase according to a report issued by national real estatebrokerage ZipRealty (www.ziprealty.com; NASDAQ: ZIPR). ZipRealty’smonthly Price Reduction report, which is generated from a review of MLS-listed properties in 26 markets, shows that inventory is up a modest 2.81 percent from January 2010, but the total number of homes where sellers have cut the asking price at least once was up 17.6 percent. This double-digit growth in discounted homes may be another indicator of a sluggish market.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home builder sentiment for the mature-market sector retreated in the last quarter of 2010 when compared to the same period a year earlier. The National Association of Home Builders' 55+ Housing Market Index for single-family homes dropped three points to 14 from a year ago following annual declines in the second and third quarters of 2010."The normal course of purchasing a new home in anticipation of or upon entering retirement has been interrupted by the fall in Baby Boomers' house values and reduction in their home equity," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

L?HU‘E, HI - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Because the normal deadline for real property taxes fall on Sunday, Feb. 20 and Monday, Feb. 21 is President’s Day, Kaua'i property owners have until Tuesday, Feb. 22 to pay the second installment of real property taxes for the 2010-2011 tax year without penalty

McLean, VA - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) which shows long- and short-term rates rising this week.

Washington, DC - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home sales rebounded in 49 states during the fourth quarter with 78 markets – just over half of the available metropolitan areas – experiencing price gains from a year ago, while most of the rest saw price weakness, according to the latest survey by the National Association of REALTORS®.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) called on Congress today to repeal all new expanded 1099 reporting requirements imposed in recent laws that will harm job creation and place a major paperwork and cost burden on the nation's small businesses.Testifying on behalf of NAHB before the House Small Business Committee, Mike Kegley, a builder from Union, Ky., and president of the Home Builders Association of Kentucky, told lawmakers that the collection of W-9 forms, monitoring payments over the course of a year, and additional staff time will cost individual small businesses thousands of dollars per year

COLUMBIA, MD - February 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise), a national leader in affordable housing and community development, today announced that Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) has given the company approval to originate affordable multifamily loans nationally on its behalf. The new license granted to Enterprise rounds out the company’s agency platform, which already includes capacity to sell and service loans for Fannie Mae and FHA. Enterprise is among a handful of lenders approved to sell and service targeted affordable housing loans nationwide. These are loans on apartment properties with rents that are affordable to low- and very-low income individuals whose incomes are at or below 80 percent or 60 percent of the area median income, respectively.

San Diego, CA - February 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage bankers originated $110 billion of commercial and multifamily mortgages during 2010 – an increase of 36 percent from 2009, according to preliminary estimates based on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.