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06/29/2007 More pain in May for California home starts, sales
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The rate of single-family existing-home sales in California fell 25 percent in May compared to sales for that month last year, while building permits issued for single-family homes declined 40.1 percent, state Realtor and builder trade groups reported this week.
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06/29/2007 Nearly $1 billion in affordable rental housing proposed
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A bill that would provide up to $1 billion a year to build more than 1 million affordable rental units during the next decade and provide down-payment and closing-cost assistance for first-time home buyers has backing from sponsors on both sides of the aisle.
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06/29/2007 'Open house bandits' arrested in Missouri
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Police in Berkeley, Calif., reported today that a couple has been arrested as suspects in a cross-country theft spree that targeted real estate agents, their offices, and open houses.
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06/28/2007 Short-term interest rate stays at 5.25%
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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.
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06/28/2007 Innovative Web service sees lots of competition
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The Inman Innovator awards will be presented Aug. 1 at Real Estate Connect in San Francisco.
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06/28/2007 FBI: Downturn brings mortgage-rescue, HELOC fraud schemes
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With more homeowners facing the possibility of foreclosure, the FBI says mortgage fraud schemes are targeting homeowners seeking financial guidance, and exploiting the home-equity-line-of-credit application process.
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06/28/2007 Housing woes send mortgage rates lower
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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.
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06/28/2007 Builder Beazer boots chief accounting officer
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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."
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06/28/2007 Lawmakers urged to stop appraiser coercion
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Unscrupulous lenders and mortgage brokers have "a totally free shot at the appraisal" because they are able to coerce appraisers in an "unregulated wilderness" where rules don't exist or aren't consistently enforced, a spokesman for appraisers told lawmakers this week.
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06/28/2007 PIMCO chief: Subprime poised to take down economy
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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."
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