Marketing & Statistics

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Single-family housing starts were virtually unchanged from the previous month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 units in June, according to newly released figures by the U.S. Commerce Department. Meanwhile, a 21.5 percent decline on the more volatile multifamily side weighed down the overall housing production number, which fell 5 percent to a 549,000-unit rate.“As our most recent member surveys have indicated, builders remain very cautious in light of the sluggish pace of the economic recovery and the hesitancy they are seeing among potential home buyers,” noted Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes declined for a second consecutive month in July to its lowest level since April of 2009, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. The HMI fell two points from a downwardly revised number in the previous month to 14 for July.

IRVINE, CA - July 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- RealtyTrac® (http://www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Midyear 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 1,961,894 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 1,654,634 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2010, a 5 percent decrease in total properties from the previous six months but an 8 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of 2009. The report also shows that 1.28 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 78) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year.

McLean, VA - July 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®)

Washington, D.C. - July 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Even with modest improvements in the overall U.S. economy, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by more than 20 percent in 2010 with a marginal increase of 3.1 percent in 2011 in inflation adjusted terms. Poor conditions remain because of an oversupply of nonresidential facilities in most construction categories, weak demand for space, continuing declines in commercial property values, and a strong reluctance to provide credit from real estate lenders. These are highlights from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters

Washington, D.C. - July 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Even with modest improvements in the overall U.S. economy, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by more than 20 percent in 2010 with a marginal increase of 3.1 percent in 2011 in inflation adjusted terms. Poor conditions remain because of an oversupply of nonresidential facilities in most construction categories, weak demand for space, continuing declines in commercial property values, and a strong reluctance to provide credit from real estate lenders. These are highlights from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 9, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. This week’s results include an adjustment to account for the Independence Day holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 12.6 percent compared with the previous week

McLean, VA - July 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) announced today that it plans to launch a $1 billion reopening of its 2.875% five-year USD Reference Notes® security that matures on February 9, 2015. The issue will price today, Wednesday, July 14, 2010, and will settle on Thursday, July 15, 2010.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Property managers tightly controlled operating expenses throughout 2009, according to the 2010 Experience Exchange Report (EER), released by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International in collaboration with Kingsley Associates. Analysis of operating income and expense data from “same buildings”—those who submitted data in both 2009 and 2010, whose total rentable area did not change by more than 10 percent and whose occupancy did not change by more than 15 percent—reveals that total operating expenses for U.S. private sector buildings declined by a little more than one percent. The decrease in total operating expenses illustrates what commercial real estate managers have noted all year: there is considerable pressure to reduce operating expenses and maintain strong net operating income. Rental income for all U.S. private sector buildings increased marginally, up one percent in 2009. For U.S. private sector downtown buildings, rental income increased 2.5 percent in 2009.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - July 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home prices in Lake Tahoe are beginning to level off and the high-end market is looking lively, according to a mid-year analysis by Chase International.The average home price was up two percent ($899,515) while the median dropped only one percent ($530,681). The slight changes mark the first time the Lake Tahoe real estate market hasn’t experienced a significant drop in home prices since the end of 2007. The report compares sales and figures from January 1 through June 30, 2009 to the first two quarters of 2010.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - July 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Reno-Sparks saw a 16 percent increase in homes sold in the first half of 2010 and experienced an eight percent decrease in average and median prices, according to Chase International’s mid-year report. Carson Valley experienced a 21 percent increase in homes sold.“A lot of first-time home-buyers took advantage of the federal tax credit,” said Sue Lowe, corporate vice president of Chase International. “There’s been a lot of movement in the last six months and while prices are still down, inventory is going down, so we’re hoping to see things flatten out soon.”

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA - July 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Claimants of insurance companies that provide highly satisfying property claims experiences are considerably more likely to renew with their insurer and recommend their insurer to others, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Home Claims Satisfaction Study^SM released today

McLean, VA - July 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.57 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 8, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.58 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.20 percent. This rate is yet another all-time low in Freddie Mac’s 39-year survey

MILFORD, CT - July 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Total Mortgage Services, LLC, a leading mortgage lender and broker, announced today it is expanding its reverse mortgage lending operation, Total Mortgage Reverse Mortgage Program, to help more senior homeowners in need of accessing the equity available in their homes during this challenging economic environment. In conjunction with this expansion, Total Mortgage has hired Donna Marino as Reverse Mortgage Specialist to lead the dedicated reverse mortgage product business.

July 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- State regulators have allowed Rocky Mountain Power to increase its “Customer Efficiency Services Rate,” from 3.72 percent of customer bills to 4.72 percent effective July 1

WALTHAM, MA - July 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that the number of single-family homes put under agreement in June were down 16.0 percent over the same time last year, while condominiums were down 21.0 percent. This is the second month in a row that the number of both single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement has decreased compared to the year before.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 2, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 6.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6.5 percent compared with the previous week.The Refinance Index increased 9.2 percent from the previous week and is the highest Refinance Index observed in the survey since the week ending May 15, 2009. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2.0 percent from one week earlier. The Purchase Index has decreased eight of the last nine weeks. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2.3 percent compared with the previous week and was 34.7 percent lower than the same week one year ago

Miami, FL - July 6, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Remember the good old days when Real Estate Agents could just advertise in the Sunday newspaper and list all their Open Houses for the weekend? Agents could also easily get ahold of address lists and just send a few thousand postcards to homeowners and advertise their service. Well, we all know that the times have changed and now Agents are adapting to online marketing strategies with varied results.

July 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., the esteemed national real estate auction house, sold more than half of all the condominiums in the Wildwoods during the past quarter

WASHINGTON, DC - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following a surge driven by the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales fell with the expiration of the deadline for qualified buyers to sign a purchase contract, according to the National Association of Realtors

July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Despite four years of declining U.S. housing starts, the structural insulated panel (SIP) industry has avoided the full force of the economic recession, according to a recent survey conducted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA). Results indicate that the industry experienced a modest 12 percent decrease in residential production volume in 2009, compared to a 28 percent drop in U.S. single family housing starts over the same time period

McLean, VA - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.58 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 1, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.69 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.32 percent

Gig Harbor, WA - July 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Despite four years of declining U.S. housing starts, the structural insulated panel (SIP) industry has avoided the full force of the economic recession, according to a recent survey conducted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA).

Nearly 233,000 Foreclosure and Bank-Owned Homes Sold at an Average Discount of 27 Percent. IRVINE, CA - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its first U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™, which shows that foreclosure homes accounted for 31 percent of all residential sales in the first quarter of 2010, and that the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure was nearly 27 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 25, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8.3 percent compared with the previous week

Albany, NY - June 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Statewide sales of existing single-family homes in New York State increased nearly 5 percent in May from April and nearly 13 percent compared to May 2009, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of REALTORS.

Washington, DC - June 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency today reported that the average interest rate on conventional 30-year, fixed-rate, mortgage loans of $417,000 or less remained unchanged at 5.12 percent in May. The average interest rate on 15-year, fixed-rate loans of $417,000 increased 6 basis points to 4.58 percent in May. These rates are calculated from the FHFA’s Monthly Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) of purchase-money mortgages. These results reflect loans closed during the May 24-31 period. Typically, the interest rate is determined 30 to 45 days before the loan is closed. Thus, the reported rates depict market conditions prevailing in mid- to late-April

McLean, VA - June 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.69 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 24, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.75 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.42 percent

Washington, D.C. - June 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today applauded the White House decision to approve $1.5 billion to help five states, including Arizona, create and promote home foreclosure prevention plans. Arizona will receive $125.1 million through the initiative.

LOS ANGELES, CA - June 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home sales increased 1.2 percent in May in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home rose 23.2 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today