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In the second quarter of 2011, fixed-rate loans accounted for about 95 percent of refinance loans, based on the Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) Quarterly Product Transition Report released yesterday. Refinancing borrowers clearly preferred fixed-rate loans,

Employee relocation has always posed unique challenges for real estate professionals and mortgage lenders alike. Add the special needs of employers and employees, and we have the recipe for a complex sale with a myriad of details. For non-relocating

The back to school season is often characterized by parents and students making last-minute mad dashes to purchase school supplies, uniforms, bus passes or books. This year, parents with college-bound students or investors interested in college towns may be considering an unusual back to school purchase—a rental property. "I had a client who was an alumnus of the University of Maryland and he was interested in purchasing his first property. He was insistent on finding a home within 10 to 15 miles of campus so that he could rent the basement out to college students. We closed on the property, and literally within five days he had a renter for his basement," says Bowie, Maryland real estate consultant, Natalie Dean.

Difficulties getting financing are increasingly keeping first-time buyers from buying homes in spite of very affordable prices in most markets. One serious result has been a slowing of the absorption of foreclosures and short sales. The latest quarter report from the National Association of REALTORS® found that first-time buyers purchased only 35 percent of homes in the second quarter, down from 46 percent in the second quarter of 2010, which was the height of the first-time buyer tax credit.

(MCT)—Walt Disney's onetime residence in Los Feliz, the wonderful world where his daughters grew up, has come on the market at $3.65 million. The two-story French Normandy-style house, built in 1932, sits behind gates on an acre with views to downtown. Disney, not one for retaining walls or formal gardens, according to a 1940 interview in Better Homes & Gardens, often picked native plants over imports and created informal terraces using rocks to hold back soil.

RISMEDIA, August 11, 2011—Mortgage rates continued to move lower as investor concerns over the health of the U.S. economy increased, reports mortgage rate research website, ForTheBestRate.com. Interest rates advertised on the site have dropped

RISMEDIA, August 11, 2011—Lost in the recent slew of negative homeownership announcements was a piece of good news for real estate professionals and landlords alike.

There is no perfect formula for selling your home efficiently, but by following these five tips prior to listing you can increase your chances to close quickly at a higher price. 1.) Update your old garage door(s). Garage doors seem like a non-issue, but many times they make up a significant percentage of the front of a home. Because of this, they are one of the first things that buyers notice when they pull in the drive way. Replacing, or even just painting, these central fixtures will do wonders when it comes to instantly impressing perspective buyers and standing apart from your competition.

RISMEDIA, August 10, 2011—U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the July edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard—a comprehensive report on the nation’s

RISMEDIA, August 10, 2011—June prices of non-distress sale homes were down only 1.1 percent from June 2010, and improvement over May, when prices were 2.1 percent below the previous year. CoreLogic® Home Price Index also showed its third consecutive month-over-month increase, including distress sales, increasing by 0.7 percent in June 2011 compared to May 2011. However, June national home prices, including distressed sales, were still 6.8 percent lower than June 2010 after declining by 6.7 percent in May 2011 compared to May 2010. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

RISMEDIA, August 9, 2011—Greg Rand (@gsrand), CEO of OwnAmerica, hosts “Rand on Real Estate” on 770 WABC. This week, Rand speaks with a caller from Long Island, N.Y. who is interested in the Jacksonville, FL market. This discussion focuses on vacation vs. investment homes.

RISMEDIA, August 8, 2011—While many markets around the country continue to experience challenges as the market makes its slow turnaround, Ann Arbor real estate is selling fast, and it's because we follow some simple rules.

RISMEDIA, August 9, 2011—National average home prices in June were still 7.9 percent below a year ago, which was the height of the boomlet spawned by the tax credit. However, prices are still up 4.1 percent over the first quarter.

RISMEDIA, August 9, 2011—Recently, NetFlix gently nudged their customers toward the inevitable. You can still choose between getting your movies through the mail, or by streaming online. However, if you want both, it’s going to cost you more.

Wouldn’t it be terrific if the latest gadget would actually make you more money with less effort? And wouldn’t it be even better if you could get all the money back you’ve already spent on products that still sit unwrapped in their original packaging under your desk right now? You are not alone! Everybody wants the latest silver bullet. And every day there seems to be a newer better, whiter, brighter, quicker, and way-more-cool tool than the one you just bought that guarantees you will make more money…or will you?