RISMEDIA, April 17, 2009-Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac modified nearly 24,000 loans during the fourth quarter of 2008, an increase of 76% over the third quarter. The modifications, along with the suspension of foreclosures that began November 26, reduced the number of foreclosures by nearly 27% during the quarter, according to data released by James B. Lockhart, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as part of the Foreclosure Prevention Report for the fourth quarter for 2008.

RISMEDIA, April 16, 2009-RealtyTrac®, one of the leading online marketplaces for foreclosure properties, released its U.S. Foreclosure Market ReportTM for Q1 2009, which shows that foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported on 803,489 properties in the first quarter, a 9% increase from ...

RISMEDIA, April 15, 2009-According to a recent national survey of Coldwell Banker® real estate professionals, over half of those who work in popular retirement areas are seeing younger retirees (ages 60 and under) looking to purchase homes in their markets. ...

RISMEDIA, April 15, 2009-The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year mortgages remained relatively flat during the past week. Last week's rate was 5.10%, up slightly from 5.08% the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by real estate website ...

RISMEDIA, April 15, 2009-Chase and the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce announced that their Project Homeowner community outreach effort will visit the San Diego Concourse on Saturday, April 18, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2009-My wife and I recently attended our once-a-month cruise club cocktail hour, in which we are two of the only working stiffs in the group, as most of the members are retired. Obviously whenever I show up because of my real estate history in this area of ...

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2009-(MCT)-Optimism. For months, it's been in rather short supply. ...

RISMEDIA, April 13, 2009-A total of 3.2 million foreclosure filings from default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions were reported on 2.3 million U.S. properties during 2008, a 225% increase in total properties from 2006, according to HUD statistics. ...

RISMEDIA, April 13, 2009-(MCT)-With mortgage rates dancing around a 65-year-low of 4.75%, homeowners are checking their credit scores and lenders are being deluged with refinancing applications. ...

RISMEDIA, April 11, 2009-Consumers' confidence in their own bank, and in the banking system as a whole, is improving for the first time since September 2008, according to a new Morpace survey. ...

RISMEDIA, April 10, 2009-This week's headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS include: REALTORS® say FHA is key to the housing rebound; financial solutions offered through NAR's REALTOR Benefits® Program; and April savings through the Right Tools, Right Now initiative. ...

RISMEDIA, April 9, 2009-Despite it being one of the most challenging hiring environments in the nation's history, 41% of workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last three months reported they found a new full-time, permanent position while another 8% found part-time work. This is according to ...

RISMEDIA, April 9, 2009-The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 3, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1,250.6, an increase of 4.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1,194.4 one week earlier. On an ...

RISMEDIA, April 11, 2009-Thanks to record low mortgage rates and declining home prices, 55 million families - or half of all U.S. households - can afford today's $200,000 median-priced new home, according to figures released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "That's an increase of 17 million households from conditions just two years ago and the best housing affordability number we have seen in years," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "We are now seeing the first signs that buyers are returning to the marketplace."

RISMEDIA, April 8, 2009-April is now here and we're all starting to hear positive news, almost daily, about the real estate industry. Don't get me wrong - the "Chicken Littles" of the world are still out there, telling everyone who will listen that the sky is still falling. ...