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The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow® Mortgage Marketplace is currently 3.72 percent, down 10 basis points from 3.82 percent at this same time last week. ...

A ProPublica–NPR news story recently suggested that a mortgage financing vehicle utilized by Freddie Mac may be preventing homeowners from refinancing. While FHFA does not typically comment on its supervisory activities, the circumstances here require some clarification, according to the FHFA, who issued the following response: Freddie Mac has historically used the structuring of Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) as a tool to manage its retained portfolio and to address issues associated with security performance. A particular CMO structure employed by Freddie Mac resulted in the creation of “inverse floaters.”

Cartavi, a document sharing platform for real estate, has integrated with DocuSign to help real estate professionals close more deals faster in the cloud.

Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate recently announced the expansion of its network in South Carolina. Two offices that formerly operated as Prudential C. Dan Joyner Co., REALTORS® in Spartanburg will now operate as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Young & Company, under the continued leadership of industry veteran ...

Clareity Security, a provider of data security and syndication solutions for the real estate industry, recently announced the addition of the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island and Maine Real Estate Information System to its customer family. Each has signed a SAFE Syndication® agreement and will enjoy the benefits of ...

NAR Pulse—This week’s headlines: HP’s New Tablet PC Reduced by $143

Mortgage originations plunged 10.1 percent from November to December, continuing a decline from 2011’s September peak. At the same time, loans originated over the last two years have proved to be some of the best quality originations on record.

Point2 recently released its second U.S. International Real Estate Traffic Report, for the fourth quarter of 2011. During the period, Florida was the most attractive state for international visitors, retaining the top spot among all U.S. states, for the second consecutive Point2 report quarter. The study analyzes international traffic to ...

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC recently announced the opening of Taiwan Sotheby’s International Realty, the newest member of its network. ...

Despite a challenging real estate market, the industry’s leading residential brokerage firms continue to demonstrate resiliency and growth, and will prove this by participating in RISMedia’s 24th Annual Power Broker Report & Survey. As the industry’s preeminent report ranking the industry’s top brokerages, this listing of the real estate industry’s “who’s who” has long served as an important differentiator and competitive tool for real estate firms across the country. To complete the survey now, please click here. The survey deadline is February 24, 2012.

This month, global real estate franchisor RE/MAX rolls out an entirely new national ad campaign focusing on “all the things that move you.” The innovative campaign strikes an emotional note with consumers and features the sentimental Jim Croce song, “I’ve Got a Name.”

Regional Spotlight—Investors with cash continued to reap a harvest of bargain-priced bank-owned and short sale properties across the San Francisco Bay Area in the fourth quarter of 2011, sparking a slight uptick in home sales compared with the same period a year ago, according to an analysis of MLS data by the research division of Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate. In the nine-county Bay Area, 12,404 existing, single-family detached homes changed hands during the fourth quarter of 2011, 49 more than were sold in the fourth quarter of 2010. The most recent figure was down 8 percent from 13,484 homes sold in the third quarter—normally among the most active periods for home sales and purchase activity.

In a follow up to the recent announcement that Century 21 Real Estate LLC is running a Super Bowl ad starring some big celebrity talent, the company has announced that it has released three teasers from its television commercial where the stars participate in the home-buying and selling process. ...

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), the Chicagoland multiple listing service, recently announced its new leadership team for 2012. ...

In a year when breaking even on year-over-year home sales might be considered a lofty goal for some real estate companies, Blue Ridge, Georgia's Coldwell Banker High Country Realty, has reported a 49 percent increase in homes sold in 2011 over the previous year. What’s their secret? Broker/Owner June Slusser says it’s all about providing information, which she has done with the help of RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN).