Tag Archives: Investors

Just when you thought they were on a rebound, mortgage rates once again fell precipitously this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate home loan slamming into 3.39 percent. Zillow reported the latest numbers on Tuesday. The real estate website found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipping from 3.5 percent to 3.4 percent earlier this week. Interest rates for the 15-year home loan averaged 2.76 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages hovered at 2.38 percent.

As bank failures dwindle, FDIC-backed institutions continue to see their own coffers swell, with an agency report finding that banks with government guarantees earned $34.5 billion over the second quarter. And banks seemed to sweat a little less over the last quarter. The FDIC reported that banks with its seal of approval saw their year-over-year increases for the 12th straight quarter. Loan balances meanwhile ticked up by $102 billion, increasing for the fourth time in the last five quarters.

Michael Strahan, one of the most memorable players to ever wear a New York Giants uniform, has listed his California estate for $1.849 million. The former defensive end and current football analyst for Fox is set to take a loss on the Hermosa Beach property, which he purchased for $2.2 million in 2005.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is expanding its footprint, recently announcing the opening of a new office in the Southeast. The lender's latest location will be based in Pooler, Georgia, and Fairway's nationwide presence now encompasses 129 branches around the country.

Reality television star Camille Grammer, best known for her high-profile marriage and divorce with actor Kelsey Grammer, has put her Malibu, California, estate on the market for $17.9 million. The large home, which Realestalker.com dubs a family compound, sits on 4.77 acres, and the gated property includes equestrian facilities, a tennis court, swimming pool, lily pond, and two spas.

Home prices rose 6.9 percent in the second quarter, according to the Case-Shiller Index compiled by Standard & Poor's, the strongest quarter-over-quarter gain since the index began in 1987, S&P reported Tuesday. Separately, the monthly 10- and 20-city index rose 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent respectively in June, S&P said. The two indexes were up 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent respectively in the last year, the first year-year gains in the monthly measures since September (20-year) and October (10-year) 2010.

A developer and restaurateur from Virginia pled guilty Friday for his role in a massive bank fraud scheme that contributed to the collapse of Bank of the Commonwealth, SIGTARP and federal officials announced Monday in a statement. Thomas E. Arney, 56, of Chesapeake, Virginia pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, and making false statements, according to the statement. Arney faces sentencing on December 3, 2012 and could receive a maximum penalty of 20 years ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô five years each for the conspiracy and false statement counts.

Online portal Loans.net has revealed data that indicates a significant uptick in loan applications and approvals during August. Attributing the rise to economic improvements and decreasing unemployment rates in the U.S., Loans.net reported a 30 percent elevation in website traffic in the second and third weeks of the month.

low job creation and tight loan availability are hindering otherwise positive growth in commercial real estate, the National Association of Realtors reported. While ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£positive underlying fundamentals├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø helped boost all of the major commercial real estate sectors, growth in some areas has been tempered by various issues, including job growth and shifts in demand. Demand has also been dampened by problems small businesses have in securing commercial real estate loans. The multifamily sector is the only one that has seen increased demand.

Wells Fargo announced recently that it will donate up to $500,000 in bank-owned homes to qualifying veterans and their families. The lender will hand over these properties to veterans and military families through the "Homes on the Homefront" program with Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supplying onetime warriors with housing opportunities. Some of those qualifications require that recipients serve on active duty.