Oct. 7, 2010 at 9:37 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate,
Updated
By Reuters
A sign offering a lot for sale is planted next to a sold home under construction in Nebraska. Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a new low for the ninth time in 12 weeks. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
U.S. mortgages reached new record lows in the latest week as economic data raised the appeal of safe-haven government debt, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
While rock-bottom rates offer a glimmer of hope for a housing market struggling to find its footing in the aftermath of the expiration of a popular home buyer tax credits, their effect on home loan demand has been modest as a weak jobs market and flailing economy weigh on consumer confidence.
Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.27 percent for the week ended Oct. 7, down from the previous week’s 4.32 percent and the lowest on record, according to the survey Rates were also below their year-ago level of 4.87 percent. Freddie Mac started the survey in April 1971. Get the full story »
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
At least 531 Illinois homeowners will be offered mortgage loan modifications by Wells Fargo Bank after an investigation into allegedly deceptive marketing of payment option adjustable rate mortgages.
Illinois and seven other states investigated Wachovia and Golden West’s marketing of pay-option ARMs, potentially risky loan products because they allow borrowers to pay only a minimum payment, with the rest of the funds due added to the balance of the loan, which eventually resets at much higher required payments. Wells Fargo owns Wachovia and Golden West. Get the full story »
Oct. 4, 2010 at 9:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Housing,
Real estate
By Reuters
Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose more than expected in August to a four-month high, indicating the housing market was regaining some stability after recent steep declines.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in August, increased 4.3 percent, to 82.3, from July. Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 10:47 a.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Media,
Real estate,
TV
ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Eyeing a move to southern California for both professional and personal reasons, former TV anchor Diann Burns and her talent agent husband, Marc Watts, have placed their 13-room, 5,752-square-foot Lincoln Park mansion on the market for $4.825 million.
Burns, 54, was an anchor at top-rated WLS-Ch. 7 for close to two decades before jumping to WBBM-Ch. 2 in 2003. She left “CBS-2″ in 2008 when her contract was not renewed.
Since last spring, she has been hosting the Chicago Urban League’s “Next TV” program, which airs Sunday mornings on Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32. Get the full story »
Sep. 29, 2010 at 5:03 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Housing,
Policy,
Politics,
Regulations
By Reuters
U.S. regulators will put up a united front before a divided Congress on Thursday, promising to cooperate on hundreds of new rules aimed at preventing Wall Street excesses from triggering another financial crisis. Get the full story »
The 30-room, 8,596-square-foot home formerly owned by Tony Rezko. (Tribune, file)
From Chicago Magazine | The 30-room Wilmette mansion where the now-imprisoned political wheeler-dealer Tony Rezko threw fundraisers for Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich is undergoing renovations by its new owners, Dan Johnson, the managing director of Citadel Investment Group, and his wife, Katherine “Katsy” Johnson, an artist.
The couple bought the house from Bank of America for $3.71 million last March through a trust that does not identify them in public records. Chicago Magazine’s Dennis Rodkin said he learned their names last week through a source. Get the full story >>
Sep. 23, 2010 at 2:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Recalls
By Dow Jones Newswires
Siemens AG has recalled about 2.2 million circuit breakers that could cause fires, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The electronics company recalled Siemens and Murray 15- through 50-amp single- and double-pole circuit breakers, load centers and meter combos. The circuit breakers have date codes of 0610 or 0710, and the load centers and meter combos have date codes from June through Augugust 2010. They were sold at hardware and home-improvement stores such as Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. Get the full story »
Sep. 23, 2010 at 10:08 a.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate,
Updated
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
The local home sales market failed to regain its momentum in August after tumbling in July, according to new data released Thursday by the Illinois Association of Realtors.
Sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums in the Chicago area rose a scant 1.3 percent in August to 5,561 homes sold, but were still down 19.6 percent from the 7,008 homes sold in August 2009. Get the full story »
Sep. 23, 2010 at 9:02 a.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate
By Associated Press
Rates on 30-year mortgages this week were unchanged from the previous week, staying slightly above the lowest level in decades.
The average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.37 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Earlier this month, the rate dipped to 4.32 percent, which was the lowest level on records dating back to 1971.
Sep. 22, 2010 at 12:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Housing,
Real estate
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Three weeks after the price was lowered on the eight-bedroom Gold Coast mansion owned by J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, the property is under contract for $6.95 million. Dimon first put the 13,500-square-foot property at 25 E. Banks St. on the market in April 2007, asking price of $13.5 million. Get the full story >>
Sep. 22, 2010 at 6:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate
By Reuters
U.S. home loan demand fell for a third straight week though fixed mortgage rates slid near all-time lows, with potential buyers still unnerved by the jobs market, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Sep. 21, 2010 at 7:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Housing,
Real estate
By Associated Press
Home construction increased last month and applications for building permits also grew. But the gains were driven mainly by apartment and condominium construction, not the much larger single-family homes sector. Get the full story »
Sep. 20, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate,
Updated
By Reuters
U.S. home-builder sentiment remained stuck at a 1-1/2-year low in September, the latest suggestion the sector is in for a painful and prolonged climb back to health.
The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said Monday that their Housing Market Index for single family homes held for the second straight month at 13 — the lowest level since March 2009. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 14.
A reading above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. The index has not been above 50 since April 2006. Get the full story »
Sep. 20, 2010 at 4:31 p.m.
Filed under:
Housing,
Litigation,
Real estate,
Updated
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Radio personality and comedian George Willborn arriving at a press conference to talk about the discrimination suit on Aug. 26, 2010. (Heather Charles/Chicago Tribune)
The federal government filed a civil lawsuit Monday against a couple living in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood and their real estate agent, for allegedly refusing to sell their home to an African-American family.
The filing, made in U.S. District Court in Chicago, names as defendants Daniel and Adrienne Sabbia; their real estate agent, Jeffrey Lowe; and Midwest Realty Ventures, which does business as Prudential Rubloff Properties.
The lawsuit was expected. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development originally filed a federal housing discrimination complaint last month against the parties after it determined that Chicago radio personality George Willborn’s failed efforts to buy the Sabbias’ home was the result of housing discrimination. The case was moved to the Justice Department in late August. Get the full story »
