News

A rather rough quarter for Bank of America still resulted in a better-than-anticipated quarterly net income of $340 million, the bank reported.

Mortgage applications continued to fall last as long-term fixed mortgage rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

Following FHFA's report on HARP refinances in August, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods anticipate an increase in non-HARP refinance activity.

Home equity revolving credit hit a three-year high in July, signaling continued growth in housing confidence, Equifax said in a report. The company's October National Consumer Credit Trends Report showed new home equity revolving lines of credit totaled more than $44 billion year-to-date through July. First mortgages contracted 3.4 percent year-over-year, but severely delinquent mortgages have also fallen off since their peak, reaching a total balance of $419 billion in September.

The median sales price for homes sold in September continued to move higher yearly and monthly while sales stalled from August, according to a housing report from RE/MAX, which tracks MLS data in 52 metropolitan areas. The median sales price in September was $164,989, a slight 0.7 percent increase from August and a 7.8 percent improvement from September 2011. So far, prices have been rising yearly for eight straight months.

A study released by Interest.com shows homes are only truly affordable in about half of the nation's major cities.

Famed Los Angeles mansion, Chateau d'Or, is still on the market, but the property's sellers recently initiated a significant price reduction, dropping the listing from $40 million to just $25 million. The 26,00o-square-foot home, located in the city's Bel Air neighborhood, boasts 15 bedrooms and 16.5 bathrooms, and may be "better suited to Disneyland," according to Curbed.

Announcing an acquisition deal with Thomas Linderman Graham Inc., a commercial real estate services company in Raleigh, North Carolina, Canada-based Avison Young is continuing its U.S. expansion. Through its purchase agreement with Thomas Linderman Graham, Avison Young will open two new offices in the state.

According to the FHFA, the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program is on target to reach a million borrowers this year.

Housing starts and permits jumped in September to their highest levels since July 2008, Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday. Housing starts jumped 15.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 while permits improved 11.6 percent to 894,000. Single family starts represented 69.2 percent of the total in September, matching their year-to-date share. Single family starts made up 71.5 percent of all starts for the same period in 2011.