Homeowners avoid loss of real estate

Foreclosure activity in California stayed flat at a low level during the first quarter of this year, the result of robust home sales and strong appreciation rates, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Lending institutions started foreclosure proceedings on 15,031 homeowners during the January-to-March period. That was up 0.2 percent from 14,955 for the prior three months, and down 25 percent from 20,035 for last year's first quarter, DataQuick reported.

Fourth-quarter 2003 activity was the lowest in DataQuick's statistics, while last quarter was the second lowest.  more...

Real estate: The week ahead

• The Employee Relocation Council will host its National Relocation Conference, May 11-13 in Las Vegas. The conference brings together professionals who manage workforce mobility. Session topics include building a business case for emerging markets, the future of human resource outsourcing and its impact on relocation, home remodeling trends and the new tech home, and the power of generational insight.  more...

BofA, Asian-American real estate group launch partnership

While the rate of home ownership among non-Hispanic whites is about 74 percent, that rate is roughly 53.7 percent for Asian Americans, according to data from the 2000 U.S. Census.  more...

Urban transit systems double

The number of privately operated urban transportation systems, as well as their revenue and jobs, doubled between 1997 and 2002, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The report, which covers transit and ground passenger transportation, shows the nation had 1,234 urban transit systems in 2002, up from 618 in 1997. Revenues grew from $1.5 billion to $3.6 billion during the same time frame.  more...

Help-Wanted ads dip

The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index – a key barometer of America's job market – dipped one point in March to 39, down from 40 the previous month. The index was 39 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising increased in six of the nine U.S. regions. The largest increases occurred in the Middle Atlantic (19 percent), Mountain (14.7 percent) and New England (12.5 percent) regions.

"The national labor market was improving in the first quarter of 2004, although slowly," said Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein.  more...

Overnight mortgage rates rise

Long-term mortgage interest rates were higher Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 4.54 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average increased to 5.74 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate rose to 5.08 percent. The 1-year adjustable was unchanged at 3.2 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 5.31 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Real estate building boom strikes California

The California Building Industry Association announced Thursday that the number of permits issued for single-family homes in the state were up 19.8 percent from March 2003 to March 2004, and were up about 35 percent from February to March of this year.  more...