Mortgage Applications Down Last Week-MBA

Applications for U.S. home mortgages decreased last week as rising interest rates led to a sizable decrease in refinancing activity and purchasing, an industry group said on Wednesday.

"The increase in mortgage rates has reduced application activity across the board, particularly for refinances. Refinance applications are down more than 60 percent relative to this time last year," Michael Fratantoni, MBA's senior director of single family research and economics, said in a press release.

Read More...

GM in Talks to Sell Stake in GMAC Unit

General Motors Corp. (GM), facing a possible credit downgrade to ``junk'' status, is in talks to sell a stake in its commercial mortgage unit, a spokeswoman for the automaker said on Wednesday.

GM faces a cash outflow of $2 billion this year, but the automaker is not selling the stake to raise cash, the spokeswoman, Toni Simonetti, said.

Read More...

Interest rate losers and winners

There are far more corporate losers than winners in a rising-rate environment but if you look hard enough, there are a few companies that should benefit as interest rates climb.

Some of the problems from rising rates may be balanced if the economy keeps growing solidly, economists said. And some of the companies facing problems have woes that go beyond borrowing costs.

Read More...

Clinic to help consumers thwart predatory mortgage lenders

Hidden costs, exorbitant fees, prepayment penalties and high-pressure sales tactics are some of the ways "predatory" mortgage lenders take advantage of desperate or unwitting homeowners.

Consumers can learn those and other hallmarks of predatory loans to avoid being snookered during Consumer Finance Awareness Day set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 1 in the main lobby at the City County Building, Grant Street, Downtown.

Read More...

So you want to be a real estate tycoon?

Today, Schneider, 32, is an experienced real estate investor and landlord who owns three rental properties and has sold two others. A Wachovia business banker by day, Schneider calls her side job a "quick and easy" way to make money. She recently sold the first property she bought in Charlotte -- a Third Ward condo purchased for $83,000 six years ago. The condo fetched $130,000

Read More...

Analysis: Defusing China's property bubble

By announcing measures last week to tighten mortgage lending, China finally appears to have made up its mind in defusing the long-building property bubble. But if the property market has been highlighted by many economists as the top risk for the Chinese economy this year, thelatest measures are so mild they are unlikely to prick the bubble.

Read More...