MLS Real Estate & Listings Blog

Some brokers and MLSs are rushing to distribute property information for display on popular third-party real estate Web sites, and a paper released this week by a Minneapolis law firm encourages a thorough review and negotiation of terms to help ensure that the deals properly protect industry interests.

Brian Larson, a Minneapolis lawyer who works with dozens of Realtor associations and multiple listing services, said the paper was prompted by an industry trend to broaden online distribution channels for property information by working with a range of Web sites.  more…

read more

[Read more →]

The number of suspicious activity reports related to mortgage fraud increased 31 percent in 2007 compared to the year before, to 46,717, with 60 percent of those incidents involving false claims on loan applications such as employment history and claimed income.  more…

read more

[Read more →]

U.S. foreclosure activity rose 59.8 percent in February compared to the same month last year, data provider RealtyTrac reported today, and Nevada led the nation with a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 165 households — more than three times the national average.  more…

read more

[Read more →]

Loans entered the foreclosure process at a record rate during the fourth quarter, and things are likely to get worse before they get better, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

Although reductions in short-term interest rates have lessened the shock of interest-rate resets for many borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, falling home prices are leaving more homeowners with little or no equity in their homes — and less incentive to keep up on their mortgage payments, said MBA Chief Economist Doug Duncan.  more…

read more

[Read more →]