REALTORS® say that 44 percent of their business originates from the Internet, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® “2007 Use of Technology Survey.”

In 2003, the first year C.A.R. conducted “Use of Technology Survey,” REALTORS® said that only 19 percent of their business originated from the Internet.  The annual survey, conducted in the third quarter, tracks current trends in technology used by the Association’s members.  REALTORS® are queried on topics ranging from computer and technology adoption to Internet usage and trends.

Additional survey highlights include: 97 percent of REALTORS® have a high-speed Internet connection at home; 27 percent use a laptop or tablet computer in the field primarily to conduct listing presentations; 20 percent indicated that a new computer was their most important business upgrade in the last 12 months; 87 percent find the Internet extremely or very important in the marketing and promotion of their business; and 9 percent of REALTORS® say they participate in online real estate forums or blogs.

The Wall Street Journal in a study of high-rate mortgages states that high-rate mortgages accounted for 29 percent of the total number of home loans originated last year, up from 16 percent in 2004.  About 10.3 million high-rate loans were made in the past three years, out of a total of 43.6 million mortgages.

The study suggests that as home prices rose throughout the U.S. in the early 2000s, lenders grew more willing to let high-rate borrowers get bigger loans as measured against their annual incomes.  In 2005, borrowers who were given high-rate mortgages to buy one-to-four family homes were loaned 2.1 times their reported annual income.  That was 4 percent more than regular borrowers received.

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reports that 80 percent of home buyers used the Web to search for properties, while only 42 percent visited open houses last year.

A new initiative, called HOPE NOW, is designed to help coordinate efforts by financial companies to aid an estimated 2 million home owners whose introductory mortgages with low rates are now resetting at much higher rates, greatly increasing the risk they will default on the loans.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says that 11 of the largest mortgage service companies, representing 60 percent of all mortgages in the country, had agreed to join the coalition aimed at helping U.S. homeowners avoid foreclosure.  Other members will include mortgage counselors, investors, and trade organizations.

The Governor has signed three new laws affecting real estate transactions:

1. Licensed appraisers can not engage in any appraisal activity that is connected to the purchase, sale, transfer, financing or development of property if their compensation is impacted by the final price generated by the appraisal.
2. The second law applies federal lending guidelines to state-chartered lenders requiring them to clearly disclose the risk and evaluate the borrowers’ ability to pay based on the long-term cost of the mortgage, not just the introductory rate.
3. The third law signed by the Governor increases the amount of affordable housing California by raising the total debt that the California Housing Finance Agency can carry by $2 billion.

The House has passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, HR 3648:  The legislation would remove taxes from mortgage cancellation relief provided on a mortgage on a primary residence. The tax relief would apply to the original purchase price, plus personal improvements of a primary residence and would not cover any amount over the original purchase price if a loan has been refinanced with a “cash out” option.  The relief would also only apply to first mortgages, not second mortgages or home equity lines of credit.  The relief would apply to any forgiveness given on or after January 1, 2007.

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® will hold its first annual housing symposium on November 2^nd.  “The State of the Housing Market 2007 – “A Market in Transition,” will feature leading California economists, top brokers, and real estate experts from the building and mortgage industries who will address what economic forces are at play and have the potential to affect the California housing market in 2008.

The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Universal City Hilton in Los Angeles.  The cost for the event, including lunch, is $99.  For more information, or to register go to http://symposium.car.org.