Mortgage activity cools down - 2005-01-25
The Market Composite Index , a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 587.8 for the week finishing Jan. 7, 3 percent lower on a seasonally adjusted basis from 605.7 one week earlier, according to the weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

On an unadjusted basis, the index climbed 41.6 percent compared with the previous week, but fell 17.4 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
Read the full story at Westchester County Business Journal

Sides drawn on banks-as-real-estate-brokers issue - 2005-01-25
Judy Johnson, a real estate agent in Somers, thinks the idea of allowing banks in the business of brokering property is exactly what her industry doesn't need.

A number of big companies that are not banks already provide sales and mortgage services conveniently under one roof, Majthenyi said, and smaller real estate offices like his own have continued to survive.
Read the full story at Westchester County Business Journal