Sat.Jul 22, 2023 - Fri.Jul 28, 2023

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First-time buyers need to earn $64,500 to afford a typical starter home

Housing Wire

High mortgages and stubbornly elevated home prices are worsening the housing affordability crisis. A first-time homebuyer must earn roughly $64,500 per year to afford the typical U.S. “starter” home, up 13% from a year ago, according to a new report from Redfin. In June, the typical starter home sold for a record $243,000, up 2.1% from a year earlier and up more than 45% from before the pandemic.

Buyers 370
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It’s either a bidding war or crickets

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

It’s either hot or cold. A bidding war or crickets. That’s what I’ve been hearing from real estate agents about their listings. Today I want to talk briefly about the word on the street, hot pockets, and I have some really cool stats to share. Skim quickly or digest slowly by topic. UPCOMING (PUBLIC) SPEAKING […] The post It’s either a bidding war or crickets first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog | Real Estate Appraiser.

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Does USPAP Enable Bias?

George Dell

Is USPAP biased? (Appraisal Foundation, Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) Is this possible? It can’t be! This part 8 of a multipart look at issues in valuation standards. Editor’s Note: This is Standards, part 3.8 of George Dell’s series on How Do I Move to EBV? Links to the earlier posts are here. Let’s […] The post Does USPAP Enable Bias?

Valuation 195
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Prioritizing Your Clients

The Appraiser Coach

When the pandemic hit us full force in 2020, business skyrocketed. We had never been busier! If I had tried to do everything the same way I did before, hiring someone just to turn down offers wouldn’t be a joke. It used to be that I would never dream of turning down an offer. But then, we had to do it regularly. But how can you mitigate your workload without losing your good clients?

Clients 195
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The Agency ventures into core services

Housing Wire

Mauricio Umansky ‘s residential brokerage The Agency is venturing into core services. Through partnerships with Bubble Insurance Solutions and New American Funding , real estate agents at The Agency will have access to mortgage lending services and insurance services for their clients. With Bubble Insurance Services, The Agency is launching its own affiliate insurance service, Agencia Insurance Solutions , which will serve new and past The Agency clients in California and Arizona.

Insurance 366
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Brokers in Focus: Community-driven approach is a winning strategy

Real Estate News

Dava Davin, whose firm did nearly $860M in sales volume in the past 12 months, believes a philosophy of altruism has helped her win clients — and agents.

Clients 246

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Prioritizing Your Clients

The Appraiser Coach

When the pandemic hit us full force in 2020, business skyrocketed. We had never been busier! If I had tried to do everything the same way I.

Clients 195
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Productivity report: The data on real estate agents vs. teams

Housing Wire

When you think about a real estate team , you automatically think they must be more productive than individual agents, right? Not so fast. Clearly, over the last decade, teams have grown far faster than individual agents in terms of closed transactions. This is not unexpected, as teams have the ability to scale their business far easier and faster than an individual agent.

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Why do sellers pay buyer-broker commissions?

Real Estate News

The system of sellers funding commissions, which are then shared between seller and buyer agents, goes back more than 100 years. Is it time for a change?

Sellers 240
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First there was the tiny home. Now get ready for the tiny gym

Inman

A company that offers "the most private workout you’ll ever get" in shipping containers outfit into tiny gyms is looking to franchise across the U.S., according to The Gym Pod.

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Housing Affordability Expectations Slide Back, Again

Eyes on Housing

After a reprieve in the first quarter of 2023, buyers’ outlook for housing affordability turned bleaker again in the second quarter. According to the latest Housing Trends Report, 76% of buyers are able to afford less than half the homes for-sale in their markets, up from 73% in the first quarter of 2023. On the flip side, the share able.

Buyers 147
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Pending home sales rose 0.3% in June, the first increase in 3 months

Housing Wire

After dropping slightly month over month in May , pending home sales ticked back up in June, rising 0.3%, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It contrasts with new home sales , which moderated in the same period (-2.5%). Year over year, pending home sales were down 15.6%, a smaller decrease than the 22.2% annual drop recorded in May.

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The latest housing trend: Permanent vacations

Real Estate News

More people are moving closer to beaches and further from urban centers to places with city amenities and lower housing costs, according to a new report.

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OJO promotes industry veteran Chris Heller to president

Inman

Former Keller Williams CEO Chris Heller previously served as OJO's chief real estate officer. Jerimiah Taylor, formerly a vice president at OJO, will step into Heller's previous role, the company said.

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Interest for New Homes Strengthens

Eyes on Housing

Higher interest rates have led millions of existing homeowners with mortgages under 4% to postpone plans to list their homes for sale, and for many prospective buyers, that supply vacuum has left newly built homes as the only game in town. That is the backdrop behind the strengthening of interest for new homes.

Buyers 148
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Success stories key to real estate recruiting

Housing Wire

A top-notch team can be the difference between nailing your GCI goals and missing the mark entirely. Building a robust team of real estate agents isn’t just about attracting talent —it’s about appealing to the right talent. One of the most effective strategies for this is leveraging your own team’s success stories to generate inbound recruiting leads.

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Compensation lawsuits could 'explode' MLS status quo

Real Estate News

Realtracs CEO Stuart White believes the MLS landscape could look very different in a post-"cooperation and compensation" future.

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Ginger Wilcox isn’t interested in stepping into Sherry Chris’ shoes

Inman

With 30 years of experience at some of the world's most recognizable brands, the newly-minted Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate president spoke to Inman about settling into her new role.

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Housing Demand Slows on Higher Rates and Prices

Eyes on Housing

Mortgage rates’ slow –but steady– march upwards combined with the return of home price gains are doing what they are predicted to: slow housing demand. According to the latest Housing Trends Report, the share of adults with plans to purchase a home within a year dropped to 15% in the second quarter of 2023, down from a record high of.

Mortgage 148
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Opinion: why real estate agents should serve their community

Housing Wire

The importance of giving back to the community has never been more crucial or weighted with as much importance by the business world as right now. Real estate agents and business leaders play a pivotal role in improving the cities in which they operate, making community service an essential value to their professions. Not only does community service foster connection and belonging in the communities that agents serve, but it can also further develop and challenge agents to grow professionally an

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Florida and Texas markets are slowly regaining some balance

Real Estate News

After heating way up over the past few years, prices and inventory in two of the most populous states are showing signs of stabilizing.

Inventory 239
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US economy avoids recession yet again — no thanks to real estate

Inman

With the gross domestic product eclipsing expectations in 2Q, the US appears to have avoided a long-predicted recession, even as the real estate industry remains mired in a deep contraction.

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More New Homes Improve Expectations of Housing Availability

Eyes on Housing

Increased levels of new home construction and sales are leading some buyers to expect the home search to get easier in the months ahead. According to the latest Housing Trends Report for the second quarter of 2023, 29% of prospective buyers are anticipating housing availability to ease up ahead, an improvement over the 24% and 26% who had similar expectations.

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CHLA to FHFA: Could we please slow down on credit score reporting changes?

Housing Wire

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Thursday sent a letter to Sandra Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), urging the slower implementation of changes to the credit score reporting process. The letter, which was also sent to the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , expresses appreciation to FHFA for “its efforts to improve the credit score reporting process and to offer more mortgage access with lower costs in mortgage transactions,” the letter said.

Legal 362
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Commissions lawsuits continue to progress in the US, Canada

Real Estate News

The defendants in several major lawsuits have not gained any ground this summer as the first case moves toward trial in less than 3 months.

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‘Fight it tooth and nail,’ LA agents warn as Chicago mulls mansion tax

Inman

As Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson narrows in on a 2.65 percent tax on purchases of properties over $1 million, luxury agents in Los Angeles offered their advice to concerned Windy City agents.

Agents 145
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AMC Engagement Letter: Appraisers Do Not Include Your Invoice

Appraiserblogs

File the complaint against the AMC yourself OR Forward the engagement letter to VaCAP to file on your behalf. At the recent Virginia Appraisal Board Meeting on Wednesday June 28th, a discussion occurred about Appraisal Management Companies prohibiting appraisers from including their invoices with the appraisal report. The overall consensus of the Board Members was this practice could be a violation of Virginia Appraisal Management Company Statute § 54.1-2022 B.

Appraisal 145
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UWM expands DSCR offerings to real estate investors

Housing Wire

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the country’s largest wholesale lender, expanded its debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loan options to four after launching its first product in March. Dubbed “Investors Flex,” the non-QM product for real estate investors, offered purchase and refinance loans up to $2 million that could be used to finance up to 20 properties by using each property’s monthly rental income to qualify.

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Rentals can be a ‘perfect hedge’ during a slow market

Real Estate News

The property management platform RentSpree is seeing an uptick in real estate agent customers as for-sale inventory remains limited.

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Buyers need $7,200 more than in 2022 to afford ‘starter’ homes

Inman

The annual paycheck for a first-time homebuyer is roughly $64,500 to afford the typical U.S. "starter" home in 2023 — up 13 percent from a year ago, according to a report from Redfin.

Buyers 144
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Personal Income Rises 0.3% in June

Eyes on Housing

The most recent data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed that personal income increased 0.3% in June. The pace of personal income growth slowed after reaching a 0.7% monthly gain in January 2023. Gains in personal income are largely driven by increases in wages and salaries.

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Fed hikes rates amid general wave of optimism

Housing Wire

The Federal Reserve (Fed) raised the federal funds rate 25 basis points to the 5.25 to 5.5% range on Wednesday, its highest level in 22 years. While the markets have already “priced in” this rate hike, which was widely expected, most investors are already wondering what it would take for the central bank to lift rates again later this year. For the housing market, that likely means a few more months with mortgage rates above 6%.

Investors 370
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Where buyers can live large without breaking the bank

Real Estate News

Nashville tops the list of cities with "just right" homes with ample square footage and big yards near urban centers.

Buyers 241
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Mr. Cooper’s share price soars with $1T servicing portfolio in sight

Inman

Thanks to its Home Point Capital acquisition and other pending transactions, the loan servicing giant delivered upbeat Q2 results Wednesday and expects to hit a $1 trillion target by year's end.