Trending Articles

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Nearly half of home sellers are offering concessions

Housing Wire

U.S. home sellers offered concessions to buyers in near-record numbers during the first quarter of 2025 as rising housing costs , high mortgage rates and growing economic uncertainty continued to reshape the real estate landscape. According to a new report from Redfin , 44.4% of home sales from January through March included concessions such as money toward repairs, closing costs or mortgage rate buydowns.

Sellers 395
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Fannie Mae: Home Prices Continued to Steadily Climb in Q1

Appraisal Buzz

Single-family home prices increased 1.4% in the first quarter compared with the second quarter and were up 5.2% compared with the first quarter of 2024, according to Fannie Maes home price index. The pace of home price growth has been fairly steady during the past year, the firm says, but is expected to moderate in 2025 and 2026. In 2024, national home price growth reached 5.8%.

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No Congress, no rate hikes: Bill Ackman’s plan to privatize the GSEs

Housing Wire

Bill Ackman, the billionaire founder of Pershing Square Capital Management , has an audacious plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval. The proposal involves the federal government forgiving hundreds of billions of dollars while also reducing capital requirements. As a result, Ackman claims the plan would boost the stock prices of both companies to the $30 range without putting upward pressure on mortgage rates.

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Mortgage Applications Sank Last Week Following Jump in Rates

Appraisal Buzz

A jump in mortgage rates led to mortgage application volume falling 8.5% during the week ended April 11, according to the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey. Applications for refinances dropped 12% compared with the previous week but were up 68% compared with the same week one year ago. Applications for purchases fell 5% compared with the previous week but were up 13% compared with the same week one year ago.

Mortgage 382
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Leverage Trellis Court Data To Identify More Investment Opportunities

Finance teams find Trellis to be particularly effective in conducting comprehensive due diligence on both individuals and businesses. With our court data solution, financial experts can access critical litigation insights, making it an invaluable resource for informed decision-making in the financial sector.

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When concessions stop working

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Concessions are a tractor beam to entice buyers. Until they’re not. At some point they simply stop working, and prices have to be lowered. Let’s talk about this, and I have some new visuals to show which price points are growing and shrinking. FIVE BEERS ON ME TONIGHT I’m recording a live podcast in Downtown […] The post When concessions stop working first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

Buyers 319

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A New Adjustments Problem?

George Dell

Why are adjustments a problem? The concept is simple. How does a typical buyer react (with a number), to a particular feature? For example, it seems to be easy to judge a persons reaction to a house which is, say, 15% bigger. Economists use what is called apreference function to analyze this. This concept is […] The post A New Adjustments Problem?

Buyers 195
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Housing Starts Stalled in March on Economic Uncertainty

Appraisal Buzz

Housing starts stalled in March on tariff and trade-war concerns, dropping 11.4% compared with February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.324 million, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, housing starts were up 1.9% compared with March 2024. Starts of detached, single-family homes were at a rate of 940,000, down 14.2% compared with February.

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Weak does NOT describe the high-end market

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

The housing market has some of the worst sales numbers we’ve ever seen, but that’s not the vibe at the very highest prices. Today, I want to talk about the strength we’re seeing in the luxury market in Sacramento, and I’d love to hear from others around the country. Are you seeing a similar dynamic? […] The post Weak does NOT describe the high-end market first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

Marketing 195
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PahrooZings: Appraisers on Purpose Podcast: Jonathan Miller

Miller Samuel

My friend and Chicago appraiser colleague Michael Hobbs interviewed me for a two-part podcast: “The PahrooZings Podcast showcases inspiring appraisers and professionals who are field-leaders. I met Michael through our membership in RAC , a group of the best residential appraisers in the US. Im a past president (2017-2018) and very much appreciate the knowledge and insights my membership has given me.

Appraisal 195
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The Constructor's Digital Transformation Playbook: Reducing Risk With Technology

Speaker: Dylan Secrest

Construction projects are high-stakes operations where even minor inefficiencies can lead to costly delays, safety concerns, and budget overruns. Managing risk in construction has always been a challenge, but as projects grow in complexity, traditional methods no longer cut it. Enter Digital Transformation - a game changer approach that replaces inefficiency with AI-powered analytics, real-time monitoring, and automated workflows to proactively manage risk.

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Private listings negatively impact both buyers and sellers: Watchdog

Inman

Stephen Brobeck, senior fellow at the Consumer Policy Center, examines competing interests and competing policies to determine which will benefit consumers.

Sellers 170
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Beyond the deal: Marc Trachtenberg on the true value of title insurance

Housing Wire

Marc Trachtenberg chairman and CEO of Silk Title Company has spent a career in mortgage and title insurance companies finding ways to break from the status quo, creating innovative, forward-thinking solutions along the way. He doesnt plan to stop any time soon. He actively searches for new and groundbreaking ways to improve his companies and inject innovation and creativity into the industry.

Insurance 392
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Mortgage Rates Increase But 30-Year Still Below 7 Percent 

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage rates increased this week, as market volatility continued, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at 6.83%, up from 6.62% last week, according to Freddie Macs Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 7.1%. Looking at the bright side, Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, notes that the 30-year has been below 7% for 13 consecutive weeks.

Mortgage 195
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Housing Starts Decline Amid Economic Uncertainty

Eyes on Housing

Constrained housing affordability conditions due to elevated interest rates, rising construction costs and labor shortages led to a reduction in housing production in March. Overall housing starts decreased 11.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and.

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Need Curated Pre-foreclosure Lists to Generate New Real Estate Leads? Trellis Has the Data!

Trellis is a state trial court research and analytics platform that provides Real Estate Professionals (Buyers, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, etc.) with LEADS on Pre-Foreclosures, Lis Pendes, Distressed Assets and more — to help uncover **new** opportunities and grow their business. The process is quick and easy — and all in real time. Trellis will supply you with a link to the relevant dockets, a Leads sheet and access to its UI where applicable.

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Fannie Mae Fraud and Abuse Exposed

Appraiserblogs

History of waste, fraud & abuse at this rogue organization… Fannie Mae reported this week it had fired more than 100 employees for unethical conduct, including facilitation of fraud. Expect more such news as the truth emerges about this organizations activities over the past half-decade. At the beginning of the decade, under the protective camouflage of its federal conservatorship and Covid-19, Fannie began eliminating critical checks and balances in a radical experiment with U.S. tax

Insurance 137
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10 things your broker wishes you’d learned in real estate school

Inman

Broker Joseph Santini offers 10 truths about real estate that will put you on the right track and save you some time on your path to success.

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6 time management hacks to sell more homes in 2025

Housing Wire

A majority of agents believe 2025 is going to be a great year for the housing market, with 85% saying they have an optimistic outlook , and 70% believing the market will be more stable, according to a new survey from Clever Real Estate. Although agents are split on whether its going to be a buyers market or a sellers market, 87% of agents predict that demand will remain very strong over the next year.

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New eXp disclosure form warns sellers of pre-marketing risks

Real Estate News

Anytime we limit access, it limits opportunities, an eXp exec said during a livestream highlighting ethical issues with the push into private inventory.

Sellers 300
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The 2024 Portland Region Manufactured Housing Market in Review

Portland Appraisal Blog

Via Unsplash We are wrapping up our annual reviews of the various housing segments in the Portland, Oregon region with a consideration of manufactured homes. We will restrict our attention to manufactured homes permanently affixed to land that is also owned by the same party. This means we are excluding classic mobile home parks where the owner of the mobile home must pay a lease/lot rental fee.

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10 spring real estate content ideas for instant engagement, lead gen

Inman

New Inman contributor and marketing strategist Alyssa Stalker offers great ideas for stepping up your spring content marketing and drawing in buyers and sellers.

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WFG’s Patrick Stone has stamped his mark on real estate

Housing Wire

Patrick Stone, the founder and chairman of Williston Financial Group (WFG), is celebrating 50 years in the real estate industry a milestone that coincides with the 15th anniversary of WFG, which he launched in the wake of the Great Recession. Its surreal, Stone said. I started in April of 1975. I never thought Id still be at it five decades later, but I love this business the people, the challenge, the evolution of it all.

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Buzzy Awards 2025: Content Creator of the Year

Appraisal Buzz

Last fall, we put out a call for nominations for our first inaugural Buzzy Awards. We wanted to recognize outstanding appraisers and firms and others in the industry from around the country. In this episode, host Hal Humphreys chats with the winner of the Content Creator of the Year. They’ll share the origin story behind one of the first-ever appraisal industry podcasts, reflect on thousands of episodes’ worth of wisdom, and give us a look at what the future holds for appraisers in a

Appraisal 195
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HomeServices’ new CEO ready to ‘go back on offense’

Real Estate News

Chris Kelly is eager to move past the challenges of the past 18 months and focus on unifying and growing the company, with agents and consumers at the core.

Agents 291
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Who Influences the Purchasing of Building Products?

Eyes on Housing

In a previous post, NAHB analyzed where builders and remodelers purchased products, regardless of who ultimately purchases them (themselves or subcontractors). In this post, the question shifts to who is most often responsible for the choice of particular products. When averaging over all 24 building product categories, 60% of builders report they had the most.

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Finding Financial Freedom: Julie Han’s journey to independence

Inman

In a time when womens financial independence is more important than ever, coach Melanie Klein writes, real estate offers an exciting, dynamic pathway to success.

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Closing costs for the typical home purchase now top $4,600

Housing Wire

Homebuyers paid an average of $4,661 in closing costs on purchase mortgages last year, according to a new report from LodeStar Software Solutions. The company released its first-ever purchase mortgage closing cost report. The findings showed that, on average, closing costs represented 1.06% of home sale prices at the national level. The median percentage came in slightly lower at 0.88%.

Mortgage 392
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Checkr to Acquire Verifications Provider Truework

Appraisal Buzz

Truework , which offers income and employment verification solutions to the mortgage industry, is being acquired by Checkr, a $5 billion HR platform that helps companies like Kia, OpenAI and Birkenstock. Terms of the deal were not divulged. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. The deal allows Checkr to expand into an adjacent multi-billion dollar mortgage and lending market and further accelerates its growth in the enterpris

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Mandatory NAR membership facing a new legal challenge

Real Estate News

The Georgia case joins a handful of others as agents argue they are being forced to pay unnecessary association fees to gain access to listings.

Legal 291
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Enhancing Mobile Workforce Productivity with Digital Forms

GoForrmz

Digital tools for a faster, leaner workforce Mobile teams thrive on momentum, but paper-based workflows constantly interrupt that flow. Whether its chasing down lost paperwork, manually calculating time logs, or waiting to turn in forms back at the office, inefficiencies stack up fast. Digital forms offer a more innovative, faster way to handle the day-to-day tasks that keep field teams productive.

Tools 78
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Give us your hot take on the new Zillow, Redfin listing rules: Pulse

Inman

As we navigate the whirlwind of opinions around seller choice, private listings and portal response, we want to hear from you.

Sellers 156
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FundingShield: Wire, title fraud risk hits record high

Housing Wire

Nearly half of real estate transactions reviewed in the first quarter of 2025 showed signs of potential wire and title fraud, according to a report from FundingShield. The company analyzed a portfolio of residential , commercial and business-purpose loans totaling approximately $80 billion. It found that 46.8% of these transactions contained issues that could lead to fraud, with each problematic loan averaging 2.5 errors the highest number on record.

Insurance 363
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Inside the Numbers: What ASC Data Tells Us About the Appraisal Profession

Appraisal Buzz

Data nerds get ready! Today, Hal and Jim are joined by Chase Pursley, founder of Appraisal Inbox and JobsinAppraisal.com, who recently took a deep dive into Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) data. Were talking demographics, licensing trends, and the fascinating rabbit holes that only a true appraisal enthusiast could uncover. Is the appraiser shortage fact or fiction?

Appraisal 195