Wed.Oct 02, 2024

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Done deal: MLSs, brokerages get preliminary approval of opt-in settlements

Housing Wire

The brokerages and non-Realtor-owned MLSs that decided to opt in to the National Association of Realtorsā€™ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement can breathe a sigh of relief. As expected, Judge Stephen R. Bough, who is overseeing the Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson/Umpa suits, granted preliminary approval to the 13 brokerages and 15 MLSs that chose to settle the commission lawsuits via the opt-in mechanism negotiated by NAR in its settlement.

Brokerage 482
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Snapshot: Home Price Trends and Consumer ConfidenceĀ 

Appraisal Buzz

The CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast for August 2024 have been released by CoreLogic , revealing that although gains are expected to drop to less than 1% by next spring, home price growth picked up to about 4% year-over-year in August. Mortgage rates fell to their lowest point in over two years during the final week of September, as reported by Freddie Mac.

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Texas-based MLSs announce data sharing agreement

Housing Wire

Three Texas-based multiple listings services (MLSs) are teaming up. The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) , San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) and Austin-based Unlock MLS are entering into a data sharing agreement that will give Realtors access to each otherā€™s listings, with the deal set to be finalized by the end of the year. ā€œComparative market intelligence empowers agents to think differently about their own marketplace and deliver more robust and tailored market expertise to their cli

Realtors 468
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Which States Have the Most Underwater Mortgages?Ā 

Appraisal Buzz

While homeowners are witnessing a dramatic reversal in the home equity trendā€”which had previously shown three quarters of declines in a rowā€”homeowner equity is increasing following notable price surges throughout the spring 2024 buying season. A new ATTOM report examines the present trends in underwater mortgages and homeowner equity, the underlying causes of these trends, and the states most affected.

Mortgage 397
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CoreLogic home-price report shows slowest appreciation rate since July 2023

Housing Wire

The Federal Reserve ā€™s 50 basis-point interest rate cut in September is already making an impact on housing markets across the country. But high mortgage rates and affordability challenges put a damper on home-price growth in August. Thatā€™s according to CoreLogic ā€™s Home Price Index, which showed that prices rose 3.9% during the year ending August 2024.

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First American: Title Insurance Industry Mitigates More Than $600 Billion in Risk Per Year

Appraisal Buzz

The title insurance industry mitigates more than $600 billion in estimated risk exposure annually for home buyers, according to a report from First American. The data-driven analysis finds that the role of title professionals in maintaining reliable and accurate property ownership records dramatically reduces estimated risk exposure in real estate transactions.

Insurance 370

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Reimagining Accountability: Coloradoā€™s New Approach

Appraisal Buzz

In this episode, Hal sits down with JoAnn Apostol of Deer Creek Appraisals, fresh from their meet-up at the Appraisal Summit in Las Vegas! JoAnn shares valuable insights into Colorado’s new approach to handling disciplinary actions. With the Colorado Appraisal Board leading the charge, JoAnn explains how this fresh perspective on accountability is reshaping the field, potentially influencing other states as well.

Appraisal 369
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UWM beefs up AI chatbot with instant feedback on products and comp

Housing Wire

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced new enhancements to its artificial intelligence -based chatbot on Wednesday, including the ability for brokers to ā€œchat with documents,ā€ calculate income immediately and help identify products that match borrowersā€™ needs. The wholesale lender launched an AI-powered search engine dubbed ChatUWM in May 2024. The chatbot provides instant responses to clients ā€” guidelines, matrices, and lender tools among other information ā€” based on the companyā€™s knowledge

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Homeowners Stuck in ā€˜Housing Gridlockā€™Ā 

Appraisal Buzz

The housing market remains in a gridlock as homeowners, faced with high mortgage rates and soaring home prices, find themselves unable to move. The situation has affected various groupsā€”renters struggling to buy, homeowners looking to upgrade, and retirees hoping to downsizeā€”all of which are feeling the bottleneck in the real estate sector. As of June 2024, existing-home sales dropped by 5.4% from the previous year, with the median sale price reaching $426,900, the highest ever recorded.

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HUD counseling head says partnership with reverse mortgage industry ensures seniorsā€™ safety

Housing Wire

David Berenbaum, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Housing Counseling at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), addressed industry attendees at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego last week. He emphasized the important role that the public-private partnership between the industry and HUD represents for the constituency served by these loan products.

Mortgage 445
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The housing market has ā€™90s vibes

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

The 1990s are back in style. Big pants, Nirvana t-shirts, and Doc Martens. And even the housing market feels a bit like the ’90s. Let’s talk about it. UPCOMING SPEAKING GIGS: 10/18/24 Prime Real Estate (private) 10/22/24 Culbertson and Gray Group (private (I think)) 10/23/24 SAFE Credit Union (details TBA) 10/29/24 Orangevale MLS Meeting 11/7/2024 […] The post The housing market has ā€™90s vibes first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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With sale finalized, REcolorado names Dana Bennett as new CEO

Housing Wire

REcolorado has taken a big step toward moving on from its controversial sale earlier this year. The Denver -area MLS has named a new CEO in Dana Bennett, who returns to REcolorado after an 18-month stint away from the company. Bennett’s most recent role at the MLS was as vice president and chief business development officer, and she originally joined REcolorado as director of integrated solutions in 2012. “Dana brings the ideal combination of local market expertise and strong industr

Realtors 435
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Should this 3-page buyer agreement be a model for the industry?

Real Estate News

University at Buffalo School of Law professor Tanya Monestierā€™s draft agreement gets most agents ā€œ90% of the way there,ā€ she told Real Estate News.

Buyers 248
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Boston suburbā€™s housing battle with state echoes national issues

Housing Wire

As localities across the country wrestle with housing shortages, one Massachusetts town will make its case to a panel of judges next week to argue against a plan that requires the construction of more multifamily units, according to reporting by USA Today and state records reviewed by HousingWire. As part of the broader community operating within the service area of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the affluent Boston suburb of Milton ā€” with a population of roughly 29,000 p

Law 435
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2 more brokerages agree to settle in commissions case

Real Estate News

John L. Scott and Real Estate One are the latest firms to reach a deal in the Gibson/Umpa class-action lawsuit.

Brokerage 242
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Top Agent Network renews antitrust suit aimed at NARā€™s Clear Cooperation Policy

Housing Wire

Top Agent Network (TAN) is not backing down in its antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR). After being dismissed with prejudice in 2021 after a lower court ruled that TAN failed to state a claim with prejudice in its third amended complaint, the plaintiff appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In August 2023, the appeals court chose to vacate the lower courtā€™s ruling by ruling that the allegations made in TANā€™s suit were nearly identical to tho

Agents 434
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STRATMOR Group: Mortgage Lenders That ā€˜Share Their Storiesā€™ Connect Better With Borrowers, Teammates

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage lenders who share their stories with borrowers and teammates are better able to create strong relationships, retain leads, recruit top talent and even drive revenue, a report from mortgage advisory firm STRATMOR Group shows. In the report, ā€œ Once Upon a Mortgage: Building Relationships Through Storytelling ,ā€ Mike Seminari, customer experience director for STRATMOR Group, shares his own journeyā€”from aspiring musician to mortgage industry and customer experience expertā€”to illustrate how

Mortgage 195
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Arc Home adds OptifiNowā€™s advanced CRM to aid sales, marketing efforts

Housing Wire

OptifiNow announced the implementation of its high-tech customer relationship management (CRM) platform with nonqualified mortgage ( non-QM ) lender Arc Home LLC on Tuesday. The platform offers a new broker scoring system designed for better account management and a tagging system to improve email marketing campaigns. The CRM company launched in 2016 to provide third-party origination (TPO) mortgage lenders with account management, sales and email marketing through its software-focused approach.

Marketing 433
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Fidelity National Financial Acquires First Nationwide Title Agency

Appraisal Buzz

Fidelity National Financial (FNF) has acquired the commercial operations of First Nationwide Title Agency (FNTA), a division of AMT Commercial Title Services and a subsidiary of AmTrust Financial Services, for an undisclosed sum. FNF is a provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries and a provider of insurance solutions serving retail annuity and life customers and institutional clients through its majority-owned, publicly traded subsidiary F

Insurance 195
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Technology: Buy or Sell?

George Dell

Around every corner, someone wants appraiser’s to buy their technology. We get techhype ā€“ buy our wonderful. ā€œProve your adjustments.ā€ ā€œBulletproof your reports.ā€ Technology of computers and especially software. ā€œBuy our most clever delivery product.ā€ We started with electric typewriters and adding machines. Then calculators (like the hp12c) and fast dot-matrix printers. […] The post Technology: Buy or Sell?

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Rocket Mortgage, Annaly Capital Management Enter MSR Subservicing Agreement

Appraisal Buzz

Rocket Mortgage and Annaly Capital Management have entered into a subservicing agreement under which Rocket will handle all servicing and recapture activities for a portion of the mortgage servicing rights held by Annaly. Terms of the deal were not divulged. Annaly holds nearly $75 billion in assets invested across its Agency MBS, Residential Credit and MSR strategies.

Mortgage 195
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NAR vows to assess legal risk of current policies

Inman

New CEO Nykia Wright told NAR's board of directors the trade group's next step will be to develop a "comprehensive" litigation strategy and size up any additional legal exposure related to its rules.

Legal 177
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MBA: Mortgage Application Volume Fell Last Week as Rates Crept Back Up

Appraisal Buzz

Following the previous weekā€™s surge in applications for refinances , total mortgage application volume fell 1.3% during the week ended September 27, as mortgage rates crept back up slightly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Associationā€™s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey. Overall, mortgage application volume remains historically low so decreases and increases in volume should be viewed in that context.

Mortgage 195
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How you can help victims of Hurricane Helene

Inman

Communities are just beginning a long road to recovery. Reference this list of resources to learn where to donate money or supplies or sign up to volunteer.

Realty 173
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Refinancing Activity Continues to Climb in September

Eyes on Housing

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, rose 18.4% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, driven primarily by a surge in refinancing activity. Compared to September 2023, the index increased by 47%. The Market Composite Index which includes the Purchase and Refinance.

Mortgage 103
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3 reasons real estate agents should be investing in real estate

Inman

Implement the knowledge you already have to increase your income and grow your wealth as a real estate investor, investor and new Inman contributor Avery Carl writes.

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How You Can Legally Minimize Rental Property Taxes as Much as Possible

BiggerPockets

As a landlord, you probably already know that taxes are unavoidable, but that doesnā€™t mean you canā€™t minimize them and keep more of your hard-earned cash.

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Homebuyers entering the market even as mortgage rates stabilize

Inman

Purchase loan applications are up 9 percent from a year ago, as inventories of new and existing homes increase and lower mortgage rates help with affordability: MBA.

Mortgage 170
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5 Steps to Starting a Short-Term Rental Business

BiggerPockets

So, youā€™ve decided to dive into the world of short-term rentalsā€”whether it’s Airbnb, VRBO, or whatever acronym you want to use. Congratulations!

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The tiny Washington town that ruled Airbnb this summer

Inman

Two-and-a-half hours from Seattle, Quincy has become the top Airbnb destination in the US. The 8,225-person town is known for its wineries, music and outdoor attractions.

Marketing 168
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How You Can Take Full Advantage of the Federal Rate Cut

BiggerPockets

A few months ago, slowing down the nation’s rate of inflation seemed insurmountable for the Federal Reserve Bank. Now that inflation is at 2.

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EasyKnock scores a legal win in dispute with Texas clients

Inman

The case was one of a handful of legal challenges in multiple states faced by the sale-leaseback platform that was founded in 2016.

Legal 168
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Active vs. Passive Investing: Make Higher Returns With Less Headache?

BiggerPockets

Can you make the same returns as active real estate (if not more) with ā€œpassiveā€ real estate investing?

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Court doc accuses Josh Team of taking ā€˜kickbacksā€™ ā€” he calls it ā€˜false storyā€™

Inman

A company called Aika says it paid $10 million in kickbacks to the SERHANT. president while he was still at Keller Williams. But Team contends the story is part of Aika's effort to get out of paying its bills.

Brokerage 167