Housing Wire
APRIL 20, 2024
Housing inventory finally hit my target level of growth last week with mortgage rates now over 7.25% , something I couldn’t get all last year. Of course, what is different this year versus last year is that new listing data is growing yearly instead of trending at the lowest levels recorded in history. This is something I talked about last week on Yahoo Finance.
Real Estate News
APRIL 18, 2024
Two U.S. senators are pushing for policy changes that would reduce “exclusionary” zoning regulations and promote local development.
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Inman
APRIL 23, 2024
Judge Stephen R. Bough ruled that the sweeping changes NAR agreed to were "fair, reasonable and adequate" and set a final approval hearing for November.
Eyes on Housing
APRIL 10, 2024
Consumer prices continued to rise in March, with shelter and gasoline prices driving over half of the total increase. This marks the third consecutive strong reading. Despite a slowdown in the year-over-year increase, shelter costs continue to put upward pressure on inflation, accounting for over 60% of the total increase in all items excluding food.
BiggerPockets
APRIL 22, 2024
For real estate investors, the question of cash flow versus appreciation is as old as time. However, in an era of high interest rates, buying properties for cash flow isn’t easy.
Mortgagebroker News
APRIL 11, 2024
Director shares the importance of having a structured plan to navigate your goals
Property Appraisal Zone brings together the best content for appraisal professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Real Estate News
APRIL 11, 2024
More than a quarter of consumers surveyed by Redfin don’t know how much their agent was paid, while nearly 20% weren’t sure who provided the compensation.
Inman
APRIL 22, 2024
Matterport's board of directors unanimously approved the deal, which will be finalized later this year. CoStar purchased its outstanding stock for $5.50 per share, reflecting a value of $1.6 billion.
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) can breathe a small sigh of relief. The trade group’s nationwide settlement of the commission lawsuits has passed its first hurdle as Judge Stephen R. Bough, who oversaw the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit , granted preliminary approval to NAR’s settlement on Tuesday. While the agreement still must receive final approval from the court, the industry is now one step closer to operating under the new rules outlined in the settlement agreement.
Housing Wire
APRIL 21, 2024
California Association of Realtors CEO John Sebree has departed the trade organization. In an announcement on Saturday, CAR said that Sebree was resigning to “pursue other opportunities. “On behalf of CAR’s leadership team and the Board of Directors, I’d like to thank John for his contributions and service as CEO and State Secretary for our organization.
Housing Wire
APRIL 16, 2024
Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made statements at the Washington Forum that indicate there will be no rate cuts anytime soon because the economy and the labor market are too strong with sticky inflation. This is a change from previous statements where the Fed talked about the rate cuts it expected to make this year — although that timeframe has changed several times.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2024
Existing home sales fell in today’s report , which isn’t surprising, but one headline that shocked some people was that home prices are still up year over year, even with higher inventory and higher mortgage rates. From NAR : The median existing home price for all housing types in March was $393,500, an increase of 4.8% from the previous year ($375,300).
Housing Wire
APRIL 9, 2024
Baby boomers are exhibiting an overwhelming desire to age in place in their own homes, but their children — largely members of Generation X — are also making their desires felt by seeking out homes that can accommodate their needs as they get older, according to a recent report from the New York Times. Citing 2021 data from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies that showed 88% of adults 65 and older are aging in place, many members of the following generation — primarily born b
Housing Wire
APRIL 19, 2024
Luxury home prices in the U.S. surged by 8.7% year over year in the first quarter of 2024, with the median price hitting a record $1.225 million, according to data from Redfin. In comparison, prices for non-luxury homes rose by 4.6% to a median of $345,000, which is also a record high. Redfin defined luxury homes as those estimated to be in the top 5% of their metro area based on market value, while non-luxury homes are those with estimated values in the 35th to 65th percentile.
Housing Wire
APRIL 4, 2024
Federal Reserve vice chair for supervision Michael Barr said the central bank is taking “a very thoughtful approach” to the Basel III rules (aka the Basel endgame), which would significantly increase bank capital requirements and, if implemented, affect the mortgage industry. “We gave the public extra time to comment on the rule because it was really complex.
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
Vetted by HousingWire | Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Is your license renewal on the horizon? Every 12 years, a cosmic thing happens, and agents in all 50 states come due for their real estate continuing education (CE) and licensing renewal. 2024 is that year!
Housing Wire
APRIL 22, 2024
Scott Wright and Steve Murray of RealTrends Consulting. (Photo Credit: AJ Canaria) Between inflation , an uncertain interest rate environment and legal challenges , the real estate industry is facing unprecedented challenges. While merger and acquisition activity has quieted amid the uncertainty, RealTrends Consulting’s Scott Wright and Steve Murray say now is the perfect time for firms to lay the groundwork for future deals.
Housing Wire
APRIL 22, 2024
Josh Team, Howard Tager, and Jonathan Lickstein at HousingWire’s The Gathering 2024. (Photo Credit: AJ Canaria) In the real estate industry, the use of generative artificial intelligence has grown beyond just the composition of marketing copy, leading some to question other potential applications. During a panel discussion at The Gathering by HousingWire on Sunday in Scottsdale, three real estate professionals – LoKation Real Estate COO Jonathan Lickstein, Ylopo LLC co-founder and CEO Howa
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Tuesday announced a new rule that governs retirement advice, requiring more financial advisers to follow stricter fiduciary standards when dispensing advice about retirement-focused investments. The rule is designed to “protect the millions of workers who are saving for retirement diligently and rely on advice from trusted professionals on how to invest their savings,” DOL said in its announcement.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2024
Wire fraud prevention firm CertifID and big four title firm Old Republic have entered into a strategic agreement to prevent mortgage payoff fraud , according to an announcement on Thursday. Mortgage payoff fraud occurs when a title company mistakenly sends payoff funds to a fraudulent bank account after receiving wire instructions that appear to be from the mortgage servicer.
Housing Wire
APRIL 22, 2024
Do you remember the last time you received a letter in the mail, in an envelope, that was hand-addressed to you? People remember snail mail simply because we don’t receive much of it. Emails are easily forgotten, end up in the spam folder, or are never opened at all — but a letter in the mail ensures you occupy your audience’s mindshare for much longer.
Housing Wire
APRIL 11, 2024
Many real estate executives and analysts believe that the Department of Justice , now with the green light to reopen its investigation into the National Association of Realtors , will shake up the civil commission lawsuit settlement agreement. But legal experts are not as certain. Now unshackled , the DOJ could file a statement on interest in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit and express concerns about the terms of NAR’s settlement agreement.
Housing Wire
APRIL 22, 2024
Last week, Keller Williams was named to an additional class-action lawsuit, which also takes issue with alterations made to the brokerage’s profit-sharing program. In the past few weeks, 12 agents formerly affiliated with Keller Williams — Jerri Moulder, David Bueker, Robert Hill, Kevin Ortiz, Edward Fordyce, Paul Davis, Penny Alper, Jana and Dennis Caudill, Eric Mendoza, Jack Levine and John Exnicios — took legal action against the real estate brokerage by filing a host of class-action lawsuits
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
Guaranteed Rate made two significant executive appointments, the Chicago -based mortgage lender announced on Monday. CJ Rose was promoted to the role of executive vice president of growth and acquisition, while Chris Hutchens was hired as producing area manager for North Carolina and senior vice president of mortgage lending. Rose will be in charge of recruiting top talent, individuals, groups and companies throughout the industry.
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
On Tuesday at The Gathering by HousingWire in Scottsdale, Arizona, Guild Mortgage CEO Terry Schmidt sat down with HousingWire editor in chief Sarah Wheeler to talk about the principles guiding much of the lender’s actions in recruiting, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and overall business outlook. Building a strong workplace culture was a predominant theme of the discussion, with values defining much of the company’s M&A and recruiting targets, Schmidt said.
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
Rocket Mortgage launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool on Tuesday that allows its client experience teams to analyze sentiment, record behavior patterns, transcribe conversations and create tailored experiences during customer interactions. The lender estimates it will save tens of thousands of hours annually. That’s the latest step the mortgage lender has taken to integrate AI into its operations.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2024
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury , is sounding the alarm over challenges faced by elder financial exploitation (EFE). In a newly released trends report, FinCEN highlighted more than $27 billion worth of “suspicious activity” across more than 155,000 filings of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data with FinCEN between June 15, 2022 and June 15, 2023.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2024
A former loan officer at Guaranteed Rate (G-Rate) has sued the lender and two managers for allegedly discriminating against her on the basis of gender, failing to compensate her equally to male coworkers with similar performance and subjecting her to sexual harassment. In response, the lender said it’s conducting a detailed investigation into the claims.
Housing Wire
APRIL 5, 2024
Today’s jobs report beat estimates , but the internals show the labor market is softening, as the Federal Reserve wants. The data shows that wage growth is cooling down and the job opening quits rate is below pre-COVID-19 levels. This bodes well for those hoping to see a soft landing, and for those hoping for lower mortgage rates. The 10-year yield has had a wild ride today, but now is an excellent time to look at my macro take on the labor market and explain what the Fed is looking for wi
Housing Wire
APRIL 5, 2024
Ginnie Mae this week issued a public notice to its issuer partners warning of an observation of higher prepayments in some of its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) programs, reminding issuers that a violation of its requirements could result in punitive action. In a prior All Participants Memorandum (APM) issued in December 2017 , Ginnie Mae described how it monitors prepayments in its MBS programs.
Housing Wire
APRIL 24, 2024
The rental segment has been marked by strong demand and looks to continue on this trajectory given mortgage rates that continue to hover around 7% and record property prices across many U.S. regions. In spite of some slowdown, rents have continued to appreciate, being nearly 30% higher than prior to the pandemic, with February levels up 3.5% as compared to the previous year.
Housing Wire
APRIL 23, 2024
New York-based multichannel lender US Mortgage Corporation previously announced that it was renewing its efforts in the reverse mortgage industry, having hired industry veteran Ken Krajewski to serve as managing director and head of reverse mortgage lending. To go deeper into the company’s renewed efforts in the space, RMD sat down with Krajewski and US Mortgage Corporation President Scott Milner about the groundwork the company is laying in the reverse space today, and what it hopes to achieve
Housing Wire
APRIL 15, 2024
Last week’s above-consensus inflation figures brought the mortgage market back to a sour reality: The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, an index closely watched by industry experts, may be close to or even above the 7% level for longer than previously expected. If this scenario unfolds, analysts and executives will be ready to update their baseline expectations for 2024, including fewer refinance and purchase loans than previously forecast.
Housing Wire
APRIL 17, 2024
Nearly half (48%) of a $65 billion portfolio of loans processed during the first quarter of 2024 contained vulnerabilities to wire and title fraud , according to a report released Wednesday by FundingShield. The portfolio of loans examined included residential, commercial investor and business purpose loans. On loans that exhibited problems, the analysis found an average of 2.22 issues, which FundingShield says indicates a lack of appropriate controls by closing agents and lenders to identify an
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