Trending Articles

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Second-home mortgage market slumped in 2023: Redfin

Housing Wire

In 2023, home purchases slowed across the board due to low levels of inventory, high mortgage rates and soaring home prices. Simultaneously, the appetite for second homes also diminished substantially. Nationwide, 90,772 mortgages for second homes were originated in 2023, down 40% from a year earlier and down 65% from the height of the post-pandemic housing boom in 2021, according to a new report from Redfin.

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Mortgage Rates Fall for First Time in Five Weeks

Appraisal Buzz

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 7.09% this week, down from 7.22% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. It was the first time in five weeks that mortgage rates decreased. “After a five-week climb, mortgage rates ticked down following a weaker than expected jobs report,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement.

Mortgage 365
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How housing credit is shaping housing inventory

Housing Wire

Housing credit channels directly impact housing inventory channels. What does that mean? Home prices escalated out of control after 2020 and when we look at why that happened, we can see that housing credit mattered more to inventory data than most people realize. Let’s see how this has played out in different stages of the economy. On March 18, 2020, purchase application data broke out to pre-cycle highs in demand.

Inventory 437
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Judge approves commissions settlements for Anywhere, RE/MAX, KW

Real Estate News

Despite a last-minute motion to delay the hearing, the proceedings went on as scheduled, ending buyer agent commissions litigation for the three brokerages.

Brokerage 262
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Row Row ROV? Pt 1

George Dell

A better ROV! Please reconsider the direction of your boat. Try this this bigger oar. And use it only on the right side of the boat. Appraisers have long been asked to “reconsider” their opinion. Now we have a more official “standardized process” which affects appraisers, lenders, AMCs, GSEs, and of course, the borrower. This […] The post Row Row ROV?

Appraisal 195
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Buyers seek surprise injunction to halt commission suit settlements

Inman

The plaintiffs in a suit known as Batton 1 have filed for a temporary restraining order preventing the final approval of the Keller Williams, Anywhere and RE/MAX settlements.

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Strong Home Price Growth Pushes Total U.S. Homeowner Tappable Equity to Record $11 Trillion

Appraisal Buzz

Strong home price growth – propelled by lack of inventory – pushed U.S. mortgage holders’ tappable equity to a record $11 trillion in March, according to ICE Mortgage Technology’s Mortgage Monitor report. Though the inventory situation has improved slightly, a continuing deficit of homes for sale this spring is helping prices remain resilient, ICE says.

Inventory 370
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Real Brokerage revenue up 86% as agent count soars

Real Estate News

The company remains on a rapid-growth trajectory, but net losses also increased this quarter, largely due to a recent commissions lawsuit settlement.

Brokerage 263
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Top Compromises Buyers Will Make to Reach Homeownership

Eyes on Housing

High mortgage rates and double-digit growth in home prices since COVID-19 have brought housing affordability to its lowest level in more than a decade. Given this reality, a recent NAHB study on housing preferences* asked home buyers about which specific compromises they would be willing to make to achieve homeownership. For 39% of buyers, accepting.

Buyers 147
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Judge approves Keller Williams, Anywhere, RE/MAX settlements

Inman

The ruling by Judge Stephen R. Bough on Thursday resolves antitrust claims in the Sitzer | Burnett, Moehrl and Nosalek commission cases. However, it won't quash other existing suits from buyers.

Buyers 178
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Embracing Change in the Appraisal Industry

Appraisal Buzz

On today’s episode of the Appraisal Buzzcast, host Hal Humphreys speaks with Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine and our keynote Speaker this year at Valuation Expo. He is also the bestselling author of Build for Tomorrow: An Action Plan for Embracing Change, Adapting Fast, and Future-Proofing Your Career. The valuation space is going through a lot of change right now, through technology as well as other factors.

Appraisal 329
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Mortgage rates ease, but buyers still aren't getting a break

Real Estate News

After five weeks of increases, rates pulled back slightly, but rising home prices and record-high mortgage payments continue to hamper affordability.

Buyers 229
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Mortgage Activity Remains Lower Midway Through Spring Buying Season

Eyes on Housing

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending May 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 2.6% from the previous week, and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell 11 basis points to 7.18%. The 30-year FRM has risen 17 basis points over the past month as rates remained at around seven percent.

Mortgage 158
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‘Godspeed’: Enforcement of NAR settlement changes shifts to MLSs

Inman

At the Realtors Legislative Meetings earlier this week, MLS executives were told they would be responsible for making sure real estate agents and brokers follow the new commission rules.

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Top Tennessee brokerage merges with Compass

Housing Wire

Compass is continuing to expand its presence in the Southeast, announcing Monday that Tennessee -based Parks Real Estate has merged with the firm This is Compass’ second major merger and acquisition deal in the second quarter of 2024. In April, the Robert Reffkin -helmed firm announced that it had acquired Gulf Coast-based Latter & Blum. Parks Real Estate includes the Pilkerton Realtors brand and is led by CEO Hunter Connelly.

Brokerage 333
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Geographic “Data” Competency?

Appraisal Buzz

I recall receiving MLS books once a month and being thrilled that a whole new population of sales were available to be considered within the pages of each book. By the time I got the new book, the sales were already a bit dated, and since they were only closed sales – they had actually sold a few weeks to months prior. Each month there was a new book, but every 6 months, there was a combined book with the last 6 months of sales in one bound and printed book.

Appraisal 195
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Redfin: Revenue is up, Kelman is bullish despite losses

Real Estate News

Even as net losses increase, Redfin’s CEO says the company is in a good place: “When you give people a better deal, they actually beat a path to your door.

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At 2022 Rates, 10 Million More Households Could Afford a New Home

Eyes on Housing

According to the latest press release from Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has now risen to approximately 7.25%. As the data posted on NAHB’s priced-out web page shows, at this rate only about 27.5 million (out of a total of 134.7 million) U.S. households could afford to buy a median-priced.

Mortgage 158
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Realtor.com CEO delivers full-throated speech in support of NAR

Inman

Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales took to the podium on Monday at the MLS Forum of the Realtors Legislative Meetings to refute rival CoStar's earlier claims about Homes.com's growing traffic.

Realtors 175
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NAR magazine devotes space to reverse mortgages and seniors

Housing Wire

The official magazine for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently touched on the topic of reverse mortgages, mentioning products such as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase (H4P) and addressing topics like the desires of baby boomers to age in place in their homes. Describing reverse mortgages as originating in 1961 before coming to greater prominence through the establishment of the HECM program during the Reagan administration, one of two recent NAR articles dea

Mortgage 434
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Xactus Now Integrated With Empower LOS

Appraisal Buzz

Xactus , offering verifications solutions for the mortgage industry, recently announced that several of its verification services are now available via Dark Matter Technologies ‘ Empower loan origination software. Lenders utilizing Dark Matter’s LOS can obtain access to Xactus’ Employment VerificationX, Social Security VerificationX and Credit ReportX.

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Homebuyers try to halt approval of commissions settlements

Real Estate News

Anywhere, RE/MAX and KW deals at risk after new documents reveal a plan to include immunity from buy-side lawsuits, plaintiffs in the Batton case allege.

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High Interest Rates, Construction Costs Are Serious Impediments for New Multifamily Development

Eyes on Housing

High interest rates and construction costs are the most serious impediments for new multifamily development according to the Q1 2024 NAHB Multifamily Market Survey (MMS).

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What if NAR went away? Examining the catastrophic potential

Inman

Although it may seem righteous to dismantle the institution that NAR has built, brokerage founder Sean Frank writes, the collapse of NAR would equate to the collapse of the modern real estate market as we know it.

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Despite industry headwinds, Real believes it can continue growing agent count

Housing Wire

With a 67% annual increase in agent count to 16,680 agents during the first quarter of 2024 , it is no surprise that The Real Brokerage also recorded an 86% annual increase in revenue to nearly $201 million. The uptick in agent count contributed to a 74% yearly jump in transaction count to 19,032 sides, good for a total sales volume of $7.5 billion and an 88% year-over-year increase.

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ATTOM: Share of Properties That Are ‘Equity Rich’ Decreased in Q1

Appraisal Buzz

The share of residential properties that are considered “equity rich” decreased to 45.8% in the first quarter, down from 46.1% in the fourth quarter and down from 47.2% in the first quarter of 2023, hitting the lowest point in two years, according to ATTOM’s U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. By “equity-rich” ATTOM means that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values.

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Judge explains the ‘why’ of rulings on settlements, attorney fees

Real Estate News

In a 40-page filing, Judge Bough lays out his reasons for rejecting arguments from the May 9 hearing, and said lawyers can collect a third of settlement funds.

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Positive Momentum in Demand, Lending Conditions: Q1 2024 SLOOS

Eyes on Housing

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s April 2024 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS), lending standards loosened further for all commercial real estate (CRE) loan categories and residential real estate (RRE) categories in the first quarter of 2024. While the Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate unchanged during their last meeting, demand for RRE and CRE.

Lending 147
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Real Brokerage posts sharp uptick in revenue and agent count in Q1

Inman

The Real Brokerage reported revenue of $200.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 as gross profit soared to $20.8 million, according to Q1 earnings data released Tuesday morning.

Brokerage 173
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Assumable mortgage platform Roam partners with national lender on down payment assistance

Housing Wire

New York -based assumable mortgage platform Roam rolled out a new partnership with national lender Spring EQ to provide second-lien loans to Roam customers, the company announced on Thursday. The new service, Roam Boost, will cater to people with credit scores of at least 640 and down payments of at least 15%. Consider, for example, a home that costs $400,000, with an assumable mortgage amount of $280,000.

Mortgage 378
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MCT’s Base Rate Generator Lets Lenders Share Better Rate Sheets With Their LOs

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage Capital Trading (MCT) has introduced Base Rate Generator, a new solution that allows mortgage lenders to directly inform their front-end rate sheet pricing with their back-end capital markets executions. By combining live agency API connections, co-issue executions, aggregator pricing, and custom TBA indications, the MCT Base Rate Generator allows mortgage lenders to improve margin management and competitive performance.

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Judge denies effort to delay commissions settlement hearing

Real Estate News

Buy-side plaintiffs who claim the Anywhere, RE/MAX and KW deals go too far will still get their chance to make that argument in court May 9.

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Escaping the Black Hole: Appraisers Fleeing Mortgage Lending

Appraiserblogs

Climbing out of that black hole is nearly impossible. It’s one reason why many appraisers are vacating mortgage lending appraisal assignments. This “discrimination settlement” hit the fan last week in a news feed I get. Another appraiser (in CA) settles a discrimination complaint: Oakland homeowner settles with appraiser, lender after $300,000 lowball appraisal The entire case is based on allegations by the homeowner, who had decided the value of the home was more than the appraised amount, bef

Lending 109
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Mortgage demand picks up as rates retreat from 2024 highs

Inman

Some borrwers were quick to spring into action, with applications for purchase loans rising by a seasonally adjusted 2 percent and requests to refinance up 5 percent week over week.

Mortgage 166