Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The Sitzer/Burnett trial out of Kansas City found the National Association of Realtors (NAR) guilty of conspiring to inflate agent commissions — sparking a debate over agent commission fees and the longstanding role of buyer agents in real estate transactions. But what happens if consumers pivot away from buyer agents altogether?

Agents 412

Agents Buyers Real Estate Agent Loan Officers 412

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Three researchers believe a first-of-its-kind dataset has enabled them to definitively answer a long-debated question: why have buyer agent commission rates been so stable historically? So how is the uniformity and permanence of buyer agents’ 2-3% rate possible in a free market? One of the researchers, Will Fried, had a hunch.

Clients 430

Clients Agents Buyers Sellers 430

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Even with demand buoyed by a sparse housing inventory, growing financial challenges for buyers are forcing home sellers to cut prices to close deals, a new Redfin research report found. And because mortgage rates have been above 7% for about two months consecutively, the cost of financing is extreme. According to the brokerage, 6.5%

Sellers 506

Sellers Buyers Inventory Real Estate Agent 506

Housing Wire

JULY 16, 2021

Cash buyers are pouring into the housing market this year, and they’re picking off more than half of available inventory in certain areas in Florida and New York. “I just sold a $700,000 home to a cash buyer last week. That’s often good news for financed buyers because it means fewer bids to compete with.”

Buyers 545

Buyers Real Estate Agent Real Estate Housing Market 545

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

But three multibillion-dollar class action antitrust lawsuits looming over the real estate industry may soon reshape how buyers interact with agents. You’ve got current economic conditions that are not opportunistic for a homebuyer right now, inflation is still out there and it’s all constraining buyers’ ability to spend. “You’ve

Agents 389

Agents Buyers Loan Officers Real Estate 389

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

According to court documents filed on Monday, RE/MAX and the home sellers suing the firm in both the Moehrl and Sitzer/Burnett cases, which both deal with buyer brokers’ commissions, have reached a preliminary settlement agreement, settling all claims in both suits. In fact, the U.S.

Buyers 491

Buyers Realtors Agents Real Estate 491

BiggerPockets

MARCH 25, 2024

Owner financing offers buyers and sellers more opportunities with real estate transactions. Before entering this type of transaction, it’s important to know what owner financing is, how it works, who benefits, and who pays property taxes on owner financing.

Finance 81

Finance Property Taxes Real Estate Sellers 81

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 6, 2023

million settlement with plaintiffs in two bombshell buyer commission lawsuits have been made public, and they stipulate that the brokerage conglomerate make significant changes to its practices. The terms of Anywhere Real Estate ‘s $83.5

Buyers 432

Buyers Brokerage Agents Sellers 432

Housing Wire

APRIL 25, 2023

The program is available for buyers who met the requirements and are purchasing a home in countries across 10 metropolitan areas. Kaul brings to the role at Rocket more than 13 years of experience in the mortgage servicing space, mortgage finance system and housing finance reform.

Buyers 333

Buyers Finance Real Estate Agent Government 333

Housing Wire

JULY 28, 2023

The cost of financing a median-priced U.S. Buyers searching for starter homes in today’s market are on a wild goose chase because in many parts of the country, there’s no such thing as a starter home anymore,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. Austin buyers must earn $92,000, down 3.3% Meanwhile, average U.S.

Buyers 370

Buyers Housing Market Investors Real Estate 370

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 4, 2023

District Court in Boston granted the Department of Justice’s request to extend all settlement related deadlines in the Nosalek buyer broker compensation class action lawsuit on Tuesday. Unlike the two other buyer-broker commission lawsuits, Moehrl and Sitzer/Burnett , NAR is not a defendant in the Nosalek lawsuit.

Buyers 400

Buyers Realtors Sellers Legal 400

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Defendants in the Sitzer/Burnett class action lawsuit, which deals with buyer brokers’ commissions, are facing two fewer claims. The past few weeks have been eventful for the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit, as well as the larger Moehrl lawsuit in Illinois, which also deals with buyer-broker commissions. Bough, a U.S.

Buyers 399

Buyers Law Realtors Agents 399

Housing Wire

APRIL 19, 2023

But the landscape is changing, and ADU buyers (and ADU builders and makers) are adapting to it. The often hyperlocal nature of ADU permitting can act as a deterrent to potential ADU buyers, who lack the expertise (or the time and energy) to navigate the regulatory maze. But the pandemic is now over and interest rates are way up.

Buyers 346

Buyers Real Estate Construction Finance 346

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 2, 2023

MLS Property Information Network’s (MLS PIN) settlement agreement in the Nosalek class action antitrust buyer-broker compensation lawsuit has hit yet another snag. ” It continues: “Buyer-broker commission rules are the subject of several pending antitrust suits and a pending appeal in which the United States is an appellant.”

Buyers 378

Buyers Realtors Real Estate Sellers 378

Housing Wire

APRIL 13, 2021

Jay Garrett, a loan officer at Supreme Lending ’s McClellan Branch in Austin, said he is seeing 10 to 40 offers on houses no matter where they are in Austin, and cash offers are winning the day because sellers don’t want to have to worry about the house appraising too low for someone who needs financing. “If

Housing Market 534

Housing Market Buyers Marketing Real Estate Agent 534

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

According to court documents filed on Tuesday, Anywhere Real Estate and the home sellers suing the firm in both the Moehrl and Sitzer/Burnett cases, which both deal with buyer brokers’ commissions, have reached a preliminary settlement agreement, settling all claims in both suits.

Real Estate 421

Real Estate Buyers Legal Realtors 421

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

After a very difficult market for buyers who have had to contend with an atypical housing market in 2023, home shoppers will find more listings to choose from in 2024,” Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS chief economist, said in a statement. “At However, market activity is still projected to remain well below typical levels.

Buyers 456

Buyers Housing Market Sellers Inventory 456

Housing Wire

AUGUST 10, 2023

Wells Fargo rolled out a down payment grant program that will offer $10,000 to eligible buyers or homeowners who currently live in or are purchasing homes in underserved communities in eight metropolitan areas. Eligible buyers can combine the bank’s grant with other programs including — Wells Fargo’s Dream.

Buyers 370

Buyers Lending Mortgage Finance 370

Housing Wire

MARCH 28, 2024

Thanks to the efficiencies baked into the construction processes of manufactured homes, these factory-built houses are both faster and less expensive to build than site-built homes, saving buyers between $50,000 to $100,000 per unit. Demand for home-only financing is strong; in 2019, there were more than 200,000 home-only loan applications.

Business 423

Business Finance Buyers Lending 423

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 16, 2023

At the crux of the case is the allegation that commission rates are too high, it’s unfair that the seller pays the buyer’s agent’s commission, and that the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Code of Conduct and MLS Handbook lead to set pricing.

Buyers 458

Buyers Brokerage Agents Realtors 458

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Effective natural language processing technologies extract deeper meaning from unstructured data to make a difference in the lives of countless would-be homebuyers who are credit invisible or have not had the ability to obtain access to affordable housing finance. Presented by: FormFree. Not yet anyway.

Buyers 458

Buyers Mortgage Loan Officers Retail 458

Housing Wire

APRIL 3, 2023

Through Rocket’s new “BUY+” program, clients who obtain purchase financing from Rocket Mortgage and find a home with a Rocket Homes partner real estate agent, will receive a credit equal to 1.5% of their loan amount to put toward closing costs, helping defray upfront costs.

Agents 394

Agents Buyers Real Estate Agent Mortgage 394

Housing Wire

APRIL 3, 2024

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) this week submitted a letter to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that urges the agency to “provide comparable down payment treatment for FHA borrowers, regardless of whether or not the seller is willing to pay the home buyer broker commission,” according to an announcement by the organization.

Sellers 390

Sellers Buyers Agents Real Estate Agent 390

BiggerPockets

APRIL 18, 2024

If you’re a first-time home buyer, now may be one of the best times to get a loan in recent history, according to mortgage advisor Jeff Welgan. With new no-money-down […]

Buyers 47

Buyers Finance Mortgage Real Estate 47

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Jeremy Foster, founder and chairman of Calque Buying a home today can be stressful and fraught with complicated issues, such as contingencies requiring the buyer to sell their current home before qualifying for the home they want to buy. Buy before you sell (BBYS) products may be the answer.

Buyers 383

Buyers Loan Officers Real Estate Agent Agents 383

Appraisal Buzz

JULY 6, 2021

In an article posted on UI’s Urban Wire blog, Janneke Ratcliffe and Laurie Goodman write that, while soaring home prices and historically low inventories of available homes have been good for sellers, many of them are unwilling to accept offers backed by FHA or VA financing.

Sellers 370

Sellers Buyers Government Inventory 370

Housing Wire

MARCH 28, 2023

” The credit card, which is integrated with Rocket Money — a personal finance app that identifies recurring expenses, notifies members about upcoming bills and cancels subscriptions — is in line with the Detroit-based company’s goal of becoming a fintech firm.

Buyers 407

Buyers Finance Mortgage Clients 407

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

I actually started out as a buyer’s agent myself… and I see buyer’s agency as being a very valuable tool for buyers,” Sanford said during the Q&A session. I’m concerned, quite frankly, about what this might mean to buyers who may not be able to afford representation if things change up too much.”

Buyers 368

Buyers Realty Real Estate Realtors 368

Real Estate News

APRIL 16, 2024

The federal finance giants clarified their policies, confirming that buyer agent compensation won't be applied to concession limits.

Finance 283

Finance Agents Buyers 283

Housing Wire

APRIL 2, 2024

Through NAF Cash, the lender purchases the buyer’s chosen home upfront with cash while the buyer can rent the new home while working on selling the old home or securing financing on the new one. NAF, the 31st largest mortgage lender in America in 2023, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, has been in growth mode.

Loan Officers 372

Loan Officers Retail Finance Buyers 372

Real Estate News

MARCH 28, 2024

NAR this week sent letters asking government lending agencies to allow buyers to finance agent compensation. Thursday, it started getting answers.

Lending 352

Lending Government Finance Agents 352

Housing Wire

AUGUST 10, 2023

A little over a month after filing an agreement in one of the ongoing buyer broker commission lawsuits, New England’s largest multiple listing service (MLS), MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN)’s attempt to settle the Nosalek case, has hit a snag. However, unlike Moehrl and Burnett , NAR is not named as a defendant.

Buyers 303

Buyers Realtors Legal Finance 303

Inman

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

The white-labeling program, zavvie Power Buyer, was announced exclusively to Inman and will include two models: contingency-free (cash offer) financing and a buy-before-you-sell bridge loan.

Buyers 133

Buyers Finance Technology Real Estate 133

Housing Wire

MAY 17, 2023

The deep-pocket cash buyers definitely can find some deals and make a good ROI, but for the people depending on debt to purchase their flip, they are really going to have to be careful and strategic … because the financing is becoming so expensive in this high interest-rate environment,” Lwowski said.

Finance 360

Finance Marketing Renovations Investors 360

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Though prospective buyers revealed slight wariness in September, Fannie Mae reported buyer morale gained 6% in October, with 60% of respondents saying it is a good time to buy a home while those who believe it is a bad time fell to 35%. Compared to this time last year, the HPSI is still down 7.1 million Americans unemployed.

Housing Market 543

Housing Market Sellers Buyers Marketing 543

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

The Cleveland -based retail mortgage lender unveiled CCM CashPlus to help buyers gain an edge in the bidding process by turning preapprovals into cash offers. CashPlus has no appraisal or financing contingencies. The product is limited to conventional loans, primary residences and buyers who are represented by a real estate agent. “In

Mortgage 360

Mortgage Real Estate Agent Retail New Listings 360

Housing Wire

MARCH 14, 2024

The dream of homeownership is becoming increasingly elusive for many Americans as both home prices and insurance premiums are on the rise. Over the past decade, home prices have nearly doubled, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index. Homeowners insurance premiums are climbing too.

Insurance 423

Insurance Buyers Finance Real Estate 423