September, 2023

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Is the apartment boom finally over?

Housing Wire

Have we finally hit the limits of the massive boom in 5-unit apartment construction that has been a positive driver of jobs and the fight against inflation since January of 2021? Tuesday’s housing starts report was a mixed bag: housing starts and completions fell with a big hit to 5-unit housing starts. However, housing permits continued to slowly increase, as we’ve seen over the last several months.

Mortgage 533
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Single-Family Permits Decline in July 2023

Eyes on Housing

Over the first seven months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 527,158. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 18.4% below the July 2022 level of 645,877. Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The Northeast posted the lowest decline of 12.1%, while the West region reported the steepest.

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RE/MAX settles bombshell commission lawsuits for $55M

Inman

The deal resolves claims in both the Sitzer and Moehrl antitrust cases. The franchisor agreed to change its business practices, including "no longer forcing homesellers to pay buyer’s agents.

Agents 205
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Home Appraisals 101: 5 Things Appraisers Wish Sellers Knew

Realtor

Getty Images Home appraisals are a piece of the selling process where you may have to let go of the reins. Lenders often require the use of their own, FHA-approved home appraiser. That means you get zero say in who’s determining the financial value of the home you’ve lived in, loved, and sunk your savings into. Here are some things sellers can do—straight from the home appraisers’ mouths—to navigate the process of home appraisals.

Appraisal 194
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Insurance Premiums are at Huge Risk in These Counties—Here’s What That Means to Investors

BiggerPockets

According to the latest reports, cities in these regions are under a lot of stress. In turn, costs are rising and cutting into real estate profits. Here's what you need to know.

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Exclusive Feature: The Benefits of Outsourcing

Mortgagebroker News

Look no further than Intellifi’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) – the perfect outsourcing provider trusted by mortgage professionals to handle all their most important business arrangements

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Building Materials Prices Remain Stable but Diesel Skyrockets 40% in August

Eyes on Housing

According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) ticked up 0.1% in August (not seasonally adjusted). Prices have also increased 0.1% over the past 12 months as year-over-year price growth has slowed from 4.9% in January 2023 and 14.7% in August 2022. The 12-month increase is the smallest.

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How luxury agents can tap into the rise of multigenerational living

Inman

Across the real estate sector, multigenerational living has emerged as a beneficial solution for many families. As the older generation ages, they’re cared for by loved ones. Younger generations are supported by their parents in sharing the costs and responsibilities of homeownership, and grandparents are available to help raise grandchildren.

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4 Ways to Deal If Your Appraisal Comes in Low

Realtor

-Oxford-/iStock The home-buying process is a high-stakes thrill ride full of exhilarating ups and scary downs, but unquestionably one of the most deflating moments is when the appraisal comes in significantly lower than the accepted offer. This is, to use technical real estate lingo, “a bummer.” Either you feel as though you got the raw end of a deal by paying more than the property’s worth or, if you don’t have extra cash to hand over, the deal can crumble into dust.

Appraisal 193
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Cities are Cracking Down on Short-Term Rentals—What Does It Mean For Investors?

BiggerPockets

Nationwide, cities continue to impose new regulations on short-term rentals, effectively putting Airbnb hosts out of business in some areas. How can investors protect themselves?

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Bank of Canada 'keeping us guessing' on further rate increases: CIBC's Tal

Mortgagebroker News

'I think that deep inside, they know the likelihood of them raising again is relatively slim – but in their language they will not admit that'

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Why are mortgage rates surging?

Housing Wire

Why are mortgage rates rising? This is a question many people are asking — even some of the Federal Reserve members. We have had back-to-back weeks of the bond market getting wild since the key 10-year yield level of 4.34% broke higher. It didn’t help that the Fed was hawkish after the Fed meeting , as their forward outlook surprised some market players.

Mortgage 515
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Share of Smaller Lots Hits New Record High

Eyes on Housing

According to the latest Survey of Construction (SOC), 42 percent of new single-family detached homes sold in 2022 were built on lots under 7,000 square feet, that is smaller than 1/16 of an acre. This is the highest share on record and reflects stark changes in the lot size distribution since the Census Bureau started tracking these series over 20.

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Lawyer’s letter offers glimpse into NAR’s internal harassment probe

Inman

A July letter from Polsinelli, the outside counsel tapped to investigate misconduct at NAR's behest, found evidence of "creepy" and "disrespectful" behavior that, until now, had not been made public.

Realtors 202
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Appraisal Process Report

National Association of Realtors

In May 2023, NAR surveyed its members pertaining to data collectors in the appraisal process. This report contains the findings.

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Short-Term Rentals Had a Great Summer—Here’s Where Investors Saw the Most Demand

BiggerPockets

No "Airbnbust" this year. The short-term rental market had a great summer, and demand doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. These markets had the best jumps this summer.

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Exclusive Feature: CENTUM’s Innovative Mortgage Calculator

Mortgagebroker News

CENTUM Financial Group is pleased to announce the launch of the new groundbreaking Mortgage Calculator, now available on the Century 21 Canada website

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US housing market is now worth a record $52 trillion: Zillow

Housing Wire

After experiencing a temporary hiccup between July 2022 to January 2023, the U.S. housing market is back on track , stronger than ever, with a total estimated value of $52 trillion, according to a new analysis by Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow Group. Over the past year, the value of the U.S. housing market has surged by more than $2.6 trillion.

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Stucco and Vinyl were the Most Common Siding Materials on New Homes in 2022

Eyes on Housing

According to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), stucco was the most common principal siding material on new single-family homes started in 2022 (28%), followed by vinyl siding (26%), fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or Hardiboard (21%) and, brick or brick veneer (18%). Far smaller shares of single-family homes started last year had wood or wood.

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NAR throws support behind Bob Goldberg in face of growing unrest

Inman

Support for the embattled CEO, who many expected to announce his early retirement as a result of a fast-moving harassment scandal, came late Thursday with a statement from new president Tracy Kasper.

Realtors 200
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Why are exisitng home prices up year over year?

Housing Wire

Existing home prices are up 3.9% year over year, with demand near 21st-century lows. How is this possible? NAR ‘s existing home sales report on Thursday gives us insight into the why factor. The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $407,100, an increase of 3.9% from August 2022 ($391,700). All four U.S. regions posted price increases.

Inventory 517
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As rising mortgage rates push buyers to the brink, sellers are starting to cut prices

Housing Wire

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. According to the brokerage, 6.5% of U.S. homes for sale posted a price cut during the four weeks ending September 24, up from 5.8% the month prior. In some markets, more than 50% of active listings have experienced a price cut, according to Altos Research.

Sellers 508
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Housing inventory is barely positive heading into fall

Housing Wire

Last week we saw a noticeable decline in new listings and active inventory was barely positive. Does this mean housing inventory has begun its seasonal decline? Here are the weekly numbers: Weekly active listings rose by only 343 Mortgage rates rose from 7.08% to end the week at 7.22% Purchase apps fell 2 % week to week Weekly housing inventory At first glance, it seems we’re now seeing the seasonal active inventory decline since new listings data fell noticeably and active listings slowe

Inventory 512
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Unsold homebuilder inventory is ticking up as new home sales slow

Housing Wire

After a boost in July, the sales pace of new homes slowed in August, according to data published on Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ). In August, the sales pace of new homes fell 8.7% compared to July , reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 675,000. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 5.8%.

Inventory 500
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Home inventory is climbing even faster than this time a year ago

Housing Wire

Available inventory of homes for sale is on the rise in late September, which is very unusual for this time of year. In fact, inventory is growing faster than this time a year ago. This is a demand-driven slowdown, because new listings supply is still running 9% to 10% fewer homes for sale each week than this time last year. We’re seeing fewer new sellers each week, but inventory is building as homebuyers wait to see if mortgage rates will come down to make purchases more affordable.

Inventory 491
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DataDigest: Where housing prices are booming (and faltering)

Housing Wire

Housing markets in Western states like Idaho, Wyoming and Utah are stumbling on a year-to-year basis, while markets east of the Mississippi are heating up, according to CoreLogic data provided exclusively to HousingWire. As of Sept. 1, the top 10 states by year-to-year growth in the CoreLogic House Price Index are located exclusively in the Midwest or Northeast, with Vermont’s 8.52% gain leading the nation.

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RE/MAX settles buyer broker commission lawsuits for $55 million

Housing Wire

Yet another national real estate brokerage firm has reached a settlement agreement in two of the major class action antitrust lawsuits facing the real estate industry. 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.

Buyers 491
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FHA issues waiver to make government-insured mortgages more accessible

Housing Wire

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Thursday announced that it has issued a waiver to a requirement that FHA-approved lenders flag rejected loans in the FHA Connection (FHAC) system, an effort the agency says will improve access to government-insured mortgage financing for qualified borrowers. “FHA has determined that this flag does not improve risk management and is often why other lenders will reject an applicant even when that applicant might otherwise qualify for a loan,” the agency

Mortgage 496
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Housing inventory gone wild

Housing Wire

What’s going on with housing inventory ? The last four weeks of new listings data have been the most volatile since mortgage rates breached 6% in 2022. One week, we had the biggest decline in new listings data all year, which might indicate Americans are giving up on listing their homes. But the next week we had the biggest increase of the year, which might show that people are rushing to list their homes.

Inventory 491
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Mortgage rates get close to the yearly high of 7.49%

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates shot up last week after a hawkish Federal Reserve meeting, even though they didn’t raise rates. In addition, jobless claims data had another solid print, showing that the labor market hasn’t broken yet, which led to more selling of the 10-year yield. Mortgage rates did find some relief on Friday as bond yields headed lower. On housing inventory , new listings data saw a small decline last week, but active listings grew at a healthy clip.

Mortgage 485
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Pending home sales fell 7.1% in August

Housing Wire

Mirroring the trend for new home sales , pending home sales fell 7.1% in August, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). All four regions of the U.S. posted month-over-month and year-over-year declines in transactions. Year over year, pending home sales were down 18.7%, an even greater decrease than the 14% annual drop recorded in July.

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Dark Matter Technologies execs talk transition from Black Knight, innovation in the mortgage tech space

Housing Wire

Dark Matter Technologies , formerly Black Knight Origination Technologies, is focused on mainly two things: the smooth transition to new owners, and lowering the cost to originate loans for lenders. Executives from Dark Matter Technologies, under the Constellation Software umbrella, said that a down market is the best time to make investments in technology and prepare for the next cycle.

Mortgage 485
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Actually Agents joins The Broke Agent within BAM

Housing Wire

Real estate media just got funnier as Actually Agents will join The Broke Agent within BAM , a real estate media company. While continuing to operate independently, Luca Alboretti of Actually Agents and Eric Simon of The Broke Agent will “collaborate to produce funny and engaging content that both entertains and educates real estate professionals,” BAM announced in a press release Thursday.

Agents 473
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Homebuilders are pulling back, but permit activity suggests things will turn around soon

Housing Wire

Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,283,000 in August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s a 11.3% drop from the revised July estimate of 1,447,000 and 14.8% below the August 2022 rate of 1,505,000. On the bright side, permits for future construction recorded a 6.9% gain from July, indicating some builders might be more hopeful that things will turn around soon.