Sat.Apr 29, 2023 - Fri.May 05, 2023

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Improved Affordability Expectations Lead to More Engaged Buyers

Eyes on Housing

Improvements in affordability expectations have led to an increase in the share of prospective buyers who have moved beyond just the planning phase of their home search: 56% report being actively engaged in the purchase process in the first quarter of 2023, up from 46% a quarter earlier. The share of prospective buyers actively searching for a home rose in.

Buyers 152
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Housing Market Tracker: Spring inventory grows

Housing Wire

The spring housing market music is playing, and purchase application data and active listing inventory rose together last week. The fear of not having an increase in inventory this spring should be put to rest. The other focus should be where mortgage rates go; only a little happened last week. Here’s a quick rundown of the last week: Active listing rose 8,260 week to week, down a bit from last week’s gain, but I’m not complaining — anything on the plus side is positive.

Inventory 522
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Sellers sitting out of the housing market & buyers getting concessions

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Sellers have been sitting out of the housing market, and it’s made a massive difference in 2023 so far. Today I want to show what’s happening with new listings and talk about concessions. I hope this is useful, whether you’re local or not. Scroll by topic or digest slowly. UPCOMING (PUBLIC) SPEAKING GIGS: 5/4/23 Housing Market […] The post Sellers sitting out of the housing market & buyers getting concessions first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog | Real Estate A

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Regulation Education?

George Dell

Around 1986, licensing and education efforts started – in order to “help prevent another crisis” like the Savings and Loan meltdown of those mid-1980’s. Effectively, the standards of the professional appraisal organizations were adopted in a joint effort of those groups. Then the “congressionally authorized” non-profit Appraisal Foundation took over licensing as well as standards […] The post Regulation Education?

Appraisal 195
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Parkinson’s Principle

The Appraiser Coach

The principle I’m going to share today may not be earth-shattering for you, but it has proven useful for me in my work time and time again.

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Jobs data shows the labor market is normalizing

Housing Wire

Is the labor market finally normalizing? Jobs Friday data came in as a beat of estimates, but the labor market is clearly starting to come back to earth, killing the fear of 1970s wage spiral inflation. We’ve had a good week’s worth of data to show that the Federal Reserve is starting to get what it wants if you know where to look. The headline jobs data beat estimates, but we did have 149,000 negative revisions to the previous month’s data.

Marketing 490

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Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler on Q1 earnings and the iBuyer’s future

Inman

The chief executive of the largest iBuyer spoke to Inman about Opendoor's first-quarter earnings on Thursday — and expectations that the company is turning a corner after a rough 2022.

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AMC Hires a Convicted Felon as Property Data Collector

Appraiserblogs

The recent case of Paschal Uchendu, a convicted felon awaiting sentencing for orchestrating a $1.2 million armed robbery of a courier van, which he was entrusted to secure, is cause for alarm when it comes to the use of unlicensed property data collectors. The largest appraisal management company had hired Mr. Uchendu as one such property data collector despite his criminal background and pending legal issues – clearly demonstrating their lackadaisical attitude towards vetting employees who are

Appraisal 148
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The 2023 housing market is at odds with itself

Housing Wire

A paradoxical picture is emerging as the spring market is underway. On the one hand, elevated mortgage rates continue to erode buyers’ purchasing power, and in some markets, home prices are falling. On the other hand, inventory is still low, and homes are still selling fast, often with multiple offers. All major housing market metrics point to a restrained housing market.

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The Fed Hints at an End for Rate Hikes

Eyes on Housing

The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its May meeting. Although the communication from the Fed did not explicitly indicate that they are done tightening, language used in their statement signals the Fed is moving toward a more data-dependent posture, albeit one that retains a hawkish bias.

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$5.48M mid-century sale is biggest Sierra Madre deal in 20 years

Inman

The 1975-era home closed at $1 million over asking, Inman has learned exclusively. Buyers have flocked to Sierra Madre, California, for its privacy and access to nature, as many people continue to work remotely.

Buyers 156
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Supporting Construction Safety with GoFormz Digital Forms

GoForrmz

Prioritize safety without the burden of additional paperwork It’s officially Construction Safety Week, and it’s no secret that OSHA’s updated fine multiplier might be giving construction teams everywhere some additional motivation to keep safety top of mind. While the safety mandates and guidelines haven’t changed, the increased violation penalties put more pressure on businesses to prioritize safety.

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State governments push to scrap the new LLPA fee changes

Housing Wire

A coalition of fiscal officers from 27 state governments called on the Biden administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to scrap the loan-level pricing adjustment (LLPA) fee changes that went into effect on May 1. In a letter to President Joe Biden and FHFA Director Sandra Thompson , the fiscal officers said the new policy will force homebuyers with good credit to pay more on their mortgage every month. “Those who make down payments of 20% or more on their homes will pay

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Homeownership Rate Unchanged at 66%

Eyes on Housing

The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 66% in the first quarter of 2023, amid persistently tight housing supply. The homeownership rate remained statistically unchanged from the fourth quarter reading (65.9%). It is 0.6 percentage points higher than the rate in the first quarter of 2022. Compared to the peak of 69.

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Keller Williams scoops up second Arizona-based indie of 2023

Inman

Twelve-year-old independent brokerage Tru Realty has joined Keller Williams, according to an announcement on Thursday. Tru Realty has generated $450.6 million in sales volume since 2021.

Realty 156
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FAQ #17: Do I Need To Have My Home Appraised Before I List It For Sale?

Riverfront Appraisals

Selling your home can be a major financial decision, and it’s important to ensure that you get the best possible price for your property. One of the best ways to determine your home’s value is by getting it appraised by a licensed or certified appraiser. An appraisal is an unbiased estimate of the value of […] The post FAQ #17: Do I Need To Have My Home Appraised Before I List It For Sale?

Appraisal 117
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DataDigest: The remarkably resilient agent commission rate

Housing Wire

On Friday afternoon, my real estate agent called with good news. “Congratulations!” she said. “You just sold your house.” The agent wished me well and said that she would appreciate a review on her website. And that was that! A little backstory: The four-bed, 1.5 bath house in the Poconos showed well and I priced it very competitively – at $269,000.

Agents 413
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Private Residential Construction Spending Dips in March

Eyes on Housing

Private residential construction spending inched down 0.2% in March, as spending on single-family construction decreased 0.8%. Spending on private residential construction declined for the tenth month in a row amid elevated mortgage interest rates. Consequently, this spending is 10% lower compared to a year ago. The monthly decline is largely attributed to lower spending on single-family construction, which has been.

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What agents need to know as the complex mortgage fee hike kicks in

Inman

Loan-level pricing adjustments — a fee on mortgages — led to widespread misinformation leading up to the May 1 hike. Inman spoke to experts about what the changes mean for homeowners.

Mortgage 156
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Disparate Treatment and Impact in USPAP

Appraiserblogs

USPAP has introduced the terms DISPARATE TREATMENT AND IMPACT in its 5th exposure draft. Disparate treatment and impact are bad for appraisers because they can damage the reputation of the profession, lead to legal and regulatory action, and negatively impact the success and viability of individual appraisers and their businesses. Disparate treatment occurs when an appraiser treats individuals or groups differently based on their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or other protected characterist

Appraisal 106
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Market conditions no longer favor large SFR players

Housing Wire

The institutional single-family rental (SFR) market has expanded rapidly over the past decade as an alternative to homeownership, but it is now facing major headwinds in the form of a rapid jump in interest rates and still-high inflation compounded by decelerating home prices and rental rates. That’s the takeaway from a recent analysis of the sector by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), an analysis that also is echoed, in part, by a recent report from ATTOM , a leading curator of real estate data.

Marketing 413
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Construction Job Openings Trending Lower

Eyes on Housing

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined again in March, falling to 9.6 million, after an 11.2 million reading in December, which was the highest level since July. The count of open jobs was 12 million a year ago in March 2022. The count of total job openings should continue to fall in 2023 as the.

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Aptly named PayProp is a U.K. proptech import landlords will welcome: Tech Review

Inman

There’s not an over abundance of spreadsheets or charts (there are some) but instead a series of clean dashboards that track payments, outgoing expenses, revenue streams and tenants.

Landlords 155
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ASA exec discusses FHFA’s decisions on Fannie Mae’s appraisal waiver expansion

Valuation Review

ASA strategic partnership officer addresses Fannie Mae's search for a more automated future.

Appraisal 143
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Opinion: Setting the record straight on mortgage pricing

Housing Wire

Recently, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a statement clarifying the agency’s rationale for changes to loan level pricing adjustment (LLPA) fees going into effect on May 1. The changes have created some controversy due to the fact that better credit quality borrowers will experience higher fees after May 1 than under the current LLPA grids and vice versa for lower credit quality borrowers.

Mortgage 412
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Solid Job Growth in April

Eyes on Housing

Job gains continued in April, despite rising interest rates and a slowing economy. After a revised 165,000 job gain in March, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 253,000 in April, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.4% from 3.5% in March. In April, on a year-over-year basis, wage growth increased slightly to 4.4% from 4.3% last month, but down compared.

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Redfin narrows losses as revenue falls 45% in first 3 months of 2023

Inman

Redfin's Q1 revenue declined 45 percent year over year to $325.7 million, as gross profits from its real estate services took a tumble amid a harsh housing market, according to an earnings call Thursday.

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Top 3 Ways to Streamline Your Small Construction Business

GoForrmz

Introduce digital solutions early and enjoy the benefits of streamlined processes and flexibility to scale at a sustainable rate Investing in digital solutions can seem overwhelming at first. Common concerns include the cost of the technology, implementation timeframe, lack of time and resources to undertake such an endeavor, and much more. However, introducing digital tools into daily operations has many benefits, especially for small construction businesses.

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Rocket reports another big financial loss, but says there’s light at the end of the tunnel

Housing Wire

Elevated mortgage rates hurt Rocket Companies , the parent of Rocket Mortgage , again in the first quarter of 2023. Rocket has been cutting expenses and targeting purchase business, but the firm was unable to achieve profitability in Q1 in a shrinking mortgage market. The Detroit-headquartered lender sustained a $111 million adjusted net income loss in the first quarter, following a $197 million loss in the fourth quarter.

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Understanding the Different Types of Home Appraisals

Kairos Appraisal Services

If you have plans for home buying, selling, or refinancing, it will likely require an appraisal. While the mortgage lender will order the appraisal to ensure that they are not issuing a loan for more than what the property is worth, it’s still best for buyers and sellers to understand the home appraisal process and… The post Understanding the Different Types of Home Appraisals appeared first on Kairos.

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Zillow begins ‘critical’ year with mounting losses, falling Q1 revenue

Inman

Zillow brought in $469 million in revenue, according to an earnings call Wednesday, falling 13 percent from the $536 million it brought in a year earlier during a period that preceded the rate hikes and sluggish sales.

Agents 152
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Why Is Fla. America’s Fastest-Growing State?

Empire Appraisal Group

NEWS & MEDIA iLLiePhotography, Getty Images Source: Why Is Fla. America’s Fastest-Growing State? | Florida Realtors Why Is Fla. America’s Fastest-Growing State? The Census Bureau says Fla. is now the nation’s fastest growing state, a rank it hasn’t held since 1957. Why? Taxes often get some credit, but it’s mainly the sunshine. WASHINGTON – Florida is the fastest-growing state in America for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S.

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Mortgage demand falls despite a decline in rates

Housing Wire

30-year fixed mortgage rates declined slightly last week, the first rate drop in three weeks, but it wasn’t enough to boost mortgage demand. Mortgage applications fell last week by 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The 30-year fixed rate decreased five basis points to 6.5% last week, which is still 114 basis points higher than a year ago, Joel Kan , MBA’s vice pr

Mortgage 392
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[Video] Customer Story: Freedom Industries

GoForrmz

“ GoFormz helped eliminate 80% of our physical paperwork. ” — Donovan Block, CFO, Freedom Industries Commercial Doors and Docks About Freedom Industries Operating since 2012 in Southern California, Freedom Industries is a facilities maintenance company that provides installation, repair, and maintenance on all types of doors, loading docks, and more.

Clients 78