Housing Wire

APRIL 20, 2022

A Department of Veterans Affairs lending program for Native American veterans has been severely underutilized, a government watchdog found. According to a report the Government Accountability Office published this week, the VA’s Native American Direct Loan program only resulted in 89 loans originated in the continental U.S. from 2012 to 2021. This represents less than 1% of the estimated potentially eligible population of 70,000 veterans, the watchdog agency said.

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Government Lending Development Legal 532

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 18, 2022

This article was first published in the Appraisal Buzz Magazine. If you have shared a story with us in the past that was never published, please resend it. Your story could be one of the best this time around! Send your stories to comments@appraisalbuzz.com. Have you ever walked away from a day thinking, “No one’s EVER going to believe this!” Well, we want to hear all about it!

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Appraisal Business Inspection Retail 413

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

APRIL 18, 2022

Could you live in a tiny home? Or what about a skinny home? I’m talking where walls range anywhere from eight feet to twelve feet wide at their maximum. Well, let’s talk about a super thin unit that sold recently in Sacramento. Think Like an Appraiser Class: I’m teaching my favorite class on April 28 from 9am-12pm. We’ll […].

Appraisal 404

Appraisal Modernization Design Construction 404

Cleveland Appraisal Blog

APRIL 21, 2022

It’s tax appeal season and I’ve had several homeowners say that they feel their neighbors are negatively impacting the value of their home for different reasons. Is that the case? Can that be the case? Let’s talk about it. The homeowners of one property stated that their neighbors are a nuisance. My clients said that one of their neighbors has people coming and going until late in the evening, most evenings.

Market Value 350

Market Value Appraisal Agents Real Estate Agent 350

Housing Wire

APRIL 19, 2022

The Federal Housing Administration told mortgage servicers that they can now offer a 40-year loan term as a COVID-19 recovery option. Servicers for FHA-insured mortgages can offer the modification immediately, according to the latest update to FHA’s mortgage lending policies. For now, only borrowers financially impacted by the pandemic can opt for the loss mitigation option, and it may only be used in combination with a partial claim option.

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Insurance Development Mortgage Government 496

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

Rapidly rising mortgage rates are worsening affordability challenges that have been brought on by record home value growth. According to the March Zillow Real Estate Market Report, monthly mortgage payments on the typical U.S. home are 19.5% higher than they were three months ago, and 38% higher than a year ago. Despite this, the pace … The post Home Value Forecast Predicts Slowdown in Growth appeared first on DSNews.

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Home Value Real Estate Appraisal Mortgage 370

George Dell

APRIL 20, 2022

Traditional appraisal says we should describe and analyze the subject neighborhood. In residential form reports, there is a section devoted to the neighborhood. In general narrative reports, there is a section devoted to the neighborhood. In fact, often there is great discourse about the town, the city, and greater things. We have often heard criticism […].

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Appraisal 195

Housing Wire

APRIL 20, 2022

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales for March came in as a miss of estimate at 5.77 million. However, the real story of 2022 is that the savagely unhealthy housing market continues as inventory is still lower than last year, sending home prices growth into double digits again. However, hope for a balanced market is real this year because, with higher rates, we should see more days on the market coming up and growth in the inventory data.

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Housing Market Marketing Inventory Mortgage 489

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

The post The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe… and Needed an Appraisal appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

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Appraisal 370

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 21, 2022

Buyers’ expectations of housing availability continue to worsen. At its peak in the 4th quarter of 2020, 36% expected the home search to get easier in the months ahead. After five straight drops, the share is now 17% – a level not seen since 2018. In contrast, 74% expect the search for a home to get harder/stay the same. Buyers’.

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Buyers 177

GoForrmz

APRIL 22, 2022

This Earth Day 2022, we are incredibly proud of our paperless customers working towards a greener workplace As we observe another Earth Day, here at GoFormz we celebrate by recognizing all of our customers that have taken incredible strides in their paperless initiatives. By digitizing physical paper documents, collectively we have saved over 18,035 trees by digitizing over 41,398,474 form s – that’s more than 150,291,205 pages of paper !

Business 148

Business Clients Technology 148

Housing Wire

APRIL 20, 2022

In the first article of this series, I discussed the argument for turning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into public utilities, which would result in more Americans having fair access to mortgage services. However, regulating government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as public utilities is not without its detractors. Privatization is often presented as an alternative option, but as I mentioned in the previous article, it’s not always the ideal approach.

Housing Market 426

Housing Market Marketing Lending Investing 426

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

Virtual tours have gained in popularity over the past two years, with Charlotte, North Carolina leading the way with a 1,571% increase in interest. The post Demand Grows in 3D Tours of SFR Properties appeared first on DSNews. The post Demand Grows in 3D Tours of SFR Properties appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

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Appraisal 284

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 20, 2022

The share of adults planning a home purchase within a year fell for a third straight quarter in the first three months of 2022, down to 13%. The last time fewer American adults intended to buy a home was in the second quarter of 2020 (11%). The decline is evidence that the COVID-induced boost to housing demand is past its.

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Appraiserblogs

APRIL 20, 2022

No one wants to be the messenger… Appraisers are messengers. Why is their message so despicable? So biased? The messenger. Psychology research easily points out our tendency to dislike the bearer of bad news. It’s also intuitive. Bad news messengers do not smile when they bring the news. Sometimes they even look guilty. We humans can be really basic.

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Training Appraisal Real Estate Valuation 127

Housing Wire

APRIL 22, 2022

A Wells Fargo bank branch. Wells Fargo & Co., the top depositary mortgage lender in the country, is cutting jobs in its home lending business, just days after reporting weak mortgage earnings in the first quarter of 2022. “The home lending displacements this week are the result of cyclical changes in the broader home lending environment,” a Wells Fargo’s spokesperson told HousingWire.

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Mortgage Lending Retail Business 409

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

The upcoming Five Star Government Forum will bring together industry stakeholders and their government partners to Washington, D.C. to discuss the mortgage and housing landscape in 2022 and onward. The post The Week Ahead: Servicing Industry Meets Government Leaders to Chart Future appeared first on DSNews. The post The Week Ahead: Servicing Industry Meets Government Leaders to Chart Future appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

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Government Appraisal Mortgage 284

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 22, 2022

An earlier post revealed that 67% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the 1st quarter of 2022 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. By far, the most common reason these long-term searchers cite for not having bought by now is their inability to find an affordable home (48%). .

Buyers 171

Buyers 171

Appraiserblogs

APRIL 18, 2022

…a brilliant ‘work around’ to solve the subject & comps adjustment issues, which Fannie Mae thinks is no big deal… Appraisers, I was chatting with an appraiser buddy last week about the ANSI measuring dilemma we all face when doing Conventional lending reports, which ultimately will wind up with Fannie Mae. In my view, my appraiser buddy has a brilliant ‘work around’ to solve the subject & comps adjustment issues, which Fannie Mae thinks is no big deal, but we all know will cause conside

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Appraisal Lending Marketing 126

Housing Wire

APRIL 20, 2022

With rates at the highest level in a decade, mortgage applications for the week ending April 15 fell 5%, according to the latest survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The drop was largely driven by an 8% decline in refinancing applications, which was 68% lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 3% from the week prior, according to the trade group.

Mortgage 409

Mortgage Contracts Buyers 409

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

In her new role, 25-year industry veteran will oversee multiple assignment teams at LRES. The post LRES Promotes Martha Zamora to Director, Assignment appeared first on DSNews. The post LRES Promotes Martha Zamora to Director, Assignment appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

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Appraisal 195

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 19, 2022

Single-family starts permits declined in March, as higher interest rates weighed on housing affordability and produced a fourth straight decline for the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI. Additionally, the cost and availability of materials, lumber, labor and lots remain key supply-side headwinds. Nonetheless, the resale market lacks inventory supporting ongoing demand for new construction.

Construction 169

Construction Inventory Marketing 169

Riverfront Appraisals

APRIL 21, 2022

When’s the last time you picked up the phone and called an appraiser? Maybe you had a question about how to adjust for an inground pool. Maybe you had a problem and the home didn’t appraise at the sale price. Do you ever communicate with the appraiser? While most appraisers and Realtors have good […]. The post The Realtor’s Guide to Appraisals Part 5: Tips on Communicating with the Appraiser appeared first on Riverfront Appraisals.

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Appraisal Realtors Appraisal Process Housing Market 102

Housing Wire

APRIL 19, 2022

A force reduction of about 4,000 workers since December apparently wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding for Better.com. The digital lender on Tuesday morning announced that it would be executing its third major layoff, though it did not disclose how many workers would be shown the door. Sources familiar with the layoffs said it would be “significant” and felt across the company’s divisions, including at Better Real Estate , a brokerage-like venture the company launched last

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Real Estate Agent Real Estate Brokerage Agents 381

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

In an appraisal assignment, an extraordinary assumption is employed to presume certain unknown information as fact. An extraordinary assumption is related to a specific assignment, and takes information that is unknown as of the effective date of the assignment results and assumes it to be true. If this assumption were found to be false, it could affect the appraiser’s opinions and conclusions.

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Appraisal 195

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 20, 2022

Preference for newly constructed homes skyrocketed in 2020, as buyers looked for homes with more square footage and amenities in which to work remotely, school children, exercise, etc. By the fourth quarter of 2020, 42% of prospective buyers preferred new construction. Since then, however, rising new home prices (driven by a 31% increase in the cost of building materials) have.

Construction 167

Construction Buyers 167

JMV Lending

APRIL 21, 2022

We can close conforming (Fannie/Freddie) loans in 12 CALENDAR days – easily – IF we get a “Property Inspection Waiver,” aka PIW aka Appraisal Waiver. Savvy agents know this – so they often ask us to run “DU” (Fannie Mae’s automated underwriter) with the property address before they make an offer. If DU gives us […]. The post 12 Day Close With Appraisal Waiver; CHECK ADDRESS PRIOR TO OFFERS!

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Appraisal Inspection Lending Agents 78

Housing Wire

APRIL 22, 2022

Starting May 25, “several hundred” real estate agents in the Raleigh, North Carolina and Denver metro areas will no longer have access to Premier Agent , thanks to major changes coming to Zillow ’s lead generating platform. In a letter posted on Zillow Group ’s blog page on Wednesday, SVP of business operations Stephen Capezza told agents that Zillow would be moving to a “post pay” or “success fee” payment structure in Raleigh and Denver.

Agents 370

Agents Real Estate Agent Real Estate Buyers 370

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 22, 2022

DART (Digital Asset Registration Technologies Inc.), a combined lien and eNote registry system developed by Figure Technologies Inc. using blockchain technology, has two new integration agreements. The first is with Blue Sage , a cloud-based digital lending platform for retail, wholesale and correspondent lenders. The second is with Docutech , a provider of document, eSign, eClose and digital-to-print fulfillment technology for the mortgage industry and a member of the First American family of c

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Retail Technology Lending Development 195

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 21, 2022

Buyers’ expectations for housing affordability continue to sour. In the first quarter of 2022, 81% said they could afford less than half the homes for-sale in their markets – the highest share since before the pandemic. At its lowest point in the 4th quarter of 2020, 63% of buyers expected to afford <50% of the homes available. On the other.

Buyers 163

Buyers Marketing 163

Empire Appraisal Group

APRIL 21, 2022

Listing Prices Hit Highest Median Ever. Source: Listing Prices Hit Highest Median Ever | Realtor Magazine. Listing prices rose to a median of $405,000 in March, an all-time high, according to realtor.com®’s latest Monthly Housing Trends Report. However, economists say that buyers may soon see relief with expectations of more inventory coming that could help relieve some of the pricing pressures.

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Inventory Buyers Construction Realtors 78

Housing Wire

APRIL 22, 2022

This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Matthew Blanchard, producing sales manager at Academy Mortgage Corporation. Blanchard previously worked art Loan Depot before joining in growing Academy Mortgage Corporation. Standing proudly since 1988, AMC has continued to build and promote a united culture for the lives of their employees, partners, homeowners, and communities.

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Buyers Clients Business Inventory 370

Appraisal Buzz

APRIL 21, 2022

Freddie Mac ’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) results show that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.11% with an average 0.8 point as of April 21, 2022, up from last week when it averaged 5%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.97%. “Mortgage rates increased for the seventh consecutive week, as Treasury yields continued to rise,” observes Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Mortgage 195

Mortgage Appraisal Marketing 195

Eyes on Housing

APRIL 22, 2022

A growing segment of prospective home buyers aren’t moving past the planning stage. At its peak in mid-2021, 61% were actively trying to find a home to buy. Now, the share is back to pre-pandemic levels, at 46%. This is clear evidence that higher mortgage rates and double-digit growth in home prices are discouraging a growing share of buyers from.

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Buyers Mortgage 147