Sat.Aug 08, 2020 - Fri.Aug 14, 2020

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Here’s why we won’t see a housing crisis after COVID-19

Housing Wire

August is upon us, and the growth in the rate of new infections appears to be slowing. Vaccine development is progressing with some promising early results. The time has come to start thinking about what life will be like on the other side of this crisis. What can we expect post COVID-19? Logan Mohtashami Lead Analyst. Some things will not have changed.

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THE CON Episode 1 Debuted This Week And It Was Compelling Because Good Appraisers Lived That Hell Too

Miller Samuel

Although I've shared the following CNBC clip before, it's worth showing again given my 15-year ago hairstyle. In 2005, I was interviewed by CNBC in the midst of the Housing Bubble and said that 75% of the appraisals being done then weren't worth the paper they were written on (hey it was 2005 and they were done on paper, not pdf). They found me because I had just started my Matrix Blog because no one seemed to be listening to appraisers.

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The 3 Characteristics of a Reliable Data Source

McKissock

As a real estate appraiser, there are numerous data types and sources available that you could use to solve a specific appraisal problem. In order to reasonably believe that a source is reliable, it is recommended that you assess the dependability of a data source based on the following three characteristics, at a minimum. FREE Webinar: Join us Wednesday, August 26, 2020 for a live Pro-Series webinar, “The Data Puzzle: Pulling It All Together.

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Square Footage vs. Gross Living Area

Aspen Appraisal Group

At a recent edition of Ask the Appraiser Live on Facebook, Chief Appraiser, Matt Frentheway discussed the square footage vs. gross living area of a home. We thought this would be educational for many of you out there so we wanted to share this segment. For more educational videos, answers to questions, and helpful general information from some of Utah’s best appraisers, click here and join the Ask the Appraiser Group on Facebook.

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Mortgage applications are up 6.8%, with refinance activity leading the way

Housing Wire

Mortgage applications were back up 6.8% last week, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association , further evidence that, thanks to the pandemic, August is the new May for home-buying. Consumers responded to mortgage rates that fell to new low last week , with the refinance index jumping 9% from the previous week to its highest level since April, said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

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Quid Pro Quo: The Right Candidate Got Elected And Corrupt Leadership Got To Keep Their Sham Election Maneuver

Miller Samuel

Yesterday's AI Public Airing Of The Sham Election Process was a dark day for the institution but a bright day for the good guys. The actual selection of Craig Steinley after he won the national nominating committees' endorsement took literally thousands of members to apply pressure to the BoD. Thankfully it worked. However, in order to enable the Board of Directors to do the right thing, they got to keep the sham petition process in place.

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Avoid Appraisal Disciplinary Action with These Do’s and Don’ts

McKissock

As a professional appraiser, you don’t want to have a disciplinary complaint filed against you, and you certainly don’t want to be the subject of a complaint that results in disciplinary action. So, how can you prevent these undesirable consequences? Here are several do’s and don’ts to help you avoid situations that may get you into trouble as a real estate appraiser.

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Average U.S. mortgage rates rise from record low

Housing Wire

Average U.S. mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed rose to 2.96% this week from an all-time low of 2.88% , Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday. The average 15-year rate rose to 2.46% from 2.44% last week, according to the mortgage financier. “Even with this week’s uptick, very low rates are providing a significant boost to the housing market that continues to hold up well during this time of uncertainty,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

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North Dakota Appraisal Waiver Extended

National Association of Realtors

The waiver of appraisal requirements for Federal Related Transactions under $1M for commercial real estate transactions was extended for one year throughout the state of North Dakota.

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Eleven Types of Risk in Commercial Real Estate

Property Metrics

Every investment involves a certain amount of risk. There are certain general sources of risk that influence all assets – things like geopolitical risk and global macroeconomic risk. What makes each asset unique is the level of sensitivity that its rate of return has to those risks. In addition, specific types of assets have risks that are uniquely their own.

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Pros and Cons of Real Estate Certifications and Designations

McKissock

By Brooke Tanner. Real estate designations and certifications are additional qualifications that a real estate agent can receive by completing coursework to advance their knowledge and skillset in different areas regarding real estate. Many designations and certifications require prerequisites, including years of experience in real estate, obtaining memberships to individual councils, a minimum amount of transactions, or a minimum amount of total sales volume achieved before you can complete the

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In a hot housing market, gap between purchase price and appraiser condition ratings causes headaches

Housing Wire

Last week, HousingWire reported surging mortgage volume and record low interest rates are putting excess pressure on appraisal turn times. This week, appraisal experts said those same variables are having a profound effect on an age-old conflict of appraisal reports versus what the market believes the home is worth. In an accelerated environment with homes being bought and sold at a rapid pace and market data being pulled ahead of time, historical data can struggle to catch up and create broad d

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NAR Appraisal Summit: Fair Housing Issues in Real Estate Appraisal

National Association of Realtors

The NAR Appraisal Summit: Fair Housing Issues in Real Estate Appraisal took place on August 5, 2020 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EDT. Watch the recording.

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How to Keep Your Home Cool in the Summer

REX Real Estate

It’s the peak of summer and the higher temps mean your wallet can really…

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Two years of Ann Arbor market stats

Annarbor Appraisal

We are so often bullish about our market, but is it as “hot” as news outlets like to believe? We certainly have a shortage of inventory, which does create pressure on acting quickly and agressively on well priced houses that are in “show-ready” condition. That does not mean that prices are rising exponentially, or even that much at all? Simple example is taking all sales of single-family houses that are already built, not new construction or “to be built”, and arrying on a monthly basis.

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UWM announces 1.99% rate for 30-year fixed mortgage

Housing Wire

United Wholesale Mortgage announced Tuesday it is rolling out a loan program that offers borrowers mortgage rates as low as 1.99% for both purchases and refinances. The rate is only available through independent mortgage brokers, the company said in a statement. On July 31, the company announced a 1.875% rate for 15-year mortgages. We dive deeper into the conditions necessary to get that rate on the 15-year and other lenders offering similar rates, in the story: Making sense of ultra-low mortgag

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8 Staging Secrets from a Top Real Estate Professional

McKissock

Sell faster. And for more money. This is what every home seller (and agent) wants. And according to the Real Estate Staging Association, staged homes sell 73% faster with an average 297% return on investment. With so many differing opinions on home staging, we turned to Jay Hart, a Co-Principal at Sold with Style , a pre-sale consulting and home staging service for clients in and around NYC, to give us his best intelligence on staging.

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REX Homes hosts chat with World Housing on Instagram Live

REX Real Estate

Since Day 1, REX Homes has had a deeply rooted focus on giving back…

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More people are fleeing San Francisco and NYC for the suburbs

Housing Wire

The mix of working from home and renters seeking more space – albeit cheaper space – is pushing more people out of more expensive U.S. cities and moving into the suburbs. Particularly, Millennials are fleeing New York City for more space in its surrounding suburbs. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, online mortgage lender Better.com said it has seen an increasing trend in 35 to 36-year-old renters applying for mortgages in the suburbs of New York, including Westchester; Connecticut an

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[PULSE] The FHFA does it again…when will we fight back?

Housing Wire

As Maya Angelou so aptly said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”. Since the onset of the coronavirus that has plagued this nation we have watched policy makers and their varied responses at both the state and federal level. When it comes to housing and mortgage finance perhaps the most shocking thing is how the FHFA and the GSEs have simply ignored their role and used this time to threaten nonbank mortgage servicers facing liquidity problems, adding outrageous f

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Who stands to lose with 50bp GSE refinance fee?

Housing Wire

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they will add a 50 basis points fee to all refinances starting Sept. 1. “As a result of risk management and loss forecasting precipitated by COVID-19 related economic and market uncertainty, we are introducing a new Market Condition Credit Fee in Price,” Freddie Mac said in a bulletin. The housing industry was quick to react.

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UWM 1.99% 30-year mortgage rate comes with a catch

Housing Wire

United Wholesale Mortgage announced Tuesday it is offering conventional mortgage rates as low as 1.99%, but brokers warn this rate isn’t for every borrower, or even the majority. “You won’t find a no-cost loan in the low 2s or high 1s,” Mortgage Broker Jason Barlow explained in an interview with HousingWire. That’s because when borrowers go to take out a mortgage, they pay for their rate.

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Housing industry turns against Fannie, Freddie’s added refinance fee

Housing Wire

After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced an added 50 basis point fee to all refinances, the housing industry was quick to react. Today, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers announced growing support behind its campaign to reverse the newly announced GSE fee. Since the call-to-action was sent out on August 13th, NAMB has seen a significant increase in growth from its supporters, rising to more than 10,000 in just twenty-four hours.

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Blend reaches unicorn status with $75 million Series F raise

Housing Wire

This article was written for FinLedger, HW Media’s new fintech-focused news brand designed specifically for financial services professionals in banking, insurance and real estate. Stay tuned for updates. Blend announced Wednesday it has raised a $75 million Series F round at a valuation of nearly $1.7 billion, making it officially a unicorn. Fintech-focused Canapi Ventures led the investment, which brings Blend’s total venture raised to $365 million since its 2012 inception.

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Rent payments collected in August tick down

Housing Wire

The amount of rent payments collected in the U.S. has ticked down slightly to 79.3% of apartment households making a full or partial rent payment by August 6, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council ’s Rent Payment Tracker. While this is a slight increase from July 6 this year, it is a 1.9 percentage point decrease from the share of renters who paid rent through August 6, 2019.

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Are you overpromising real estate closing times?

Housing Wire

For the past two weeks, HousingWire took a deep dive into the effects an accelerated market can have on appraisal turn times and the delta between appraisal ratings and market forecasts. This week, industry experts discuss how to navigate client and referral partner expectations and minimize closing times when factors like these begin to decelerate the buying process.

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Low-income borrowers are least likely to know about mortgage relief

Housing Wire

The mortgage borrowers most in need of information about relief options provided by the CARES Act, such as forbearance, are the ones who are least likely to know about it, according to a Fannie Mae report. “Among all mortgage borrowers surveyed, those with lower incomes were more likely to be concerned about paying bills and were less familiar with relief options,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist.

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A faster way to pay in a pandemic? The Federal Reserve details research on digital currencies

Housing Wire

In a release on Thursday, the Federal Reserve detailed some of the research it’s doing on the benefits and risks associated with central bank digital currencies. Current research is being conducted within the Federal Reserve Board’s “TechLab” on innovations in alternative technological payments and projects, according to the release. Central bank digital currencies, or CBDC’s, refer to cryptocurrencies issued by central banks and are intended to supplement some sort of fiat currency (curre

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Short-term rentals are outperforming hotels, here’s how one company is helping property owners

Housing Wire

After COVID-19 paused travel , short-term rentals actually fared much better than hotels year-over-year, a new study said. As of June 21, short-term rental revenue per available room was down just 4.5%, while hotel revenue per available room was down a full 64.8% than the previous year. This decrease in hotel revenue occured despite the fact that the hotel average daily rate increased 31.9% during that period, compared to the 23.2% increase in average daily rate for 1-bedroom or studio rentals,

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HUD allocates $472 million of CARES Act funding for low-income households

Housing Wire

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced Monday the allocation of $472 million to be used for low income families during the coronavirus pandemic. HUD made the funding available to Public Housing Authorities as part of the CARES Act to assist families utilizing Housing Choice Vouchers and Mainstream vouchers. “This funding will provide additional resources to public housing authorities to make sure people have a decent, safe, and affordable place to c

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[PULSE] Black lives, Black families and Black homeownership matter

Housing Wire

There is a 30-point difference between white and Black homeownership rates in the U.S. today. Shockingly, the gap is wider than it was in 1968, when the federal government first outlawed racially based housing discrimination. Sadly, the pandemic, which is wreaking disproportionate financial havoc on minority communities, may expand the chasm. This makes it more important than ever to consider how the U.S. will finally welcome persons of color to share fully in the American dream of homeownership

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Grab the Key video promotes Black homeownership

Housing Wire

Back in May, the HousingWire executive team made a commitment to focusing on obstacles to Black homeownership in our news coverage. We’ve woven this coverage across our media channels, including interviews with Donnell Williams , Montell Watson and Alanna McCargo. We’ve also created a content center dedicated to Black homeownership , and plan to cover the topic in our upcoming HousingWire Annual virtual event.

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[PULSE] Lessons for lenders from the first cybersecurity enforcement action by NYDFS

Housing Wire

Three years after enacting one of the country’s most exacting cybersecurity regulations, the New York State Department of Financial Services recently filed its first cybersecurity enforcement action. In its July 21, 2020, statement of charges, NYDFS alleged that First American Financial, one of the country’s largest title insurers, failed to properly respond to a security vulnerability on its website.

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Are cities really seeing an exodus? Zillow says urban areas have more in common with suburbs than you think

Housing Wire

While we know people are migrating out of urban areas to seek more room in the suburbs, these two different kinds of housing markets are showing similar trends since COVID-19 shut down much of the country. The exceptions are the two priciest metros in the U.S. — Manhattan and San Francisco. In these two areas, inventory is nearly double what it was last year, as homes are staying on the market twice as long as last year.