Sat.Aug 27, 2022 - Fri.Sep 02, 2022

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Homepoint lays off off more than 100 employees

Housing Wire

Homepoint laid off more than 100 employees this week as it feels the effects of the price war in the wholesale lending space. The company confirmed workforce reductions on Wednesday and Thursday are in line with the company’s “openness to get smaller as an organization to effectively counter severe market pressures,” according to a spokesperson on Thursday.

Lending 414
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The housing market went from steaming to stagnant (free download)

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

The housing market went from steaming to stagnant a few months ago, and now that some time has passed, we’re getting more stats to help show the effect of higher mortgage rates. Today let’s look at sales volume to understand what’s going on. I have a free download too for anyone wanting to make visuals […].

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What Impact Will the Infrastructure Bill Have on the Housing Crisis?

Appraisal Buzz

The United States is currently in what many consider to be a housing crisis. Market prices for purchased and rented homes are through the roof, with no clear end in sight. More people are searching for homes than there are houses available. This supply and demand issue made property prices skyrocket, with few able to afford what sellers were asking.

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What Is a Reconciled Value?

Cleveland Appraisal Blog

Have you ever read thru an appraisal report? You may have noticed that there are three approaches to value. The Sales Comparison Approach, the Cost Approach, and the Income Approach. The Sales Comparison approach, as the name implies, compares the property being appraised to other properties that a potential buyer might consider as a substitute for buying the property being appraised.

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Rocket offers more voluntary buyouts

Housing Wire

Rocket Companies , the parent company of Rocket Mortgage , extended the second round of voluntary career transition offers to employees amid the company’s forecast of much lower origination volume in the third quarter. . “We recognize career growth options in certain areas of our business are limited right now, while the housing market normalizes following two years of unprecedented volume,” said Mike Malloy, chief administrative officer for Rocket Central.

Business 414
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How Full Is Your Glass?

The Appraiser Coach

I love podcasts! In fact, I started recording podcasts because of how much I loved listening to them. Recently, I was listening to a podcast about car salesmen, and one. Read More.

More Trending

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Bias in the (Transaction) Zone?

George Dell

The transaction zone is a range within which a sale price might occur. Yet our definitions of value nearly all define a “most probable” price. In prior issues, we have discussed how vintage appraisal practice is vulnerable to accusations of bias. The “appraisal process” is most vulnerable at the beginning of the analysis, wherein “good […]. The post Bias in the (Transaction) Zone?

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Mountain West Financial steps back from wholesale lending

Housing Wire

Add mortgage lender Mountain West Financial to the list of victims of the price war in the wholesale channel. The Redlands, California-based company informed its broker network last week that it has “made the difficult decision to take a step back from wholesale lending,” according to a spokesperson. Founded in 1990, Mountain will continue to serve retail and consumer direct clients throughout the Western United States.

Lending 414
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Private Residential Spending Slides in July

Eyes on Housing

Private residential construction spending declined further in July, as rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs put a damper on the market. It fell 1.5% in July, down for the second straight month, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Construction Spending data. Private residential construction spending was 14.1% higher year-over-year.

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Property Preservation Experts to Meet at Upcoming Five Star Conference

Appraisal Buzz

As part of September’s Five Star Conference in Dallas, the Property Preservation Lab brings together individuals discussing the challenges currently faced, while offering solutions to continue the prevention of urban blight. The post Property Preservation Experts to Meet at Upcoming Five Star Conference appeared first on DSNews. The post Property Preservation Experts to Meet at Upcoming Five Star Conference appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

Appraisal 195
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Baltimore Racial Bias Lawsuit

Appraiserblogs

When reading over the Baltimore document, it appears painfully clear (to me) that there is a competency issue exposed. Folks, below is the Baltimore court paperwork for the latest appraiser bias suit that recently ‘hit the fan.’ This document is fairly specific, in that it reveals quite a lot about the two appraisals performed, including the home locations for the ‘comps’ used.

Training 109
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OWNS ETF taps capital markets to close racial-wealth gap

Housing Wire

The Impact Shares Affordable Housing MBS ETF, also known as OWNS, is an exchange-traded fund with the ambitious mission of seeking to tap the capital markets to address long-standing affordable-housing and racial-wealth gap issues in U.S. society. Since its inception last summer, OWNS has focused on investing in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that are collateralized by custom-created mortgage pools.

Marketing 449
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Revolving Consumer Credit Posts Double-Digit Increase in Q2 2022

Eyes on Housing

Non-real estate consumer credit grew at a seasonal adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 8.7% in the second quarter of 2022 according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report. Revolving debt climbed 14.6% (SAAR), double the increase in nonrevolving debt (+6.9%). Total consumer credit currently stands at $4.6 trillion, with $1.1 trillion in revolving debt and $3.5 trillion in.

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Market Trends: More Sellers Become Hesitant to List Homes

Appraisal Buzz

Realtor.com’s latest housing data release for August reveals that listing prices decelerated for the third month in a row, as more sellers hit pause on listing homes and homes for sale spent more time on the market than last August. While fewer new listings are entering the market, overall inventory continues to grow, providing more … The post Market Trends: More Sellers Become Hesitant to List Homes appeared first on DSNews.

Sellers 195
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Appraiser Bias Allegations Unmask Debt Traps

Appraiserblogs

Claims of tainted appraisal unmask something else… the renewed “churning” of mortgages by nonbank lenders. Convinced racism torpedoed valuations in their home refinancings, the owners of three properties in the San Francisco Bay Area told their stories to Julian Glover, a reporter who covers the race, culture and social justice beat for ABC’s San Francisco affiliate.

Appraisal 101
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Heather Siegel to speak at HW Annual Oct. 4

Housing Wire

Between a rise in M&A activity to a surge in tech adoption, the title sector is one to watch as we head into the rest of 2022 and beyond. From where technology is making an impact in the space to the nuances in state and federal laws, this panel focused on “The Future of Title” is one you don’t want to miss at HW Annual. We’re excited to have Heather Siegel, account manager at Qualia , on the panel as she taps into her deep experience in how both lenders as well as t

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Solid Job Gains in August

Eyes on Housing

Job growth remained solid in August, with 315,000 net job growth. However, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 3.7% in August, as the labor market participation rate expanded. “Softer labor market conditions” are expected in the near future as the Fed raises interest rates aggressively into 2023 to bring inflation lower. The headline job number of today’s labor.

Marketing 154
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Reflecting the Communities We Serve

Appraisal Buzz

As the industry makes strides to increase homeownership for marginalized individuals, the mortgage finance space must keep pace to meet the needs of this group by enhancing its DEI efforts. The post Reflecting the Communities We Serve appeared first on DSNews. The post Reflecting the Communities We Serve appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

Finance 195
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Is the Sun Setting on High Prices? – August Newsletter

DW Slater Company

“It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream.” – Bernard Williams. We recently had an extended trip to send our son off to college in Colorado. When we returned I snapped this photo of Lake Ray Roberts as we were arriving in our hometown. It was so peaceful. I was thankful to be home and excited for his future. It symbolized a sunset in this part of my life, as this kid was now launched.

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Two new MSR offerings hit the market

Housing Wire

The Prestwick Mortgage Group , an Alexandria, Virginia-based advisory and brokerage firm, has unveiled a mortgage-servicing rights (MSR) offering for a $598 million package of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Prestwick’s offering comes on the heels of a separate bulk offering announced recently by New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Group (MIAC) that involves an MSR offering for a package of Fannie Mae loans.

Marketing 414
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Stable Reading for July Construction Job Openings

Eyes on Housing

The construction labor market is cooling off as economic activity slows in response to tighter monetary policy. However, the July data shows stability concerning the number of open, unfilled jobs in the construction industry. This trend will likely weaken during the second half of 2022 due to the policy decisions by the Federal Reserve. The count of open construction jobs.

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Technology Changing the Appraisal Industry

Appraisal Buzz

Today’s Buzzcast interview is with Eric Tsai, Cofounder and CEO of Asteroom. We sat down with Eric and Joan Trice, Founder of Allterra Group, LLC, to discuss how technology is changing things for appraisers in the near future. What are some examples of the new technology helping appraisers today? How is Asteroom changing the game in the appraisal industry?

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Calif. vs. Fla. in Fight for ‘Digital Nomads’

Empire Appraisal Group

Calif. vs. Fla. in Fight for ‘Digital Nomads’. If permanent work-from-home employees can move wherever they want, where do they go? According to Airbnb, Fla. is one of the top two destinations. NEW YORK – Some U.S. workers never have to go back to the office after their temporary remote work during COVID-19 lockdowns became permanent. And many are embracing the ability to work from anywhere, booking spaces across the country to use as temporary offices and homes.

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AmeriSave exits wholesale channel, cuts staff

Housing Wire

Atlanta-based AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. exited the wholesale channel this week, a decision that comes after the mortgage lender has imposed rounds of layoffs across the company, according to former employees and business partners. . HousingWire sent multiple requests to the company’s leadership for comments, but they did not respond. This week, brokers received a message stating that AmeriSave Wholesale Mortgage Solutions (AWMS), the company’s wholesale channel, is closing doors imme

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Student Housing Investment Edges Down in the Second Quarter of 2022

Eyes on Housing

Private fixed investment in student dormitories declined 4.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.2 billion in the second quarter of 2021, according to the data released by Bureau of Economic Analysis. Private fixed investment in dorms was 12.7% higher than a year ago, but 29% below the pre-pandemic level. Private fixed investment in student housing experienced a.

Investing 145
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Changing Needs Motivating Home Sellers

Appraisal Buzz

According to a new Realtor.com survey, some 92% of people who sold their home within the last year accepted some buyer-friendly terms, and approximately 41% accepted some contingencies in the contract. Additionally, among those surveyed, the number of buyers asking for repairs based on the inspection results more than doubled in recent months and the number … The post Changing Needs Motivating Home Sellers appeared first on DSNews.

Sellers 195
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The Importance of Employee Engagement

GoForrmz

Why employee engagement is key to a company’s success The importance of employee engagement cannot be overstated. High employee engagement has been proven to reduce employee turnover, improve productivity, and deliver higher profits. Engaged employees also show greater commitment to a company’s values and goals. For the modern workforce, an engaging work environment is expected.

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Did Suburban Mortgage shut down?

Housing Wire

Arizona-based mortgage lender Suburban Mortgage Inc. ’s website is down and employees’ emails are disabled, indicating that the company apparently shut down its operations and laid off its employees. HousingWire reached out to representatives for the company, but they did not respond to requests for comments. A former employee told HousingWire that executives sent an email on Friday morning informing them about the decision to cease operations by 4:30 PM that day.

Mortgage 382
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How Today’s Market Impacts the Appraisals and Inspections Landscape

Genworth MI Blog

A version of this post originally appeared on MortgageOrb. The housing market has seen many changes over the past couple of years, some as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and some from the rapid changes in the economy. With an increasingly competitive market for buyers, many homebuyers have taken new steps to secure a successful offer. Enact’s David Foster recently spoke with MortgageOrb about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted inspections and appraisals, the changes we see today, and

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HUD Pledges $15 Million to Assist the Elderly

Appraisal Buzz

New program will fund endeavors to make safety and functional home modification repairs and renovations to meet the needs of low-income elderly homeowners. The post HUD Pledges $15 Million to Assist the Elderly appeared first on DSNews. The post HUD Pledges $15 Million to Assist the Elderly appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

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Trash Management Team Reduces Payroll Processing Times By 40% Using GoFormz

GoForrmz

Digital payroll processes result in significant time savings for Strategic Sanitation Services. Strategic Sanitation Services provides condominium and apartment communities with on-site waste control and recycling services. Growing an average of 30% year-over-year, Strategic quickly outgrew traditional, paper-based processes, and selected GoFormz to streamline their daily processes.

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Why home-price growth is still up 18% year over year

Housing Wire

On Tuesday, the S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller Index reported that national home prices grew 18% year over year. While the growth rate is cooling monthly, we are still in a savagely unhhealthy housing market trying to get national inventory levels back to pre-COVID-19 levels. From the index : I know it seems strange, but existing home sales are falling, and the monthly supply of new homes is at 10.9 months even if the last existing home sales report showed home price growth of near 11% year over

Inventory 382
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3 Key Ways Best Real Estate Agents Leave Their Comfort Zones

McKissock

Some of the best real estate agents in the business today know how important it can be to go outside your comfort zone in order to keep — and retain — profitable clients. Getting stuck in a rut with the same strategies that only bring you moderate success isn’t the best way to earn more. Instead, challenge yourself to get comfortable with being awkward and taking chances.

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Are Delinquencies Numbers Stabilizing?

Appraisal Buzz

According to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, delinquencies and forbearance markets may have begun to flatten out as forbearances have posted about a half-million in mortgages, delinquencies posted numbers of around 2 million, and foreclosure starts hovering around 30,000 per month. Looking up, most of the 8.9 million borrowers who were in one point in … The post Are Delinquencies Numbers Stabilizing?

Appraisal 195