Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
In today’s red-hot market, you need a real estate agent who can get creative, play hardball in negotiations, and help you stand out from the pack in a bidding war. And not everyone — even an agent recommended to you by a friend or loved one — is up to the task. Want to make sure you’re getting the best real estate agent possible for your home purchase?
Riverfront Appraisals
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
We have an exciting announcement! Riverfront Appraisals opened a new office in Tell City, Indiana. Located at 820 Tell Street in the newly renovated Turnkey Realty building in historic downtown Tell City, the new office had a ribbon cutting with the Perry County Chamber of Commerce on September 25 and is currently open for business. […]. The post Riverfront Appraisals Opened New Office in Tell City, Indiana appeared first on Riverfront Appraisals.
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McKissock
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
If a mortgage lender acquires the title to a property as the result of a foreclosure, the property is called an “REO” property, which is short for “Real Estate Owned.” REO properties represent business opportunities for appraisers, as property valuations may be needed for pre-foreclosure, loan workouts, short sales, asset evaluation, and more. However, inspecting these types of properties can be dangerous.
Property Metrics
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
In some ways, a commercial real estate construction project is just like any other project. There is a start date, several interim milestones, and an end date when the property is complete and a certificate of occupancy has been issued. However, a commercial real estate construction loan is not like other loans. It is distinguished by the fact that the loan balance starts at $0 and rises over time as funds are distributed, according to a predefined “draw schedule.”.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
For the third consecutive month, Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index, a composite index designed to track consumers’ desire to sell or buy a home, gained 0.7 points in October to 81.7. Though that number is increasing, it’s slowed down compared to gains in previous months, including August’s 3.3 points rise and September’s 3.5. Compared to this time last year, the HPSI is still down 7.1 points, but has steadily recovered over 60% of its COVID-19 pandemic loss when April’s HPSI hit i
Real Quantum
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Asset Manager Property Database: Why You Need One. Asset Managers are Drowning in Documents. T he commercial real estate industry has been drowning in a sea of documents for decades. Spreadsheets, Word documents, as-built surveys, title policies, income and expense reports, rent rolls, and of course email, email, email. Turns out, Realquantum’s research found 82% of those in commercial valuation roles are dependent on a manual, spreadsheet-driven process.
Property Appraisal Zone brings together the best content for appraisal professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
REX Real Estate
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Sacramento has been a hot market this year, as the pandemic has pushed people…
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday the validation and approval of the Classic FICO credit score model for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “The validation and approval of Classic FICO by the enterprises allows them to continue supporting the mortgage market while assessing more modern credit score models that were submitted in response to the 2020 Joint Enterprise Credit Score Solicitation ,” the FHFA announced.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan rose this week to 2.84%, Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday – up 6 basis points from the previous all-time record low set last week. The average fixed rate for a 15-year mortgage also gained slightly by 2 basis points to 2.34%. Despite this week’s rise, there have still been 16 consecutive weeks when average mortgage rates have been below 3%.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
In its most recent earnings report , Zillow revealed a significant number of its Zillow Offers users are turning to remote online notarization. In fact, the company reports that more than 60% of its Zillow Offers customers closed on their home through RON. This increase in tech usage is now driving up the company’s earnings. “The second win, maybe even mightier than the first, the technology tailwind,” Zillow CEO Rich Barton said in the earnings report.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
If you’re thinking about buying a home, then boosting your FICO score should be at the top of your to-do list. Not only does a prime credit score improve your chances of getting approved for a mortgage, but it also helps you secure a lower interest rate, too — and that means a more affordable loan on the whole. But boosting a FICO score is easier said than done.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
Back in September, executives at Rocket Companies bragged about delivering a record third quarter , the kind of origination volume no observer or analyst had ever seen before. They weren’t kidding. Thanks to unprecedented market conditions , shifting demographics and historically low interest rates, Rocket posted closing origination volume of $89 billion, up 122% year-over-year, and rate lock volume at nearly $95 billion, an increase of 101% from the third quarter of 2019.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
Think back on all the major financial decisions you’ve made since entering adulthood. Perhaps your list starts with renting your first apartment or buying your first car. Later, you may have taken out a personal or small business loan. Eventually, you purchased your first house, maybe got a home equity line of credit. There’s a common denominator in all of these transactions: It’s you.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
As the country embraces technology now more than ever, lenders and title companies have an opportunity to embrace the possibilities of mortgage technology to connect with consumers in new ways and grow their businesses. In an online event on Monday, Qualia and its partners discussed the ever-changing world of technology in real estate, mortgage, and title lending and what lies ahead in 2021.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
Add another lender to the IPO clown car : venture-backed Better.com. The digital lender, run by CEO Vishal Garg , selected Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to prepare an initial public offering slated for 2021, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. The company will seek to beat the $4 billion valuation it was given in its most recent $200 million Series D funding round , according to Bloomberg’s anonymous sources.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Despite foreclosure moratoria holding steady in several states, a recent foreclosure report from ATTOM Data Solutions revealed a total of 6,042 U.S properties began the foreclosure process in October. That number is up 21% from a month ago, but still down 79% from this same time last year. However, some individual states did see that number climb year-over-year including Idaho, which was up 109%, and Nebraska, up 56%, since last October.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Mortgage applications decreased 0.5% last week after a 3.8% jump at the end of October, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). That’s despite the 30-year fixed rate decreasing to 2.89% — an all-time survey low. The refinance index, however, increased by 1% from the previous week – and is a robust 67% higher than the same week in 2019.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
What is holding back potential homeowners from buying? According to the National Association of Realtors 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 47% of potential homebuyers said student loan debt was the biggest obstacle in saving for a downpayment. In addition, 43% cited high rent/mortgages and 36% cited credit card debt as factors getting in the way of saving for a downpayment.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
Seth Thompson, premier land professional. Year to year, the evolution of computer technology can be staggering. In most cases, the advancements cause disruption— and opportunity—in every industry. In real estate, one such disruption is caused by drones, which have become an extremely effective tool for mapping and marketing property. Drone mapping is replacing manned aerial flyovers such as Google Earth , a technology the industry has relied on for decades.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
Several state-level real estate initiatives and urban development policies were voted on in the Nov. 3 general election, including issues involving tax credits for veterans, widows and long-time homeowners. . Here’s a state-by-state real estate ballot breakdown from California , Georgia , Nebraska and others: California : Proposition 19 passes. The passing of Proposition 19 in California overhauls Proposition 13, which slashed property taxes by almost 60% in 1978.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments fell 16 basis points to 5.67% last week, with four of the five loan types dropping by double-digit basis points, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance fell 17 basis points last week to 3.49% – marking the 22nd week in a row the GSEs’ forbearance rate has dropped.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
Starting off this week’s people mover announcements, Opendoor announced another executive-level hire, naming Andrew Low Ah Kee as its new president. Low Ah Kee joins the Opendoor executive team to help drive operations across the company, especially as it expands into new markets and deepens its product offerings. Prior to joining Opendoor, he served as chief operating officer at GoDaddy where he led a global team of more than 7,500 teammates and played a role in nearly quadrupling the company’s
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
Real-estate closing platform Qualia announced the launch of its Physical Document Service on Thursday that will allow mortgage lenders to automate the management of paper trailing documents from title partners through the Qualia platform. The company announced the news during the fall session of its Future of Real Estate Series. Through its Physical Document Service, Qualia is able to manage the collection, sorting and quality assurance of physical trailing documents to ensure an on-time shipmen
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
In April, with the coronavirus pandemic raging across the country, leaders at JPMorgan Chase made the call: the bank was going to significantly tighten mortgage lending standards. Borrowers weren’t going to get a new mortgage without a 700 or higher credit score and at least 20% down. Instead, JPMorgan Chase said it would focus on its existing customers , primarily handling refinances.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
In Japan, the word for “improvement” is kaizen. In business, kaizen refers to activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the top down. One area in the mortgage and real estate industry that has been evolving for nearly two decades is digital closings. Much like efforts to achieve full self-driving vehicles, the road to achieve full digital closings has been bumpy.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
After a dramatic false start in 2015, California-based lender loanDepot says it’s finally going public. The company, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Anthony Hsieh, said Wednesday morning that its newly formed affiliate loanDepot Inc. had confidentially filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public. “The number of shares of Class A common stock to be sold and the price range for the proposed initial public offering have not been determined,” the le
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
Mark Dodson was having a promising start to the year. His corner of the Atlanta mortgage market – high-value home loans that wouldn’t be bought by the GSEs – was booming. But by March there were whispers that the non-QM space was going to vanish soon. Liquidity had dried up and bond investors were running for the hills. At that point, Dodson was actively working on a jumbo loan for friends of his from church. “I told my client, my friends, ‘Look, I know you’re supposed to close in 10
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
eXp World Holdings , the parent company of eXp Realty , announced in Q3 earnings on Tuesday that its revenue in the third quarter increased 100%, to a record $564 million compared to $282.2 million the year prior. That beat expectations, which were set at $409.5 million. The company’s gross profit increased by 103% to $46.8 million in Q3, compared to $23 million the year prior while commissions and other agent-related costs were $517.2 million, compared to $259.1 million the year prior.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts isn’t done helping others. After announcing the creation of Spark in September – a vertical aimed at creating paths for women and minorities in the mortgage industry – AIME’s newest program, Military in Mortgage, will offer small business grants and specialized job training for the mortgage industry to veterans and military spouses.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Mobile-first title and escrow company, Endpoint , has announced it received an additional investment of $40 million from its parent company, First American Financial Corporation. This investment brings the total funding received to date to $70 million. Endpoint said that this funding will help accelerate its hiring plans, technology development and expansion into new U.S. markets.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
The Mortgage Collaborative, the mortgage industry’s independent cooperative network, has begun releasing details on a significant virtual event they will host for their members during the first three weeks of December. Dubbed “ The 12 Days of TMC ”, the event will feature 24 keynote speeches from 12 notable non-mortgage industry celebrity speakers and 12 prominent industry leaders.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 9, 2020
Guy Gal is a tech entrepreneur, innovator and angel investor who founded three companies – Kingmaker , a video commerce company, TheBizMedia , a digital video agency and Kognitive Marketing , a retail sales consulting firm – before setting his sights on the real estate industry in an effort to help top-producing agents transform themselves into market-leading businesses.
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
Online mortgage lender Better.com revealed it raised $200 million in a series D financing that put the New York-based startup at a $4 billion valuation, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg. The Monday news of Better’s new funding round is $100 million more than it had previously quoted in late September. According to the memo, the company has now raised a total of $410 million, with investors in this round that included Activant Capital , Ally Financial , American Express Venture
Housing Wire
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
Anyone who read the Mortgage Bankers Association’s recent 2021 forecast knows that refinance volume is soon to slow down. Purchase originations are expected to grow 8.5% to a new record of $1.54 trillion in 2021. Refinance originations are predicted to slow next year, decreasing by almost half to $946 billion. It might happen as early as Q1 2021, which is just months away. .
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