Sat.Jan 11, 2025 - Fri.Jan 17, 2025

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Housing Market Decoded: Why Fed cuts haven’t kept mortgage rates down

Real Estate News

When the Fed lowers interest rates, a drop in mortgage rates often follows but recently, the opposite has happened. Heres why.

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Mortgage rates fall after remarks by Fed President Waller

Housing Wire

The 10-year yield and mortgage rates have been on a wild ride lately, even testing my top-end forecast at 7.25%, but today, the 10-year yield fell after remarks by Fed President Chris Waller about whether the Fed would do even more rate cuts than the market was anticipating. His statement on this, in a CNBC interview : If inflation continues on this path through the beginning of 2025, it’s reasonable to think that possibly rate cuts could happen in the first half of the year.” This w

Mortgage 511
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Meeting Renters Where They Are

Appraisal Buzz

This article originally appeared in the January 2025 edition of MortgagePoint magazine, online now. Whether starting a job in a new city or accommodating a growing family, leaving one home for another can be an exciting and at times stressful process. For renters, receiving a timely, accurate security deposit refund is key to a smooth journey. Currently, the property management industrys reliance on legacy payout processes can lead to refund errors and delays that inconvenience tenants when movi

Tenants 397
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The 2024 housing market was better than 2023

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

It’s great news that 2024 performed better than the 2023 housing market. Seeing more buyers and sellers able to participate is absolutely what we want to see. Let’ get into it. Skim quickly by topic or digest slowly. UPCOMING SPEAKING GIGS: 1/15/25 Mike & Joel free Zoom event (REGISTER FOR WEDNESDAY) 1/16/25 Sac Real Producers […] The post The 2024 housing market was better than 2023 first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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Unlock The Blueprint: How To Construct A Better Payment Workflow

Speaker: Timothy Allsopp

Payment challenges often lead to delayed projects, financial bottlenecks, and strained relationships. With construction projects becoming more complex, outdated processes are no longer sustainable. By refining financial workflow, companies can improve cash flow, reduce error, and foster trust between stakeholders. Discover practical strategies for redesigning payment systems to overcome workflow challenges while creating a smoother, more reliable process for contractors and subcontractors alike.

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California agents scramble to help clients affected by LA wildfires

Real Estate News

As the fires rage on, some agents are working on the front lines to help displaced residents facing big losses while navigating scarcity and price-gouging.

Agents 313

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Housing Trends Face Seasonal Slowdown

Appraisal Buzz

According to Realtor.com s December Monthly Housing Trends Report, the number of properties for sale increased by 22.0% in December 2024 when compared to the same period the previous year. Among the top 50 U.S. metro areas, Miami (45.4%), San Diego (42.4%), and Denver (41.9%) had the biggest annual rise in active listings. Inventory of homes actively for sale grew for the 14th straight month.

Inventory 354
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Remodeling Market Sentiment Improves in Fourth Quarter of 2024

Eyes on Housing

The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 68 for the fourth quarter of 2024, up five points compared to the previous quarter. Remodelers are more optimistic about the market than they were earlier in the year, corroborated by NAHBs recent analysis of home improvement loan applications. Demand in many parts of.

Marketing 208
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Resilience and rebuilding: LA’s uncertain housing future

Real Estate News

What does rebuilding look like and should we even continue to build in some of the areas affected by wildfires? Experts share their thoughts.

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Realtor.com: HOA fees are on the rise among all home types

Housing Wire

Mortgage and property tax payments are not the only expenses that prospective homeowners need to consider. Homeowners associations (HOAs) are commonplace, and more of them are requiring owners to pay up, according to a survey by Realtor.com. Realtor.com’s report found that 40.5% of listings in 2024 had some sort of HOA fee and these expenses became even more costly.

HOA 397
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Need Curated Pre-foreclosure Lists to Generate New Real Estate Leads? Trellis Has the Data!

Trellis is a state trial court research and analytics platform that provides Real Estate Professionals (Buyers, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, etc.) with LEADS on Pre-Foreclosures, Lis Pendes, Distressed Assets and more — to help uncover **new** opportunities and grow their business. The process is quick and easy — and all in real time. Trellis will supply you with a link to the relevant dockets, a Leads sheet and access to its UI where applicable.

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Record Number of Renters Struggle With Affordability

Appraisal Buzz

Affordability challenges for renters reached unprecedented levels in 2023, as the number of cost-burdened households hit a record high of 22.6 million, according to the latest data from the American Community Survey analyzed by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Among these households, 12.1 million were severely burdened, spending more than 50% of their income on rent and utilities.

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Builder Confidence Edges Up Even as Market Risk Concerns Rise

Eyes on Housing

Builder sentiment edged higher to begin the year on hopes for an improved economic growth and regulatory environment. At the same time, builders expressed concerns over building material tariffs and costs and a larger government deficit that would put upward pressure on inflation and mortgage rates. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family.

Marketing 183
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Supreme Court denies NAR request to review DOJ case

Real Estate News

The decision is a blow for the association, which has spent years trying to prevent the Justice Department from reopening its investigation into NAR policies.

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Home-price growth is cooling, leading to appraisal challenges

Housing Wire

Cleveland-based Corporate Settlement Solutions (CSS) released an analysis Thursday that highlights a growing gap between appraised home values and sale prices. Across the 19 East Coast and Midwest states in which CSS operates, appraisals were higher than sale prices in 57% of transactions during the second half of 2024. That share was up from 53% in the second half of 2023 and 51% in the first half of 2024.

Appraisal 397
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Property Tax Hikes Strike Once-Affordable States

Appraisal Buzz

Homeowners enjoying the equity gains of soaring property values are now contending with an unwelcome consequence: skyrocketing property taxes. Over the past few years, property tax payments have climbed sharply in many regions, particularly in states once regarded as affordable. This surge reflects a broader challenge of housing affordability as costs continue to rise.

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FTC warns of massive spoofing op impersonating mortgage lenders

Inman

"Green Mirage" phone scam targets homeowners in all 50 states from India, using the caller ID of the borrower's actual mortgage lender and tricking victims into making payments to U.S.-based "mules.

Mortgage 167
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Investor sentiment nosedives as rates rise, rents fall

Real Estate News

After improving earlier in the year, sentiment plunged between the third and fourth quarters of 2024, though flippers were less pessimistic than landlords.

Landlords 296
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Home-price growth ramped up in Q4, Fannie Mae report shows

Housing Wire

Fannie Mae ‘s latest Home Price Index (HPI) shows single-family home prices increased 5.8% from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, a surprising increase from the previous quarter’s downwardly revised annual growth rate of 5.4%. Quarterly, home prices rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in Q4 2024, an increase from the downwardly revised 1.2% growth rate in Q3 2024.

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Pending Home Sales Fall to 24-Month Low

Appraisal Buzz

Pending home sales fell 4.5% month over month in December on a seasonally adjusted basisthe largest decline since October 2022and dropped 2.3% year-over-year, according to a new report from Redfin. Homebuyer demand dipped at the end of the year as mortgage rates continued to climb. After inching downward at the beginning of the month, mortgage rates reversed course halfway through December and have been rising sincein part because the Federal Reserve projected fewer 2025 interest-rate cuts than

Contracts 397
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Mortgage rates ease on benign December inflation report

Inman

Investors bid up shares of mortgage lenders and real estate companies after "relatively benign" CPI report ends speculation that inflation worries might force the Fed to raise rates this year.

Mortgage 173
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Average mortgage rates top 7% for the first time in 8 months

Real Estate News

Rates increased for a fifth straight week, but the latest inflation data could be a sign that relief is coming.

Mortgage 284
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From bartender to $463k GCI in two years of cold calling

Housing Wire

Does experience matter for first-year Realtors? If you dig a little deeper into the backgrounds of the agents on the Real Trends Verified list, you might think so. Most have blue-chip professional experience or personal connections with wealthy homeowners. Some have both. But Brandon Halperin had neither. He was a bartender who started his real estate career in a market that was brand new to him.

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Variable, Gig Income May Improve Consumer’s Access to Credit 

Appraisal Buzz

One of the most crucial parts of underwriting is making sure a prospective borrower has a reliable source of income that enables them to pay back their mortgage loan, according to Khristi Waters, Senior Director of Single-Family Credit Risk Policy and Li-Ning Huang Principal of Economic and Strategic Research Market Research at Fannie Mae. The industry experts offered their insight on borrower income, homeownership, credit access, and more.

Investors 397
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RE/MAX taps Christie’s Real Estate vet Chris Lim as chief growth officer

Inman

Lim, who vacated the presidency of Christie's International Real Estate in 2023, will be tasked with growing RE/MAX at a time when the brokerage has struggled with falling revenue and U.S. agent count.

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What buyers are looking for in their next home

Real Estate News

In a recent survey, would-be buyers were most interested in finding a turnkey home close to work, but they're willing to compromise on some features.

Buyers 281
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More home sellers but fewer home sales

Housing Wire

There were 45,000 new listings for single-family homes across the country this week, which is a big jump. That’s 12% more sellers than a year ago. This is the trend that will be the theme for 2025. It seems more sellers are coming out every week and that will keep inventory pushing upward. Mortgage rates pushed this week close to 7.25%. Its only two weeks into January and mortgage rates have hit the high end of the range we forecasted for the entire year.

Sellers 418
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The American Dream of Homeownership Lives On

Appraisal Buzz

The American Dream is alive and thriving, according to a new survey from Realtor.com , which found nearly two out of three Americans (64%) identify homeownership as one of their life goals, while 50% believe homeownership is necessary to achieving long-term wealth. Laura Eddy, VP Research and Insights for Realtor.com , said, Home, and land, ownership has been a part of the American Dream for generations, and while current conditions around affordability and the availability of homes make ownersh

Buyers 418
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Rollout of new mortgage credit scoring models pushed back

Inman

Plan to require lenders working with Fannie and Freddie to use FICO Score 10 T and VantageScore 4.0 models by Q4 2025 has been dropped, with new implementation date "TBD.

Mortgage 167
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NAR asks court to dismiss Michigan mandatory membership case

Real Estate News

Tying association membership to MLS access isnt anticompetitive, the defendants argue, while also claiming the plaintiffs are contradicting themselves.

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Younger generations are more likely to pursue home renovations this year

Housing Wire

As high home prices continue to impact the market, many homeowners are deciding to stay put in their homes. But most still have plans to purse home renovations and younger generations are leading this new focus on home improvement. Emmy Award-winning home improvement platform This Old House conducted a survey of 2,000 homeowners on their renovation plans for 2025.

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A Closer Look at YOY Foreclosure Filings 

Appraisal Buzz

ATTOMs Year-End 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report a measure of foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessionswere reported on 322,103 U.S. properties in 2024, down 10% from 2023, down 1% from 2022, and down 35% from 2019, before the pandemic shook up the market. Foreclosure filings in 2024 were also down 89% from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010.

Lending 389
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Track the week’s C-Suite shuffles: The Download

Inman

Some of the real estate industry's biggest names made major moves over the past few days. Here's who's in and who's out.

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eXp, Weichert settlements looking more dubious

Real Estate News

The judge in the Gibson/Umpa case filed an order laying out plausible evidence that the brokerages used a reverse auction strategy to find the best deal.

Brokerage 271