Sat.May 18, 2024 - Fri.May 24, 2024

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VA to roll out temporary fix to buyer agent commission problem

Housing Wire

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs will soon release a circular that “bridges the gap” on an agency law that prohibits a VA buyer from paying their real estate agent compensation, a VA official announced on Tuesday. Michelle Corridon, deputy policy director at the VA, announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association ‘s Secondary & Capital Markets Conference in New York that the circular would be issued between now and June 12.

Buyers 523
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MBA: Mortgage Applications Increased 1.9 Percent Last Week as Rates Fell

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage application volume increased 1.9% during the week ended May 17, as the average rate for a 30-year- fixed-rate mortgage fell to to 7.01%, down from 7.08% the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey. Applications for refinances increased 7% compared with the previous week and were up 21% compared with the same week one year ago.

Mortgage 431
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An insurance crisis wasn’t on my bingo card

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

It wasn’t on my housing market bingo card to be paying such close attention to insurance, but this is a huge deal for California (and some other states). I promise this won’t become an insurance crisis blog, but today I have some brand new stats to share for Sacramento and the Bay Area. UPCOMING SPEAKING […] The post An insurance crisis wasn’t on my bingo card first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

Insurance 366
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A third of homes for sale are new construction

Real Estate News

With many owners of existing homes hesitant to give up their low mortgage rates, new homes continue to account for an outsize share of the market.

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Expect the growth rate of existing home prices to cool down this year

Housing Wire

I anticipated solid year-over-year home-price growth in today’s existing home sales report, so I’ve tried my best on social media to inform people that we have a low bar in home-price comps for this report and the next one. This is the context for why the home-price growth data was strong, which took some people by surprise. As you can see below, even though home prices rose in 2023, the median sales price showed negative year-over-year growth in April, May and June of last year.

Inventory 513
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MBA: Mortgage Bankers Saw ‘Less Severe’ Net Losses in Q1 

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage bankers continued to lose on originations in the first quarter, as the average pre-tax net loss per loan was $645, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report. That’s a decrease from the reported loss of $2,109 per loan in the fourth quarter of 2023. “While the first quarter of 2024 marks the eighth consecutive quarter of net production losses, these losses were less severe than the previous two quarters,” says Marina Walsh, vice p

Mortgage 396

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‘Stop sharing broker commissions’ to steer clear of trouble

Real Estate News

A “consumer-centric” approach to buy-side commissions is better for all agents, industry leaders say. Here’s why, and what you need to know about the DOJ.

Agents 304
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FHA issues immediate cybersecurity reporting requirements

Housing Wire

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Thursday published Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-10 , outlining reporting requirements that lenders must follow if they detect a cybersecurity intrusion. Effective immediately and applicable to all FHA-insured mortgage programs, the letter states that all lenders “that experience a potential or actual cyber incident must notify HUD via the FHA Resource Center at answers@hud.gov and HUD’s Security Operations Center at cirt@hud.gov within 12 hours of detect

Law 500
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First American: Rising Inventory in April Had Little Effect on Home Prices, Affordability

Appraisal Buzz

A combination of increased listings and weakening affordability continued to dampen home price appreciation in April – a trend that will likely to continue, according to First American. “After years of historically low levels of homes for sale, the pace of existing-home listings has modestly increased, bringing much-needed supply to the housing market,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American, in a statement.

Inventory 370
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House made famous by ‘Home Alone’ hits market for $5.25M

Inman

The red brick Georgian mansion, known by children all over the world as Kevin McCallister's home, is back on the market after 12 years and comes with a large Kevin Lego figure for the home theater.

Marketing 200
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Mortgage rates fall below 7% for the first time in 6 weeks

Real Estate News

Buyers may be able to take advantage of lower rates and increasing inventory, but many are still priced out, dampening sales.

Inventory 302
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New listings data falls for third week in a row 

Housing Wire

New listings data has been moving lower over the last few weeks. I usually wouldn’t care too much about this as its a data line that can be volatile week to week but now it’s been three weeks. The moves haven’t been significant and our weekly pending contracts data picked up this week. But, we need to see more growth in new listings data just to grow from 2023 levels. 2023 new listings data was the lowest ever on record, so it’s already a low bar.

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A Seller’s Market: What Does It Mean for Appraisers?

Appraisal Buzz

As an appraiser, you’re already familiar with buzzwords like seller’s and buyer’s markets. A seller’s market indicates demand is high and inventory is low, while a buyer’s market means inventory is high and demand is low. Interest rates impact the housing market significantly — demand can rise or fall any time they go up or down. When the market enters a phase more favorable to sellers, appraisers may find themselves caught in a crossfire between what buyers think is fair and what the homeowner

Appraisal 370
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Compass CEO Robert Reffkin says the luxury market is back

Inman

The luxury market is back. That was Compass co-founder and CEO Robert Reffkin's primary message during his latest appearance on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," where he talked about home price trends, mortgage rates, and stock market ebbs and flows.

Marketing 200
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Homes.com president out

Real Estate News

David Mele, the longtime leader of CoStar’s home search site, confirmed to Real Estate News that he has left his position as president of Homes.com.

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Fraud, forgery claims are costliest expenses for title insurers

Housing Wire

Fraud and forgery claims represented more than one-fifth of the total dollars spent by title insurers on claims expenses and losses over the past decade, according to a study conducted by Milliman and commissioned by the American Land Title Association (ALTA). Between 2013 and 2022, title insurers recorded 203,181 claims for policies written during that time, and they paid out $4.4 billion in claims related to losses and loss expenses.

Insurance 497
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The Evolution of Valuation Tech: What’s New and What’s Next

Appraisal Buzz

Today, host Hal Humphreys meets with Jeff Allen, President of CubiCasa. Jeff has been an integral part of the valuation industry for a while, and he gets us up to speed on what his experience has involved. There have been a lot of new changes coming to the valuation space. What are some recent changes happening in valuation technology Where is the future of valuation going, and just how long will it take us to get there?

Valuation 368
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Equity Angels names first 4 startups for its advisory services

Inman

Equity Angels was launched in early 2024 by 2018 Inman Person of the Year Kenya Burrell-VanWormer, chief growth officer at NEO, and Katherine Winston, founding member and head of marketing at Plunk.

Marketing 196
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NAR continues its battle to keep DOJ case closed

Real Estate News

An appeals court ruled that the government could reopen its investigation. NAR says that decision involved “far-reaching and exceptionally important” errors.

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What the new home sales report shows about labor market risk

Housing Wire

New home sales missed estimates , showing that demand isn’t crashing but not growing much either. However, we need to keep an eye on the housing construction data in this report because it has huge implications for the economic cycle, our recession risk and mortgage rates. As the chart below shows, the housing sector generally poses a future risk to labor if the single-family permits data continues to decline.

Marketing 492
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Mortgage Rates Fell This Week as Average Rate for 30-Year Dipped Below 7 Percent

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage rates fell this week, with the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropping to 6.94%, down from 7.02% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. “Spring homebuyers received an unexpected windfall this week, as mortgage rates fell below the seven percent threshold for the first time in over a month,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement.

Mortgage 195
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US inventory rises to highest level since 2022 as new-home sales fall

Inman

Newly built homes available on the market rose to 480,000, representing a supply of 9.1 months at the current sales rate, up from an 8.5 month supply in March, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Inventory 195
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VA will allow homebuyers to pay agents — at least for now

Real Estate News

Comments made by a Department of Veterans Affairs official Tuesday “ensures veterans have the same opportunity as others to compete in a tight housing market.

Agents 276
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Private equity and insurance companies piling into residential mortgages

Housing Wire

After two years of limited demand, private equity and insurance companies are increasing their allocations to single family residential mortgages. This increased flow of funds appears to be driven by strengthening macro factors that favor residential mortgages over other yield assets such as commercial real estate (CRE) and commercial (C&I) loans.

Insurance 487
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Truity Credit Union Using Dark Matter’s Empower LOS

Appraisal Buzz

Truity Credit Union , a member-owned credit union with locations in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, is using Dark Matter’s Empower loan origination system to provide loan officers and members a modern, mobile-friendly experience across home purchase, refi, home-equity and construction loan originations. According to Joe Beffer, Truity’s senior vice president and director of lending, the credit union chose Dark Matter for its mobile-friendly borrower portal and for features that will help its interna

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Veterans Affairs will suspend rule blocking vets from paying agents

Inman

Deputy Director of Policy Michelle Corridon said Tuesday the agency would lift rules preventing vets from using low-cost VA loans to pay agents until it engages in a formal rule-making process.

Agents 195
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A closer look at NorthstarMLS’s path through a tricky year

Real Estate News

Minnesota’s largest multiple listing service embraces its “broker-centric, tech-forward focus” as it works through rules changes and pursues collaboration.

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9 tips for homebuyers in non-disclosure states

Housing Wire

For many, buying a home is a complex process, and navigating the real estate market’s rules and regulations can be tricky, especially in states where property sale prices remain a secret. Buying a home in a non-disclosure state, where sale prices are not available to the general public, presents a unique set of challenges and requires home buyers to be more proactive in gathering information.

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Down Payment Resource Now Integrated with ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass

Appraisal Buzz

Down Payment Resource , offering homebuyer assistance program data and solutions, recently announced an integration with ICE Mortgage Technology that embeds down payment assistance program support into Encompass. The integration helps lenders make affordable home financing opportunities more accessible while growing business and forging referral partnerships, Down Payment Resource says in a release.

Mortgage 195
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With growing demand, Real launches luxury division

Inman

Several months after Kofi Nartey announced his team's move to Real, the brokerage has launched a new luxury division with Nartey serving as executive director.

Brokerage 195
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Movoto wants to win on tech, experiences — not ad spend

Real Estate News

CEO John Berkowitz says the home search company offers agents and consumers “a better chance of succeeding” than its deep-pocketed competitors.

Agents 273
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Chopra: Credit reporting industry’s fee hikes “raise big questions”

Housing Wire

The setting could not have been more appropriate. Rohit Chopra , the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , and frequent critic Bob Broeksmit, the president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association , sparring on stage over what constituted a junk fee. Chopra, the consumer watchdog, noted that there was actually some middle ground — lenders and consumers are both being overcharged by the credit reporting industry, he said.

Mortgage 480
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NAR: Existing-Home Sales Fell in April But Inventory Increased 9 Percent

Appraisal Buzz

Lack of inventory, high home prices and rising mortgage rates slowed existing-homes sales in April. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales fell 1.9% compared with March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million. Year-over-year, existing-home sales were down 1.9%. Despite a 9% month-over-month increase in inventory in April, home prices continued to increase: The median existing-home price jumped 5.7% year-over-year in April to $407,600.

Inventory 195
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Row Row ROV? Pt 2

George Dell

ROV (Reconsideration of Value) is now in the boat. Is it safe? We suspect this will be a long row to get to the chosen island. Just row! It is likely this topic will be the focus of more of our “analog blog” series. To read part one of this series or other blog post […] The post Row Row ROV? Pt 2 appeared first on George Dell, SRA, MAI, ASA, CRE.