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Consumer protection is what title insurance is all about

Housing Wire

Even as home prices began to decrease last year, mortgage rates remained high, leading both buyers and sellers to stay out of the housing market. Existing home sales fell to their lowest point in nearly 30 years in 2023, while the median price of a home reached a record high, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Insurance 435
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As insurance costs rise, real estate agents have more buyer concerns to assuage

Housing Wire

As recently as five years ago, homeowners insurance was certainly not top of mind for most homebuyers and their real estate agents , but the rapidly rising cost of insurance premiums is changing that. Before, insurance was kind of an afterthought. nationwide in 2023, with Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. and Utah at 20.3%.

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Rising insurance costs, ample inventory create a unique market in Southwest Florida

Housing Wire

“I think one of the major trends we are seeing is that our overall inventory is up 60% year over year compared to 2023,” said PJ Smith, president of the Naples Area Board of Realtors and the broker-owner of Naples Golf to Gulf Real Estate. “We homeowners insurance policy was roughly $1,700 in 2023. In comparison, the average U.S.

Insurance 394
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The title industry’s latest cat-and-mouse game: seller impersonation fraud

Housing Wire

Secret Service , notified the title industry of a rise in what is known as vacant lot fraud, or seller impersonation fraud. “We We started to hear a lot about seller impersonation fraud early on in the year,” Tyler Adams, the CEO of CertifID, said. “We Oftentimes this leads to the discovery of vacant lots.

Sellers 376
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Market Correction or Seller Panic?

Appraisal Buzz

Assuming a $250,000 loan was committed on December 31, 2021, your monthly payment was approximately $1,007 exclusive of escrow for real estate taxes and insurance. This might manifest itself with lower offers that are acceptable to the seller, but price isn’t the only aspect of a transaction. So, how do you comp in this market?

Sellers 435
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Opinion: Improving housing affordability without exposing homebuyers to more risk

Housing Wire

According to the National Association of Realtors ’ (NAR) Housing Affordability Index , since spring of last year, a typical family with a median income have not been able to afford a median-priced home. It is no secret that there is a housing affordability challenge in the U.S.

Insurance 375
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CHLA urges FHA’s equal treatment of homebuyers despite commission status

Housing Wire

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) this week submitted a letter to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that urges the agency to “provide comparable down payment treatment for FHA borrowers, regardless of whether or not the seller is willing to pay the home buyer broker commission,” according to an announcement by the organization.

Sellers 393