2025

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Elevated mortgage rates aren’t discouraging homebuyers

Housing Wire

Why aren’t home sales crashing as they did in 2022? Right now we have elevated mortgage rates , trade war uncertainty , rising property taxes and home insurance, terrible consumer confidence data and a downgrade of the government’s debt, among other factors. But, housing demand continues to hold up, surprising people who can’t explain why home sales aren’t crashing anymore given elevated mortgage rates.

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HUD Grants Millions to Help End Homelessness, Prevent Evictions

Appraisal Buzz

As the New Year settles in, unfortunately, homeownership and financial stability are still a worry for millions of hard-working Americans. Through the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP), a first-of-its-kind federal program created to increase the availability of legal services to tenants at risk of or subject to eviction, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted $40 million in funding to 21 recipients to support housing stability and prevent evictions and homeless

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Real estate trends to watch in 2025

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Whats the housing market going to do in 2025? Nobody has a crystal ball, but here are some things on my mind. Scroll quickly by topic or digest slowly. Anything to add? UPCOMING SPEAKING GIGS: 1/15/25 Mike & Joel Event (free online (register Eventbrite)) 1/16/25 Sac Real Producers event (details TBA) 1/22/25 Windermere El Dorado […] The post Real estate trends to watch in 2025 first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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More homes are for sale — but not at the right price point

Real Estate News

A new report from NAR and Realtor.com found that households earning $100k or less can afford far fewer homes today compared to before the pandemic.

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Leverage Trellis Court Data To Identify More Investment Opportunities

Finance teams find Trellis to be particularly effective in conducting comprehensive due diligence on both individuals and businesses. With our court data solution, financial experts can access critical litigation insights, making it an invaluable resource for informed decision-making in the financial sector.

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California will require home insurers to offer policies in high-risk wildfire areas

Housing Wire

The California Department of Insurance unveiled a new regulation this week that aims to increase homeowners insurance coverage in areas prone to wildfires , a response to the recent pullback in policies by several major insurers. Announced by California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday, the regulation is under administrative review and is set to take effect by the end of January, according to reporting by The Associated Press (AP).

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Reports: Fannie Mae lays off 700 employees

Housing Wire

Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae has reportedly laid off as many as 700 employees, with 200 of the layoffs focused on members of the Telugu-speaking community over irregularities uncovered related to charitable donations. According to reports from outlets including TechStory , HRKatha and the Times of India ,700 U.S.-based employees were fired within the first few days of April, including 200 workers who speak the Telugu language, which is primarily spoken in the Indian states of

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Better mortgage spreads boost housing demand in 2025

Housing Wire

One of the lesser known storylines in housing economics is that the improvement in mortgage spreads since 2023 has contributed to a noticeable trend in purchase application data for 2025, which is now showing 15 consecutive weeks of positive year-over-year growth. Mortgage spreads recently turned negative due to market volatility, which resulted in an increase of 20 to 25 basis points in mortgage rates.

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Lower mortgage rates spark housing demand heading into spring

Housing Wire

Earlier this year, when mortgage rates soared to 7.26%, a cloud of worry hung over the housing market many feared that home sales would tumble in 2025, fueled by concerns about inflation and tariffs. But when it seemed doom and gloom would prevail, the 10-year yield dropped, pulling mortgage rates lower in a lovely slow dance. This unexpected turn of events breathed new life into the market, pushing purchase application data into positive territory for the year.

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No, homeowner delinquency rates aren’t elevated

Housing Wire

Homeowner delinquency rates are rising from record low levels but arent even back to pre-COVID-19 levels yet. This weekend, there has been a lot of discussion on social media surrounding homeowners’ delinquency data. This situation has prompted me to write this article and bring some reality into this discussion because the narrative being pushed is simply not true.

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The Constructor's Digital Transformation Playbook: Reducing Risk With Technology

Speaker: Dylan Secrest

Construction projects are high-stakes operations where even minor inefficiencies can lead to costly delays, safety concerns, and budget overruns. Managing risk in construction has always been a challenge, but as projects grow in complexity, traditional methods no longer cut it. Enter Digital Transformation - a game changer approach that replaces inefficiency with AI-powered analytics, real-time monitoring, and automated workflows to proactively manage risk.

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DeSantis wants to ban property taxes in Florida

Housing Wire

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he wants to eliminate property taxes in the state. In a post on X, the governor said that taxing land/property “is the more oppressive and ineffective” form of taxation. “Property taxes are local, not state. So wed need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60

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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

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2025 could be the last year of inventory shortage

Housing Wire

Home prices in 2025 are a couple percentage points above where they were last year at this time. People often ask, How can it be possible that home prices are still climbing even though the cost of money is so much higher? There are obviously fewer buyers who can afford these prices. One reason that home prices have stayed elevated is that inventory nationally is still restricted.

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Mortgage demand still staying firm with elevated rates

Housing Wire

If someone had told me that home sales would remain firm this year despite mortgage rates ranging from 7.25% to 6.64%, I would not have taken that bet. However, amid all the chaotic economic headlines of 2025 so far, the demand for mortgages is holding steady, even with the higher rates. Let’s dig into the latest Housing Market Tracker data to see what last week brought us.

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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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Mortgage applications rebounded 20% last week as rates dipped

Housing Wire

Mortgage applications jumped 20.0% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 20% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increased 35% from the previous week as mortgage rates took a dip.

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Americans tapped $25B in home equity in Q1. That hasn’t happened since 2008

Housing Wire

U.S. homeowners tapped nearly $25 billion in home equity through second-lien mortgages during the first quarter of 2025 the largest volume for this period in 17 years, according to the ICE Mortgage Technology ‘s newest Mortgage Monitor report. That marks a 22% increase compared to the same quarter last year. The first quarter is typically the slowest for home equity lending, but lower interest rates in early 2025 helped to boost activity particularly for home equity lines of credit ( HEL

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With more inventory, where are home prices headed?

Housing Wire

Last year, I predicted a national home-price increase of 2.33%. While that forecast was lower than most others, it seemed achievable due to higher mortgage rates and increased inventory. I was wrong and too low for 2024. This year, my prediction is even lower at 1.77% national home-price growth. So far this year, the existing home price index has been higher than my forecast level every month.

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Will the 2025 housing market crash like 2008?

Housing Wire

The 2025 U.S. housing market is flashing warning signs reminiscent of 2008: rising household debt burdens, persistent inflation and home prices that are outpacing incomes. Unlike the pre-2008 era, stricter lending standards and robust regulations have kept mortgage delinquency rates low, significantly lowering the odds of a catastrophic collapse. Yet, the growing share of income devoted to debt payments signals a need for heightened oversight and proactive measures to prevent financial strain fr

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Florida’s housing affordability crisis is reaching a breaking point

Housing Wire

Florida’s long-standing reputation as America’s affordable sunshine paradise is rapidly dimming under the weight of skyrocketing housing costs, unsustainable insurance premiums and crumbling infrastructure, according to a new report from real estate analytics firm Cotality. The study reveals a state at a critical crossroads, with early warning signs mirroring California ‘s housing collapse that triggered a mass exodus of residents.

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LA fires upend rental market as residents scramble for housing

Housing Wire

Several fires burning more than 45 square miles in the Los Angeles area have forced more than 100,000 residents from their homes and killed five people, The Associated Press reported on Thursday. Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed, with many displaced residents scouting for rental properties and temporary shelter.

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Homeowners face soaring insurance rates amid climate disasters, tariffs

Housing Wire

Homeowners are bracing for another year of rising home insurance premiums, with rates projected to climb an average of 8% by the end of 2025, according to a new analysis from Insurify. This follows a staggering 20% surge over the past two years increasing financial strain on property owners as insurers contend with escalating losses from climate-related disasters.

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Real estate teams are winning big. Is the solo agent era over?

Housing Wire

LPT Realty achieves growth by tailoring compensation models to the career stage of its real estate agents, from newbies who get the most out of a flat-fee model to superstars who like a traditional split. “What that creates is [that] we actually have alignment with our team leaders,” said LPT CEO Robert Palmer. “Everybody wins, and it’s led to massive growth.

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Tariff news sends mortgage rates to the lowest level of 2025

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates have reached the lowest levels of the year today as the 10-year yield dropped significantly on tariff news. The stock market reacted negatively to the news regarding tariffs, resulting in significant selling and a shift towards the bond market. In this week’s Housing Market Tracker , I mentioned that the 10-year yield level was stubbornly resistant and that we needed bad news to break through it.

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Rising mortgage rates zap builder confidence

Housing Wire

Todays housing starts data exceeded estimates; however, a closer examination of the report with the builder confidence reveals that the recent rise in mortgage rates , approaching 7.25%, has negatively affected builder sentiment. Since late 2022, our analysis indicates that mortgage rates in the 6%-6.5% range are positive to grow sales, whereas rates at 7% and above especially 7.50% or higher significantly impact the builder data.

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Pulte makes sweeping changes to boards of GSEs

Housing Wire

Not wasting any time following his Senate confirmation last week, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte made a series of major changes to the boards of government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The news was first reported by Inside Mortgage Finance.

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Rocket Companies to acquire Mr. Cooper in bombshell $9.4B deal

Housing Wire

Rocket Companies is buying Mr. Cooper , America’s largest mortgage servicer, in a market-shattering deal that could reshape the mortgage industry for years to come. The Detroit-based fintech , which is also in the midst of acquiring real estate brokerage and home search portal Redfin for $1.75 billion , is paying an equity value of $9.4 billion in stock, the companies said in a statement early Monday morning.

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Nearly half of home sellers are offering concessions

Housing Wire

U.S. home sellers offered concessions to buyers in near-record numbers during the first quarter of 2025 as rising housing costs , high mortgage rates and growing economic uncertainty continued to reshape the real estate landscape. According to a new report from Redfin , 44.4% of home sales from January through March included concessions such as money toward repairs, closing costs or mortgage rate buydowns.

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Lowest mortgage rates in months create surge in applications

Housing Wire

Mortgage applications increased 20.4% from one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis as buyers pounced on lower rates , according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Feb. 28, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, applications increased 22% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increased 37% from the previous week and was 83% higher than the same week one year ago.

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Here’s how one CRE veteran helps multifamily investors thrive

Housing Wire

Volatility is becoming the new norm in today’s commercial real estate market. If it isn’t rising interest rates or shifting rental trends, then growing technology is the driving force that prompts investors to evolve. They also face significant pressure to become faster and more efficient. A change is needed. To help investors survive uncertain times, professionals must understand market trends and develop a game plan for success.

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No Congress, no rate hikes: Bill Ackman’s plan to privatize the GSEs

Housing Wire

Bill Ackman, the billionaire founder of Pershing Square Capital Management , has an audacious plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval. The proposal involves the federal government forgiving hundreds of billions of dollars while also reducing capital requirements. As a result, Ackman claims the plan would boost the stock prices of both companies to the $30 range without putting upward pressure on mortgage rates.

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Housing resources and help for victims of the LA fires

Housing Wire

Real estate and mortgage firms are stepping up to help housing professionals and the Southern California community as wildfires ravage the area. Here’s a roundup of the companies and people offering help, which will be updated with new information as it becomes available. Help for those in the community Coldwell Banker Realty in Southern California, which is affiliated with Anywhere , created a Facebook group page for its network to coordinate a wide variety of needs from short- and long-t

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11 clever ways to use ChatGPT for real estate in 2025 (+ prompts)

Housing Wire

Unless you’ve been living among the Amish, you’ve probably already tried ChatGPT for your real estate business. Most agents we work with have, but usually to write listing descriptions packed to the gills with fluffy language and way too many em dashes. Sound familiar? If so, you’ve barely scratched the surface of what ChatGPT can do for your real estate business.