Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 30, 2025

Budgeting, Buyers Remorse and Bills More than two-thirds (69%) of homeowners regret their home and the related costs, and 4 out of 5 (81%) say their spending was higher than they had expected. The post Non-Mortgage Homeownership Costs Shock First-Time Buyers first appeared on The MortgagePoint.

Buyers 335

Buyers Property Taxes Mortgage HOA 335

Housing Wire

MARCH 12, 2025

The new system is described as an upgrade to zavvie s portal for cash buyers and boosts its Cash Buy Before Sell program, giving homeowners added financial flexibility to purchase their next home before selling their current one. zavvie is pioneering AI-powered alternative financing, ensuring more homebuyers can compete and succeed.

Finance 204

Finance Loan Officers Real Estate Agent Modernization 204

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Many of the distressed properties Sandoval encounters are not in good enough condition to qualify for traditional financing. That means the buyer will need to pay in cash or use non-traditional financing such as a hard money loan. But some segments of pre-foreclosure buyers are purchasing at much bigger discounts.

Retail 448

Retail Buyers Renovations Finance 448

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency , while the U.S. The companys proprietary data showed that the volume of homes sold at auction to third-party buyers and those repossessed by the foreclosing lender as real estate-owned (REO) declined 3% between the third and fourth quarter of 2024.

Retail 417

Retail Renovations Buyers Finance 417

Housing Wire

APRIL 15, 2024

Based on the selling guides in use by the GSEs, property sellers are allowed to make financing concessions toward the borrower’s closing costs at a maximum amount of 2% to 9% of the property value. Next, we hope Fannie will provide a similar framework for buyers.

Buyers 532

Buyers Agents Real Estate Agent Sellers 532

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

A survey from Zillow conducted between March and September of this year found that 45% of recent buyers — half of whom bought a home in the past year and the other half in the past two years — secured rates below 5%. About one in three (35%) received special financing, while 26% made their purchase offer contingent upon a lower rate.

Mortgage 321

Mortgage Finance Buyers Loan Officers 321

Housing Wire

MARCH 7, 2025

Think of it as ROYGBIV, but instead of helping third graders learn color theory, it will help you convert more cold buyer leads with less stress. Its powerful stuff, especially for new buyer agents. The LPMAMA script cuts right to the heart of a buyers needs, wants, dreams and financial ability to achieve them. Short on time?

Buyers 255

Buyers Agents Real Estate Client Relationships 255

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 18, 2024

Buyers are not required to prepare their current home for sale until after they move into the new property. Calque also offers buyers a guaranteed offer on their current home to reduce risk. “It In other words, if a buyer can sell their home in a specific timeline, the contingency is pulled and the buyer can purchase the property.

Mortgage 448

Mortgage Buyers Contracts Finance 448

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 21, 2024

That’s according to a recent index released by Veterans United Home Loans to measure the financial health and optimism of veterans, active-duty service members and civilians in terms of home purchase timelines and motivating factors, personal finance and their outlook for the U.S. It also shows up in their personal finances.

Finance 476

Finance Housing Market Buyers Mortgage 476

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

In a recent episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast,” host Dustin Owen and guest John Coleman explore key tips that all aspiring real estate agents should know when navigating mortgage financing for a potential client. Warrantable condos are easier to finance, while non-warrantable condos and condotels are typically harder to fund.

Finance 447

Finance Agents Mortgage Loan Officers 447

Housing Wire

MARCH 4, 2025

First-time buyers represented 61% of all mortgage offers on the LendingTree platform in 2024. The company also reported that these buyers tend to have lower credit scores, down payments and loan sizes than repeat buyers. First-time buyers dont have that problem.

Mortgage 481

Mortgage Contracts Buyers Housing Market 481

Housing Wire

MARCH 15, 2024

These housing professionals have been gaming out the potential impact on buyers’ agents – a significant source of referrals. Loan officers and mortgage executives expect home sellers and homebuyers to negotiate more aggressively on commission paid to buyer agents, potentially bringing costs down.

Buyers 514

Buyers Agents Mortgage Real Estate Agent 514

Appraisal Buzz

OCTOBER 30, 2024

A new TransUnion survey has found that many consumers feel their existing mortgage and auto payments are putting a strain on their household finances, as the prospect of falling interest rates has them ready to consider refinancing those loans.

Finance 393

Finance Buyers Mortgage Home Value 393

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

The report calls on more states and cities to pass “source of income” or “source of financing” anti-discrimination statutes and enforce them to protect homebuyers. The CFA also called on real estate associations to better educate agents on sources of financing discrimination and how to successfully work with FHA buyers.

Buyers 476

Buyers Real Estate Agent Inspection Real Estate 476

Housing Wire

MARCH 8, 2025

When the National Association of Realtors (NAR) first started its Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers in 1981, it found that single women were the second largest demographic in the U.S. “In 1981, 73% of home buyers were married couples, 11% were single women and 10% were single men. housing market , trailing only married couples.

Buyers 350

Buyers Legal Realtors Realty 350

Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2024

If homes are priced appropriately and marketed well, buyers will make offers. The buyer] got a deal,” Weinstein said of the $600,000 purchase price. This has taken power away from sellers, who now face a shortage of potential buyers. The buyers who are in the market are shopping for the usual reasons.

Buyers 468

Buyers Housing Market Marketing Sellers 468

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Buyers using this incentive can qualify for either a 3/2/1 rate buydown on a 30-year FHA Fixed-rate Mortgage or a 3/2/1 rate buydown on a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage. But in Greater Austin , the “Holiday of Homes” offers flex cash — which can be used towards design selections or structural options — and financing.

Retail 418

Retail Finance Development Real Estate 418

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

The company’s newest National Housing Market Outlook shows that buyers are gravitating toward government-backed loans in their search for affordability. As a result, more buyers are turning to products like Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, which accounted for 24% of primary home purchases in 2024, and U.S.

Government 396

Government Loan Officers Buyers Finance 396

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Overall, 83% of agents said their buyers still expect sellers to cover 100% of buyer agent commissions, while 10% said their buyers expect sellers to cover at least a portion of their agent’s fees. More than half (55%) of agents surveyed reported that sellers who do offer buy-side compensation are offering 2.5%

Sellers 511

Sellers Buyers Agents Brokerage 511

Housing Wire

JULY 18, 2024

” Waltz aims to support international buyers with a “comprehensive” solution that covers the compliance, legal, banking and regulatory processes to close the purchase process within 30 days. Buyers can also use Waltz to connect with a property manager or tax adviser. A digital U.S. residential real estate is low.

Finance 448

Finance Real Estate Investors Legal 448

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Tuesday issued a temporary fix that will allow homebuyers using VA loans to pay for their real estate agent’s commission — i.e., the buyer-broker fee. Buyers will also be required to sign a representation agreement outlining the amount they will pay their agent for their services.

Buyers 523

Buyers Real Estate Real Estate Agent Brokerage 523

Housing Wire

JANUARY 22, 2025

SmartSale allows homeowners to sell their homes through direct offers from buyers or an auction process. Buyers surveyed by the company at that time said that higher acquisition costs, higher rehabilitation costs and unfavorable mortgage rates were the key factors keeping them out of the market.

Real Estate Agent 370

Real Estate Agent Real Estate Sellers Buyers 370

Housing Wire

MAY 21, 2024

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. NAR has also advocated for the VA to change its rule around buyer broker compensation.

Buyers 523

Buyers Agents Real Estate Agent Real Estate 523

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2024

With the settlement, NAR agreed to abolish its “Participation Rule” that required listing agents to make an offer of compensation to buyer brokers. The currency policy will put VA buyers on the sidelines, especially in a market with already tight inventory, Sears pointed out. “In VA loans are probably the best loans on the market.

Buyers 476

Buyers Real Estate Agent Inventory Real Estate 476

Housing Wire

APRIL 25, 2024

Buyers are really struggling.” Agents say they are also seeing a lot of appraisal gap clauses , inspection waivers and free leasebacks popping up in offers as buyers look to improve their chance of winning a house in the current market. But rising prices are not the only financial challenge buyers are having to contend with right now.

Buyers 459

Buyers Marketing Inventory Investors 459

Housing Wire

AUGUST 2, 2024

home seller pays a 2.55% commission to the real estate agent hired by their buyer, down from an average of 2.62% in January, according to a Redfin analysis of MLS data. 28 and July 14 of this year to compare average commission rates paid to a buyer’s agent. The typical U.S.

Agents 476

Agents Buyers Real Estate Agent Sellers 476

Housing Wire

AUGUST 22, 2024

“As part of their low-cost selling strategy, sellers using Homie would commonly make an offer of compensation to buyer-brokers that was somewhat below the buyer agent compensation (BAC) offered by sellers represented by traditional brokers, including the Corporate Defendants.

Realtors 482

Realtors Buyers Brokerage Real Estate 482

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Dan’s unique expertise positions him at the intersection of technology , asset management, and mortgage finance, perfectly aligning with our vision for the future. . “Dan Wallace is exceptionally well qualified to help lead MAXEX as COO during this exciting phase of our company’s growth,” Decker said in a statement. “The U.S.

Technology 370

Technology Finance Mortgage Lending 370

Housing Wire

JULY 30, 2024

The August 17 deadline is looming, and many Realtors are gnashing their teeth over how they can share their seller’s offers of buyer broker compensation while still complying with the terms of the settlement. In Dwiggins’ view, there is no need to disclose what the seller is willing to pay in concession or buyer representation fees. “If

Buyers 459

Buyers Realtors Agents Sellers 459

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 23, 2024

While the uptick in inventory is certainly a positive for buyers, NAR’s report found they are continuing to contend with rising home prices. Moderating home price increases are welcome news for home buyers,” Yun said. In September, the median sales price for an existing home was $404,500, up 3% from a year ago.

Inventory 465

Inventory Realtors Buyers Real Estate 465

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 25, 2024

With NAR’s settlement requiring agents to have a signed buyer agency agreement with every buyer that spells out how much the agent will be paid in a transaction, many believed that buyers using a loan from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would be disadvantaged.

Buyers 448

Buyers Real Estate Realtors Agents 448

Appraisal Buzz

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

That brings the total number of programs available to prospective buyers up to 2,466. In a market with few homes for sale and escalating prices, down payment assistance has become vital for many buyers in helping them to become homeowners and start building wealth through equity. Key HPI Report Findings for Q4 2024 The number of U.S.

Finance 321

Finance Buyers Appraisal Marketing 321

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Buyers in August 2024 needed to earn $77,000 per year to afford a median-priced starter home of $250,000. When comparing income to the cost of monthly mortgage payments, the typical buyer now earns 8.9% Starter-home buyers are skewing older than they used to. more than they need. In August 2023, that figure was only 3%.

Buyers 476

Buyers Real Estate Mortgage Brokerage 476

Appraisal Buzz

OCTOBER 21, 2024

Student loans are frequently listed as the primary obstacle for young buyers’ c. A new study from First American reviewed the data from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances to determine exactly how much impact student loan debt has on the search for home ownership. Also, the average loan repayment term has almost doubled, from 7.5

Buyers 397

Buyers Finance Investing Appraisal 397

Housing Wire

AUGUST 29, 2024

Many state Realtor associations’ new forms —such as buyer representation agreements—are largely incomprehensible to the average homebuyer or seller and have language that seeks to avoid the terms of the National Association of Realtors ‘ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement , according to a report released earlier this month.

Buyers 448

Buyers Realtors Agents Sellers 448

Housing Wire

MARCH 14, 2025

This creates a unique challenge for mortgage professionals, who must provide creative financing strategies to help homeowners see the benefits of moving despite higher rates. The not ready yet buyer Many potential buyers delay their home purchases due to concerns about timing, affordability, and market uncertainty.

Client Relationships 358

Client Relationships Mortgage Marketing Loan Officers 358

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

Housing markets in much of the country have started tilting in buyers favor, allowing buyers to set the terms they want. Cash purchases still common Cash buyers accounted for 30.6% Cash purchases still common Cash buyers accounted for 30.6% home purchases in December, down from 33.8% in September. in September.

Buyers 297

Buyers Renovations Housing Market Real Estate 297