Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

As real estate practitioners adjust to the practice changes that took effect in August, and the industry waits for final approval of the NAR settlement from the court in November, questions continue about seller offers of compensation. In a bidding war, cash buyers and investors will win, and first-time buyers will lose.

Buyers 265

Buyers Sellers Agents Real Estate 265

Housing Wire

APRIL 29, 2024

It’s still April, so there could be as many as eight more weeks of seller growth in the spring housing market. And seller growth is happening pretty much everywhere across the country, with Florida and Texas leading the way. The bearish take is that there are many more sellers than buyers and inventory is rising.

Sellers 481

Sellers Marketing Inventory Contracts 481

Housing Wire

JANUARY 20, 2025

But if buyers and sellers were compelled to transcribe their inaction, it would read like a sociopaths diary entry: We could have watched you grow up, but your grandpa and me werent willing to give up our 2.875% rate to move closer to you. Mortgages are the ink in the typewriter. Inaction is easy. But their inactions can.

Sellers 285

Sellers Buyers New Listings Finance 285

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

MARCH 20, 2024

Those too young to remember the wild west of real estate believe that real estate commissions have always been evenly split between seller’s and buyer’s agents, with each receiving a portion of the sale price. This misconception obscures the reality that, historically, buyers lacked formal representation.

Real Estate 497

Real Estate Buyers Agents Sellers 497

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 21, 2024

Despite the Florida hurricanes, and in the face of recently rising mortgage rates , unsold inventory of homes on the market climbed this week by about 1%. The signal that we watch for in the new listings count is whether there are too many sellers. All the bearish scenarios for home prices require more sellers each week.

Sellers 414

Sellers Inventory New Listings Contracts 414

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 17, 2024

economy appears to be on firmer footing than previously thought, mortgage rates are forecast to end 2024 at 6% and home-price growth is also on the move. “This represents upside risk to the ESR Group’s latest mortgage rate forecast, which now sees the 30-year mortgage rate ending the year at 6.0%, down from last month’s 6.2%

Sellers 510

Sellers Mortgage Buyers Business 510

Housing Wire

APRIL 1, 2024

The recent settlement involving the National Association of Realtors and major real estate firms revolves around the practice of “broker cooperation,” where agents representing sellers share commissions with agents representing buyers. Last year, mortgage rates increased from 3% to 8% and home prices still increased in most markets.

Sellers 471

Sellers Real Estate Agents Buyers 471

Appraisal Buzz

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

According to a recent Zillow poll, nearly half of recent homebuyers who obtained a mortgage did so at a rate lower than 5%. Even though mortgage rates are currently close to 7%, many purchasers who bought a home within the last year used unconventional thinking to become homeowners.

Buyers 370

Buyers Marketing Sellers Loan Officers 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

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 gave sellers the upper hand, but the market has turned in recent months. This has taken power away from sellers, who now face a shortage of potential buyers.

Buyers 410

Buyers Housing Market Marketing Sellers 410

Housing Wire

AUGUST 22, 2024

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, real estate startup Homie Technologies claims that home seller consumers were not the only ones harmed by the real estate industry’s allegedly anticompetitive practices. Buyers using Homie would receive some or all of any BAC offered by the seller,” the complaint states.

Realtors 482

Realtors Buyers Brokerage Real Estate 482

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 13, 2024

The recent CoreLogic Homeowner Equity Insights report for Q3 shows a continued positive trend of a lack of underwater mortgages in America today. Underwater mortgages where borrowers owe more on their home than what it is worth pose a risk of foreclosure and hinder people from selling their homes, something that was rampant after 2008.

Sellers 343

Sellers Mortgage New Listings Realtors 343

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2024

Earlier this month, the NAR announced the settlement of various lawsuits filed by home sellers, which allege that the real estate industry colluded to keep agent commissions artificially high at 5% to 6% of a home’s sale price. Concerns over the existing VA policies have been echoed among mortgage professionals.

Buyers 475

Buyers Real Estate Agent Inventory Real Estate 475

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

mortgage market in 2023, up from 14.3% Because FHA accepts lower credit scores , higher debt-to-income ratios and lower down payments than most conventional mortgages, first-time buyers have relied on them due to the ongoing affordability challenges in today’s housing market from elevated prices and mortgage rates.

Buyers 426

Buyers Real Estate Agent Inspection Real Estate 426

Housing Wire

AUGUST 30, 2024

As a salve, a vocal minority of activists say that “simply” allowing the financing of buyer-agent commissions into mortgages will resolve all concerns. For reasons both practical and legal, buyer-agent commissions are not today explicitly financeable with a mortgage. To avoid this, you’d need additional rule changes.

Finance 390

Finance Buyers Agents Insurance 390

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 9, 2024

17 , when the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ commission lawsuit settlement agreement had to be implemented, most brokers and agents were concerned about how they would disclose a seller’s offer of buyer broker compensation. Heading into Aug. which is no longer in effect.

Buyers 428

Buyers Sellers Agents Contracts 428

Appraisal Buzz

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

According to Zillow’s most recent market report , reduced mortgage rates and more inventory are providing house buyers with a window of opportunity at an uncommon time of year. Buyers have more options to choose from for two reasons. Beyond that, more inventory is becoming available enough to improve buyer negotiating power.

Buyers 396

Buyers Inventory New Listings Home Value 396

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

Heading into the 2025 housing market, we havent had this many homeowners with mortgage rates over 6% since 2016. of outstanding mortgages, around 8.7 million borrowers, carry a mortgage with an interest rate over 6%. had these cheap mortgages. People with expensive mortgages are more likely to sell their house.

Mortgage 468

Mortgage Inventory Finance Sellers 468

Housing Wire

JULY 22, 2024

Mortgage rates have come down with recent positive inflation news. I expect that mortgage rates under 6.75% and moving towards 6.5% Mortgage rates are down, but it doesn’t appear to have hit a threshold to incentivize homebuyers yet. will be significant enough move in rates to move the needle for buyers.

Buyers 442

Buyers Inventory New Listings Sellers 442

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. Bell approached real estate and mortgage firm Avenu Technologies with her challenge. From this, HomeKick was born.

Buyers 440

Buyers Realtors Agents Sellers 440

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 30, 2024

However, there are two big trends that stand out as we launch into 2025 affordability and sellers in the market. Home prices finished 2024 up a few percent nationally and mortgage rates are at their highest level in seven months back over 7% as we head into January. Theres another set of sellers that we call immediate sales.

Housing Market 543

Housing Market Marketing New Listings Inventory 543

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

Mortgage rates are back over 7%. Even as money is more expensive and there are more sellers than a year ago, we can also see slight home sales growth over 2023. The economy has continued to be strong, so mortgage rates have defied expectations and remained very high. And as demand slows, inventory grows.

Mortgage 497

Mortgage Inventory Sellers New Listings 497

Appraisal Buzz

JULY 9, 2024

The market is trending slightly in the direction of becoming more buyer-friendly thanks to these factors. While the quantity of homes on the market still trails pre-pandemic levels, home buyers are seeing more options to choose from as inventory increases,” said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for Realtor.com. “The vs. June 2019).

Housing Market 418

Housing Market Buyers Marketing Inventory 418

Housing Wire

JULY 23, 2024

Mortgage rates continue to move lower this week even as higher borrowing costs have kept activity subdued across many areas of the housing market. Lower mortgage rates are having a positive impact on application levels, with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reporting last week that applications were up 3.9%

Mortgage 510

Mortgage Real Estate Agent Finance Buyers 510

Appraisal Buzz

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The statements were made during the Annual Convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which was held in Denver from October 27 to 30. “We Sellers approved by Freddie Mac who use Loan Product Advisor will be able to take advantage of the new ACE and ACE+ PDR appraisal waiver expansions. up to 97% for Home Possible loans).

Buyers 395

Buyers Appraisal Loan Officers Sellers 395

Appraisal Buzz

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

As 2025 draws near, mortgage rates are once again in the news. Zillow anticipates a more active housing market with more buyers obtaining the upper hand in 2025. More inventory should shake loose in 2025, giving buyers a bit more room to breathe.” This means that buyers have the upper hand in negotiations.

Housing Market 396

Housing Market Tenants Marketing Mortgage 396

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 388

Buyers Real Estate Realtors Agents 388

Housing Wire

AUGUST 8, 2024

Incomes, wealth, life events, mortgage rates all play a role in determining housing demand, while on the supply side we have land costs, government regulations in terms of zoning rules, geographic constraints to building and builder financing costs,” Divounguy added. “Now When you have to bring in more cash, it is a big deal,“ he said.

Housing Market 446

Housing Market Marketing Mortgage Sellers 446

Appraisal Buzz

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

The study found that 48% of buyers said costs were higher than expected, with 39% exceeding their budget and 38% reporting impacts on their savings. Notably, 63% of first-time buyers were surprised by the cost. It was noted that 79% of buyers compromised on at least one priority. Among Gen Z, 49% exceeded their budget—over 1.5

Real Estate 417

Real Estate Sellers Buyers Renovations 417

Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

With the calendar shifting to September and the next meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers only two weeks out, mortgage rates continue to recede and evidence suggests that borrowers are reacting to more favorable housing market conditions. Lower rates have recently sparked more activity in the mortgage market. year over year.

Mortgage 461

Mortgage Inventory Buyers Sellers 461

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Fast-growing mortgage servicing platform Valon has secured $100 million in a Series C funding round, the company announced this week. It is utilizing a cross-selling strategy that offers additional products to its existing customers in an evolving mortgage landscape.

Mortgage 393

Mortgage Real Estate Agent Technology Real Estate 393

Housing Wire

AUGUST 26, 2024

“The overall market remains sluggish, but we are beginning to see first-time homebuyers come off the sidelines, buoyed by falling mortgage rates and an increased number of homes hitting the market,” Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a statement. We are seeing a lot of younger buyers looking at smaller starter homes.

Buyers 430

Buyers Inventory Marketing Contracts 430

Housing Wire

AUGUST 6, 2024

Mortgage rates are dropping fast. Mortgage rates are now the lowest they’ve been in over a year. Last year at this time, mortgage rates were rising, eventually peaking at 8% in October 2023. Still, this affordability boost is good for any buyers in the market now. Will potential homebuyers jump at newly cheaper payments?

Mortgage 473

Mortgage Inventory New Listings Contracts 473

Housing Wire

MARCH 5, 2024

Ahead of Friday’s national jobs report, mortgage rates have found stability after increasing for multiple weeks. Polly ’s average 30-year fixed rate for conventional loans was 7.17% on Tuesday, down from 7.24% one week earlier, according to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center. one week earlier.

Mortgage 454

Mortgage Inventory Investors Sellers 454

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

With mortgage rates moving closer to 7% once again, recent homebuyers are finding creative ways to lock in lower rates. 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%.

Mortgage 321

Mortgage Finance Buyers Loan Officers 321

Housing Wire

JUNE 15, 2024

Since May 29, we’ve witnessed a decline in the 10-year yield, which has been favorable for mortgage rates. 10-year yield and mortgage rates After the intense jobs week data , we ran straight into CPI and PPI inflation week, with a Fed meeting thrown in! Once mortgage rates began rising in 2024, some demand was removed.

Mortgage 471

Mortgage Inventory Marketing New Listings 471