Wed.Apr 17, 2024

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Proposal would allow Freddie Mac to acquire closed-end second mortgages

Housing Wire

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) this week announced a new product proposal for government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac that would allow the agency to purchase certain single-family, closed-end second mortgages. This would offer borrowers an alternative way to access their home equity without surrendering a first mortgage with a more favorable interest rate than is currently available.

Mortgage 529
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A Vision for the Future

Appraisal Buzz

This week on the Appraisal Buzzcast, host Hal Humphreys interviews Kelly Davids, President of The Appraisal Foundation. Davids discusses her background in the industry and how it led to her new role as president. What is her vision for the future of the industry? How can we all get involved with The Appraisal Foundation? What are some of the initiatives they are launching in the near future?

Appraisal 370
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The mortgage rate pendulum swings yet again

Housing Wire

Expect 2024 to be mildly better than 2023 with mortgage rates falling in the second half of the year, housing experts opined in their forecasts at the end of the year. Cuts to the Federal funds rate (and subsequently to mortgage rates) are imminent, traders enthused after December’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in which committee members predicted three rate cuts in 2024.

Mortgage 493
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Fannie Mae: Home Prices Increased 1.7 Percent in Q1

Appraisal Buzz

Single-family home prices increased 1.7% in the first quarter compared with the second quarter and were up 7.4% compared with the first quarter of 2023, according to Fannie Mae’s home price index report. The national, repeat-transaction home price index measures the average quarterly price change for all single-family properties in the U.S., excluding condos.

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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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Nearly half of loans processed in Q1 showed fraud risks: FundingShield

Housing Wire

Nearly half (48%) of a $65 billion portfolio of loans processed during the first quarter of 2024 contained vulnerabilities to wire and title fraud , according to a report released Wednesday by FundingShield. The portfolio of loans examined included residential, commercial investor and business purpose loans. On loans that exhibited problems, the analysis found an average of 2.22 issues, which FundingShield says indicates a lack of appropriate controls by closing agents and lenders to identify an

Insurance 476

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Financial planner: Reverse mortgages can help retirees with high property taxes

Housing Wire

A retired public school teacher living in the Pacific Northwest told MarketWatch that he is feeling stressed by high property taxes on a fixed income and asks if he would be a good candidate for a financial adviser. One planner solicited for input thinks that a reverse mortgage could be a worthy consideration, among other options, according to a new blog.

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Housing Market Decoded: 3 factors that could affect summer home sales

Real Estate News

Get answers to the big questions on everyone's mind: What will happen with inventory and mortgage rates — and will the NAR settlement impact the market?

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California home sales sink in March

Housing Wire

The spring home-buying season got off to a slow start in California , where sales of single-family homes declined from February to March, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors (CAR). The organization reported that the state’s seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales fell by 7.8% during the month and by 4.4% year over year.

Insurance 459
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Most Home Buyers Want One, Medium-Sized Home Office

Eyes on Housing

According to the latest What Home Buyers Really Want Study*, the vast majority of home buyers are looking for a home with at least one home office (or space dedicated to work/study). More specifically, 66% would prefer to buy a home with exactly one home office, 13% want at least two offices, and 20% want.

Buyers 217
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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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April Demo Day: JaroInspect by Ascent Software Group

Housing Wire

JaroInspect JaroInspect is the mobile inspection tool in the Jaro suite of appraisal tools. JaroInspect is revolutionizing the industry as the first platform to enable direct field transmission of the 1004D. It is now introducing LIDAR floor plan technology to expedite the submission process. Product Fast Facts #1 JaroInspect enables direct field transmission of the 1004d, streamlining the submission process and facilitating automatic retrieval of vital report data from previous files. #2 The Ja

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Industry gets some clarity on mortgage commission rules

Inman

Fannie, Freddie and FHA say sellers can continue to pay the buyer's agent's commission. But it remains to be seen if buyers will be allowed to finance their agent's commission into their mortgage.

Mortgage 199
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Real Estate Lead Generation and Marketing

Housing Wire

Real Estate Lead Generation 6 best places to buy real estate leads in 2024 Mar 18, 2024 By Megan DeMatteo, Meghan Thibault and Megan DeMatteo, Meghan Thibault We recommend the best places to buy real estate leads to give you a shortcut to the closing table. The 9 top real estate lead generation companies for 2024 Mar 18, 2024 By Megan DeMatteo, Meghan Thibault and Megan DeMatteo, Meghan Thibault SmartZip Review: Can data improve your prospecting game?

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Is Inferential Statistics Relevant?

George Dell

Inferential statistics, at its core, is concerned with making inferences about a population based on a sample drawn from that population. It involves analyzing sample data to draw conclusions about the broader population because the broader population is either too large to analyze, unknown, or hypothetical. While invaluable in many scientific disciplines and research contexts, […] The post Is Inferential Statistics Relevant?

Valuation 195
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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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Home prices kept climbing at a brisk pace in March: First American

Housing Wire

U.S. home prices grew by 0.9% from February to March, according to First American Data & Analytics ’ national house price index released Tuesday. This growth trajectory follows a revised upward figure of 1% price growth from January to February, and prices are now 52% higher than pre-pandemic levels of February 2020. “Persistent inflation has diminished any optimism that the Federal Reserve may start to cut rates in June, meaning mortgage rates seem more and more likely to remain ‘higher for

Sellers 459
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Jordan Cohen is as ‘blue collar’ as they come, but beloved by LA’s elite

Inman

The six-time No. 1 RE/MAX agent worldwide may deal with some of the loftiest stars, but he stays grounded in his work ethic and rarely deviates from a uniform of jeans and tennis shoes.

Agents 193
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Former Ginnie Mae president reacts to lawmaker’s reverse mortgage securities letter

Housing Wire

Following the submission of a letter by Indiana Sen. Mike Braun (R) to Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo about concerns related to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program, McCargo’s predecessor, Ted Tozer, hopes the senator will dive deeper into the program’s mechanics and what led to the collapse of Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF).

Mortgage 448
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Bye bye bye: Leave your team — without losing your connections

Inman

Co-founder of The Agency's BZP Group and regular cast member on "Buying Beverly Hills" Joey Ben-Zvi writes that professionalism and respect are essential to leaving the right way.

Brokerage 192
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First Community Mortgage selects Blue Sage platform to scale business

Housing Wire

Tennessee-based multichannel mortgage lender First Community Mortgage announced on Wednesday that it has selected the Blue Sage Solutions digital lending platform and its LION Consumer POS to help scale its growth efforts across the 48 states it operates in. The move allows the lender to have “modernized its mortgage operational processes, boosted productivity and delivered an enhanced borrower experience for its customers,” the company said in a news release.

Business 448
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What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard about commissions? Pulse

Inman

As commission lawsuits and subsequent settlements have unfolded, they've set the stage for misunderstanding, misinformation and many, many mistakes.

Brokerage 182
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Subtle shifts in real estate agent dynamics in March: Relitix

Housing Wire

The latest findings from Relitix’s Agent Movement Index (AMI) for March 2024 reveal a nuanced landscape in the real estate sector, with shifts in agent activities suggesting stabilizing and evolving market conditions. Key highlights from this month’s AMI show that the decline in the number of active agents, those with a closing in the past year, has plateaued.

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Homebuyers rush to lock as mortgage rates hit new 2024 highs

Inman

Rates for conforming loans pushed through 7 percent last week and continue to rise, as latest inflation data dims prospects that Fed will ease in June.

Mortgage 179
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Capital Fundings partners with Privy

Housing Wire

Capital Fundings , a Florida -based private mortgage lender, has partnered with real estate investment platform Privy , the companies announced on Tuesday. The collaboration will allow Capital Fundings’ borrowers to receive personalized investor insights. “Capital Fundings is thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with Privy,” Alex Bogumil, CEO of Capital Fundings, said in a statement.

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10 things to do to stay relevant as a real estate agent in 2024

Inman

No matter what's going on in the industry at large, everyone has the opportunity to get better, faster and stronger at what they do every day, broker Joseph Santini writes. Here are 10 easy things to focus on now.

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Supreme Court denies HomeServices’ petition in commission suit

Housing Wire

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied HomeServices of America’s request to hear its argument that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals wrongly rejected arbitration agreements with unnamed class members in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit , according to a court docket entry on Monday. In a writ of certiorari filed in early February, HomeServices told the Supreme Court that each of its client contracts state that the “signatories can arbitrate any claim or dispute arising out of the contrac

Contracts 448
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Ex-HGTV star convicted of fraud sentenced to 4 years in prison

Inman

Charles "Todd" Hill, 58, starred on "Flip It to Win It" in 2013. He has been ordered to pay $9.4 million in restitution for committing real estate fraud.

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April Demo Day: Market Intelligence by CoreLogic

Housing Wire

Market Intelligence Market Intelligence is a robust data visualization tool that combines the power of CoreLogic’s data assets with clear and actionable insights that give you a better understanding of the mortgage industry, allowing you to adapt to industry trends, improve LO recruitment and foster deeper relationships within the industry.

Marketing 448
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Coastal cities lead as single-family rent growth soars to 10-month high

Inman

Rental price growth for single-family apartments surged 3.4 percent in February, with Boston, Seattle and New York City rising fastest among U.S. cities, according to CoreLogic data released Tuesday.

Marketing 177
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April Demo Day: Navigator by Ardley

Housing Wire

Navigator Borrowers can view and compare the loan details of available loan options, combining all loan offers into one seamless experience.

Marketing 448
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How accessible is your business for people with disabilities?

Inman

Don't let your office, your team or your website be a barrier to someone with disabilities, Rachael Hite writes. Accessible design benefits everyone.

Business 174
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April Demo Day: Boost by Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies

Housing Wire

Boost Boost by Lone Wolf is the simple way to market your real estate business online. Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness, draw in more engagement for listings, or take your client experience to the next level through digital advertising, Boost is here to help agents and brokers alike. Product Fast Facts #1 Boost simplifies online advertising for real estate professionals with high-performing campaigns across various ad channels, comprehensive performance tracking, and advertising

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Floridians grapple with insurance changes as hurricane season nears

Inman

Seventy percent of Florida homeowners — or the area in which they live — have been impacted by changes to cost or coverage of home insurance in the last year, according to a report issued Wednesday by Redfin.

Insurance 166