Mon.Nov 11, 2024

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Zillow’s mortgage business is growing. Lenders beware

Housing Wire

Zillow is moving full speed ahead with an ambitious expansion of its mortgage business, leveraging its housing tech innovations to potentially reshape how modern homebuyers finance homes. In its third-quarter earnings report, Zillow Home Loans revealed an impressive data point: mortgage revenue increased 63% year over year in the third quarter to $39 million, which is primarily due to an 80% year-over-year increase in purchase loan origination volume to $812 million.

Business 410
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REO Professionals to Converge on Forth Worth

Appraisal Buzz

Five Star’s Federation of REO Certified Experts (FORCE) will present its annual Velocity 2025 conference , set for February 24-25 at The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, Tailored for professionals in REO and the adjacent markets, including agents and brokers, asset managers, property management, attorneys, and servicers, Velocity 2025 will be sure to deliver lasting value to professionals seeking to excel in the industry.

Design 221
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Housing market pauses for election

Housing Wire

Inventory, new listings, sales, and prices all dipped this week. The autumn seasonal decline is upon us. The election took up a lot of peoples’ lives last week, and that obviously delayed some listing and sales activity, plus we’ve had spiking mortgage rates. It’s actually not uncommon for housing activity to dip for the first week of November and rebound a bit in the following week.

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Webinar Thursday | Revolutionizing Appraisals: The Road to Modernization

Appraisal Buzz

Join us for a free webinar on Revolutionizing Appraisals: The Road to Modernization this Thursday, November 14th at 1PM Central Time. Discover the cutting-edge tools and strategies driving the future of real estate appraisals. This webinar will delve into the latest technology trends, from advanced data integration to automated workflows, designed to streamline your processes and improve accuracy.

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States are making ADUs easier to build. Now it’s up to municipalities to follow suit.

Housing Wire

The national housing shortage, the benefits of increased density, an ongoing shift in consumer tastes toward smaller homes closer to where the urban action is, and other factors have pushed state legislators to make it easier to build accessory dwelling units. In 2024 alone, Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Hawaii passed major ADU legislation, and California added several laws to open the doors wider for ADU s.

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VA Loans Empowering Veteran Homeownership 

Appraisal Buzz

More than three out of four (74.5%) home sales with Veterans Affairs (VA) loans over the past year had a 0% down payment, and nearly eight out of ten (83.5% of) VA home loan sales had a down payment below 10%, according to new information released by Realtor.com celebrating the recent holiday of Veterans Day. According to recent Realtor.com research , VA borrowers are more than twice as likely as conforming borrowers to have made a small down payment, which lowers the upfront costs of homeowners

Tools 195

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Optimal Blue Promotes Two Industry Experts to Executive Roles

Appraisal Buzz

Erin Wester has been promoted to chief product officer while Mike Vough has been promoted to head of corporate strategy at secondary marketing software firm Optimal Blue. Wester was formerly focused on the company’s product and pricing solutions. She will now oversee product strategy for the entire Optimal Blue capital markets platform, which includes product and pricing, broker pricing solutions, hedging and trading platforms, investor services solutions, Comergence compliance solutions, user e

Clients 195
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Better introduces VA refi loan with no appraisal or closing costs

Housing Wire

New York-based digital mortgage lender Better.com launched a streamline refinance loan product on Monday that aims to help military veterans and service members save money on long-term interest expenses and closing costs. Better is now offering the well-known Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Appraisal 220
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U.S. Homeowners Tapped Into Their Equity More in the Third Quarter

Appraisal Buzz

More U.S. homeowners tapped into their equity more during the third quarter, a report from ICE Mortgage Technology shows. The firm’s latest Mortgage Monitor report reveals that in total, U.S. mortgage holders withdrew $48 billion of home equity in the third quarter – the largest such equity withdrawal volume in the two years since the Federal reserve first initiated its latest tightening cycle.

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Despite everything, NAR hasn’t lost many members (and its budget reflects that)

Housing Wire

The headlines might suggest that National Association of Realtors (NAR) members are struggling to find common ground on many issues. But any hint of division was nowhere to be seen during Monday morning’s NAR Board of Directors meeting. According to NAR president Kevin Sears , 886 directors attended the meeting at the NAR NXT annual conference in person, with another 100 directors attending virtually.

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NAR seeking outside help to get ahead of antitrust issues

Real Estate News

CEO Nykia Wright said she is also engaging a chief human resources officer, as well as a special advisor to help re-establish broker relationships.

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Compass CEO Robert Reffkin: Zillow will be the national MLS

Inman

Reffkin continued his campaign against the Clear Cooperation Policy at the National Association of Realtor's annual NAR NXT conference during a "Future of the MLS" session Friday.

Realtors 183
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Tech Bytes: News from Cloze, JobSnap/KW Collective, Rechat

Real Estate News

Cloze hires growth-focused exec to focus on partnerships, JobSnap offering agents a way to connect with service providers, Rechat partners with Pacific SIR.

Agents 148
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Brokerages expect rates to drop. Their clients bank on the opposite

Inman

Potential real estate clients are growing less responsive to mortgage-rate dips, one of several key takeaways from the results of the latest Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey.

Clients 178
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Sawmill Production Rises in the Second Quarter

Eyes on Housing

The production index for sawmills and wood preservation industries rose marginally by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2024. After falling for the previous two quarters, this was the first rise in real output since the third quarter of 2023 according to the G.17 data. The index was 2.2% lower than one year ago, the.

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How real estate pros can adapt and prepare for the silver tsunami

Inman

Serving seniors starts with understanding their needs, desires and wants in real estate, and in terms of their lifestyle and goals, Engel & Völkers Americas' Stuart Siegel writes.

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Why Commercial Real Estate Protects Against Inflation

Appraisal Hub

As prices rise on everything from groceries to gas, it’s easy to feel like your money doesn’t go as far as it used to. Inflation can chip away at the value of your hard-earned dollars. But here’s some good news: commercial real estate can act as a powerful “shield” against inflation, helping your investments stay strong and grow. Let’s dive into why owning commercial real estate is a smart way to protect—and sometimes increase—the value of your wealth, no matter what the economy throws your way.

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3 secrets to branding (psst … it’s not really about you)

Inman

What’s in a brand? In real estate, a brand is essentially how someone feels about you or your product based on their feelings, associations and experiences.

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Affordability crisis dominates Nova Scotia's election agenda

Mortgagebroker News

Parties unveil plans to address housing and affordability in response to voter concerns

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Why your brokerage needs a data warehouse for Q4 and beyond

Inman

Data is the key to staying ahead in today's competitive real estate market. The ability to gather, organize and interpret information efficiently can make or break a brokerage's profitability.

Brokerage 146
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Lamacchia Realty Announces Top Producing REALTORS® for October 2024

Lamacchia Realty

Lamacchia Realty's Top Producing REALTORS® for October 2024! Lamacchia Realty, Inc. has released its “Top Producing REALTORS®,” for October 2024! This program recognizes the Top 10 REALTORS® company-wide and the Top 3 or 5 REALTORS® by office with the highest transaction numbers or sales for the month! October 2024 Winners of the Top 10 for the Company are: Shauna Fanning  has a passion and a drive for customer service and customer relations and has over 17 years in the field.

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Casa Encantada megamansion sees $30M price cut to $165M

Inman

Described by Compass agent Josh Flagg as “one of the finest residences in the United States” in a statement obtained by the New York Post, the home certainly lives up to its reputation. It spans 40,000 square feet across 60 rooms, including 7 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms, and sits on an 8.4-acre lot at 10644 Bellagio Road.

Agents 134
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Can You Afford the American Dream?

BiggerPockets

The American Dream was once an everyday reality for most Americans. Now, it’s seemingly impossible for even high-income-earning households to achieve.

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Decline in NAR membership, long expected, hasn’t materialized yet

Inman

With 1,526,631 members as of Oct. 31, the National Association of Realtors is on track to end 2024 with its fourth-highest membership numbers on record. Next year, however, is a different story.

Realtors 128
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5 Rentals and 4 Flips WITHOUT Needing a W2!

BiggerPockets

Clay White has done the seemingly impossible. He’s bought five rental properties, completed multiple flips, and done it all in the past fifteen months with high mortgage rates.

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Real talk: We need to make housing more accessible for older adults

Inman

Planning for the future and promoting accessible, inclusive infrastructure keeps senior adults connected to their communities, Rachael Hite writes.

Agents 131
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New Freddie Mac Report Basically Says There’s Never Been a Better Time to Invest in Real Estate

BiggerPockets

According to government-backed housing lender Freddie Mac, there are currently 30 renter households for each house for sale.

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Group investing solution Fractional raises $15M

Inman

Fifth Wall led Fractional's funding, which brings its total funding to date to $20.55 million. The funds will be used to expand the product, hire and broaden its education initiatives.

Investing 107
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RBC Real Estate Fund expands portfolio with $860 million purchase

Mortgagebroker News

Strategic financing and green bond issuance fuel major expansion for Canadian real estate fund

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After selling Tadao Ando home, Ye snags $35M Beverly Park pad

Inman

Ye's new mansion spans about 20,000 square feet and sits on about seven acres. The property last sold for $24.5 million in 2022.

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“BRRRRing” His Way to Financial Independence EVEN in a Tough Housing Market

BiggerPockets

Can you still find great deals in today’s cutthroat housing market? Of course! But you may need to go off the beaten path.

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2025 leadership team takes over at California Association of Realtors

Inman

The California Association of Realtors has installed its 2025 team, including a new president, president-elect and treasurer. The leaders will work alongside CAR CEO Phil Hawkins for the next year.

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Condo vacancy rates hit new low: Developers pivot to bigger units

Mortgagebroker News

Changing demand drives trend toward bigger, more functional spaces

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Zillow predicts 2025 home trends: A blend of sustainability and tech

Inman

As the new year approaches, bringing fresh resolutions, it also ushers in innovations poised to shape modern homes. In a recent report, Zillow shared data-driven predictions for trends that will blend technology with comfort, sustainability and climate resilience in 2025.