Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order late on Monday that aims to speed up the rebuilding process in areas destroyed by the wildfires that have burned thousands of homes in Southern California. The order directs city agencies to expedite the building permitting process in affected areas by having discretionary review procedures waived, with a goal of getting permit approvals within 30 days.

Construction 396

Construction Insurance Law Housing Market 396

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 14, 2025

The most recent reading of the Fannie Mae Home Price Index (FNM-HPI) showed that single-family home prices climbed 5.8% from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, accelerating from the downwardly revised annual growth rate of 5.4% in the previous quarter. The average quarterly price change for all single-family homes in the U.S.excluding condosis measured by the FNM-HPI, a national repeat-transaction home price index.

Inventory 221

Inventory Housing Market Mortgage Appraisal 221

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Does experience matter for first-year Realtors? If you dig a little deeper into the backgrounds of the agents on the Real Trends Verified list, you might think so. Most have blue-chip professional experience or personal connections with wealthy homeowners. Some have both. But Brandon Halperin had neither. He was a bartender who started his real estate career in a market that was brand new to him.

Real Estate 332

Real Estate Open Houses Agents Real Estate Agent 332

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 14, 2025

Homeowners enjoying the equity gains of soaring property values are now contending with an unwelcome consequence: skyrocketing property taxes. Over the past few years, property tax payments have climbed sharply in many regions, particularly in states once regarded as affordable. This surge reflects a broader challenge of housing affordability as costs continue to rise.

Property Taxes 243

Property Taxes Government Mortgage Buyers 243

Speaker: Timothy Allsopp

Payment challenges often lead to delayed projects, financial bottlenecks, and strained relationships. With construction projects becoming more complex, outdated processes are no longer sustainable. By refining financial workflow, companies can improve cash flow, reduce error, and foster trust between stakeholders. Discover practical strategies for redesigning payment systems to overcome workflow challenges while creating a smoother, more reliable process for contractors and subcontractors alike.

Construction

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

When I started my first brokerage in my late twenties, I was full of ambition but had no idea what to expect. While I would like to say I knocked it out of the park on my first try, I had to make many mistakes before considering myself an expert. Despite the learning curve, becoming a broker has been one of the most fulfilling decisions of my career.

Real Estate 271

Real Estate Brokerage Agents Real Estate Agent 271

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Rocket Companies , the parent of Rocket Mortgage , on Tuesday unveiled a refresh to its brand identity in an effort to unify Rocket’s many companies under a single umbrella. As part of this effort, Rocket is rebranding some of its businesses. Its title producer and appraisal management arm, Amrock , will now be known as Rocket Close. Additionally, Amrock Title Insurance Co. has relaunched as Rocket Title Insurance Co.

Design 327

Design Insurance Clients Business 327

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 14, 2025

After decelerating for two previous quarters, home price growth re-accelerated on an annual basis in the fourth quarter, according to Fannie Mae. U.S. home prices increased 1.7% compared with the third quarter and were up 5.8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, according to firms quarterly home price index. Annual home price growth in the third quarter was 5.4%.

Inventory 195

Inventory Housing Market Mortgage Appraisal 195

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Leading brokerage Compass announced some key leadership moves this week to bolster its operations in the Southeast, including Florida. The brokerage has hired industry veteran Nikol Solares as senior managing director of new development marketing. Adam Vellano was promoted to managing director of the South Florida market. And Erika Sheridan was promoted to senior director of marketing and operations in the Southeast.

Brokerage 293

Brokerage Luxury Properties Development Realty 293

Real Estate News

JANUARY 14, 2025

After improving earlier in the year, sentiment plunged between the third and fourth quarters of 2024, though flippers were less pessimistic than landlords.

Landlords 204

Landlords Investors 204

Advertiser: Trellis

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.

Real Estate

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

For the majority of Americans, homeownership remains an important part of the American dream, according to a study published Tuesday by Realtor.com. Through a survey of a random sample of more than 2,000 adults conducted in early November, Realtor.com found that 75% of Americans believe homeownership is part of the American dream. Additionally, the survey found that 64% of Americans identify homeownership as one of their life goals, while 50% of respondents believe that homeownership is necessar

Real Estate 317

Real Estate 317

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 14, 2025

Adam Wiener is the new president of multi-channel, digital home finance company Lower. Wiener began his career working in program management for Microsofts SQL Server division. In 2007, he left Microsoft for Redfin, a technology-powered real-estate company, helping to lead the business through its IPO in 2017 and on to nearly $1 billion in revenue in 2023.

Loan Officers 195

Loan Officers Real Estate Agent Real Estate Technology 195

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

The on-again-off-again legal battle between Top Agent Network (TAN) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is now off. On Monday, the parties notified Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, that they had agreed to dismiss the suit without prejudice. According to the filing, the parties are going to bear their own attorneys fees, costs and expenses.

Agents 332

Agents Legal Real Estate Agent Realtors 332

Real Estate News

JANUARY 14, 2025

TAN, a private listing network, has agreed to drop its case against NAR after nearly five years of litigation and previous dismissals. Will this be the end?

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

At the tail end of 2024, mortgage borrowers shifted their attention away from conforming mortgages and toward refinance opportunities. A report released Tuesday by Optimal Blue found that the conforming loan share sank to historic lows in December. Optimal Blue’s December 2024 Market Advantage report is a monthly study that analyzes key indicators to provide insights into U.S. mortgage market trends.

Mortgage 284

Mortgage Government Finance Marketing 284

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

JANUARY 14, 2025

It’s great news that 2024 performed better than the 2023 housing market. Seeing more buyers and sellers able to participate is absolutely what we want to see. Let’ get into it. Skim quickly by topic or digest slowly. UPCOMING SPEAKING GIGS: 1/15/25 Mike & Joel free Zoom event (REGISTER FOR WEDNESDAY) 1/16/25 Sac Real Producers […] The post The 2024 housing market was better than 2023 first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

Housing Market 218

Housing Market Marketing Sellers Appraisal 218

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Wire fraud protection firm CertifID has acquired digital money transfer firm Paymints.io , according an announcement on Tuesday. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Paymints.io is frequently used by title companies , law firms and real estate brokerages to transfer funds between parties in a real estate transaction. The company provides a white-labeled digital payment platform to customers, allowing title companies and law firms to integrate digital payments into their own client

Real Estate 293

Real Estate Law Modernization Brokerage 293

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 14, 2025

Through its multifamily risk transfer platform, Freddie Mac issued an estimated $56 billion worth of securities in 2024, shifting the majority of anticipated credit risk, interest rate risk, and liquidity risk from American taxpayers to private investors. In addition to $22.1 billion in Multi PC issuances during the year, Freddie Mac Multifamily settled $27.7 billion in K-Dealsthe companys flagship offering.

Investors 221

Investors Finance Marketing Business 221

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Mortgage rates continued their ascent this week after Fridays jobs report showed that employers added more positions than expected in December, which is likely to cement a pause on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this month. HousingWires Mortgage Rates Center showed that the average 30-year conforming loan rate was 7.15% on Tuesday, up 6 basis points (bps) from a week ago.

Mortgage 251

Mortgage Housing Market Tools Marketing 251

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 14, 2025

PHH Mortgage Corporation will refund more than 50,000 mortgage borrowers a total of nearly $3.5 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that the lender and servicer charged junk fees. HUD alleges PHH charged borrowers convenience fees when they made payments over the phone through a representative; by telephone through an interactive voice response telephone system; or online if the borrower was not enrolled in PHHs paperless statement program,

Mortgage 195

Mortgage Development Appraisal 195

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

As wildfires continue to ravage the LA area a week after starting, the impact on insurance premiums and costs to rebuild are still very uncertain. Despina Buganski, head of North America personal lines for global insurance brokerage and consulting firm WTW , sat down with Reporter Sarah Wolak to talk about how the company is assessing responses from past wildfires as it anticipates the damages from the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Insurance 224

Insurance Clients Brokerage Marketing 224

Inman

JANUARY 14, 2025

As the industry continues to evolve, the ability to convert market trauma into strategic wisdom will separate the next generation of leaders from those who remain trapped in reactive cycles, marketing strategist Molly McKinley writes.

Real Estate 141

Real Estate Marketing Business Brokerage 141

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Fannie Mae ‘s latest Home Price Index (HPI) shows single-family home prices increased 5.8% from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, a surprising increase from the previous quarter’s downwardly revised annual growth rate of 5.4%. Quarterly, home prices rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in Q4 2024, an increase from the downwardly revised 1.2% growth rate in Q3 2024.

Housing Market 226

Housing Market Inventory Mortgage Marketing 226

Inman

JANUARY 14, 2025

After languishing on the market for more than a decade, the basketball legend's Highland Park, Illinois, estate is now a timeshare, with co-ownership beginning at $1 million, plus 2 percent annual expenses.

Marketing 125

Marketing Real Estate 125

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Appraisers are getting more responsibilities. As of Feb. 4, appraisers will be required to submit a report that the market analysis they produced supports both the indicated overall market trend and market-derived time adjustments for changes in market conditions. They will also have to include an illustration of the methodology used to determine specific comparable sale time adjustments for changes in market conditions, according to a Fannie Mae selling guide published in early November.

Appraisal 224

Appraisal Contracts Finance Marketing 224

Inman

JANUARY 14, 2025

Inman Connect New York is renowned for gathering the brightest minds in real estate, offering unparalleled access to expert insights and networking opportunities. This January, join industry leaders at the Hilton Midtown for transformative discussions on technology, branding, and market strategies to propel your business into 2025. Discover how to leverage this premier event to enhance your professional growth and adapt to the ever-changing real estate landscape.

Real Estate 114

Real Estate Technology Business Marketing 114

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Troubled rent-to-own startup Divvy Homes will be acquired by Maymont Homes , a division of Brookfield Properties that manages single-family rental homes. Divvy and Maymont have not released any formal statements to announce the acquisition. Fast Company reported the move last week, describing it as a “fire sale” based on multiple unnamed sources.

Investors 219

Investors Marketing Housing Market 219

Inman

JANUARY 14, 2025

Coach Darryl Davis offers insight into how a small mistake or moment of carelessness can undermine not only your professional reputation but the industry as a whole.

Clients 108

Clients Sellers Buyers Agents 108

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Improving and selling or refinancing houses for investment purposes has long been the purview of part-time entrepreneurs looking to earn additional income. However, as capital available to fix-and-flip and fix and hold investors becomes more institutionalized through the issuance of Residential Transition Loan (RTL) and Debt Service Coverage Ratio Loan (DSCR) securitizations, the opportunity to turn part-time investing into a full-time business for these entrepreneurs will continue to grow subst

Marketing 224

Marketing Renovations Investors Transportation 224

Inman

JANUARY 14, 2025

TAN and NAR have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit, according to court documents filed on Monday. However, Top Agent Network can re-file charges or bring the case to another court in the future.

Agents 120

Agents Realtors Real Estate Marketing 120

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday announced the publication of a new, final rule in the Federal Register seeking to expand liquidity for the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) system, which would be accomplished by adjusting the treatment of some short-term FHLBank investments. The rule modifies the systems limit on the extension of specified forms of unsecured credit, according to FHFA, giving the banks more control over how they manage short-term investments.

Investing 271

Investing Government Tools Finance 271

Inman

JANUARY 14, 2025

What are the root causes of the ongoing listing lock-in effect? Team leader Carl Medford looks at seller attitudes and how to tap into the percentage of homeowners who are willing to move.

Sellers 137

Sellers Inventory Agents Marketing 137

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Digital mortgage lender Lower on Tuesday announced the hiring of Adam Wiener as its new president. Wiener, who previously served as president of real estate services at Redfin , will lead Lowers technology, marketing, data science and direct-to-consumer sales organizations. In an exclusive interview with HousingWire , Wiener shared that he started his new role on Dec. 9. “I took about a year off after Redfin,” Wiener explained. “But certainly, as I started to look for new oppor

Loan Officers 199

Loan Officers Technology Real Estate Real Estate Agent 199