Thu.Feb 13, 2025

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Freddie Mac reports strongest earnings since 2021

Housing Wire

Freddie Mac recorded a net income of $3.2 billion for Q4 2024 and $11.9 billion for the full year 2024, it reported this morning. The full-year net income figure marked an increase of 13% from 2023. Comprehensive income increased 11% from 2023 to $11.9 billion. In its earnings call, Freddie Mac’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer James Whitlinger noted that the GSE delivered its strongest earnings since 2021 , with its net worth reaching nearly $60 billion. “We als

Finance 443
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AI’s Impact on the Homebuying Journey

Appraisal Buzz

In a recently published report by Veterans United Home Loans , approximately one-in-three (32%) of prospective homebuyers are using artificial intelligence (AI) tools as part of their homebuying journey. The nationwide survey of nearly 900 prospective buyers found that searching for and virtually touring homes are the two most common uses of AI. The survey also revealed that 40% of prospective buyers interact with AI once a day or more.

Tools 425
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Mortgage quality control report reveals sharp rise in insurance defects

Housing Wire

The overall defect rate for mortgages declined across all loan types between the second and third quarters of 2024. But errors related specifically to insurance increased significantly, growing to 3.03% of all defects, according to a report released Thursday by ACES Quality Management. ACES releases a quarterly report that uses post-closing quality control data that’s derived from the company’s benchmarking system.

Insurance 322
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Housing Inventory Hits Five-Year High

Appraisal Buzz

According to a new report from Redfin , homebuyers have the most options since 2020, but few are biting because rising housing costs have made monthly payments tough to swallow. Redfin found that pending home sales in January fell to the lowest level on record aside from the start of the pandemic. Pending home sales dropped 4.2% month-over-monththe largest decline on a seasonally adjusted basis reported since August 2023and 6.3% year-over-year.

Inventory 397
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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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Optimal Blue: Mortgage refinances jump despite higher rates

Housing Wire

Loan locks for refinances rose more than 20% year over year while purchase lock counts saw a 6% decrease, according to Optimal Blue ‘s January 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report released Thursday. Purchase lock volume climbed 16% from December, but year-over-year counts which control for home-price appreciation were down 6%. That marked the lowest January figure in six years.

Mortgage 335

More Trending

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Reverse mortgages could be ‘practical’ long-term care funding option

Housing Wire

Health care information and caregiving marketplace website Care.com published an article that examines several practical ways that someone could choose to finance their long-term care (LTC) goals. Reverse mortgages were included in the assessment alongside options like Medicaid, Medicare, health savings accounts (HSAs), veterans benefits, LTC insurance and home equity loans.

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Optimal Blue: Refinance Activity Surged 20 Percent Year-Over-Year in January

Appraisal Buzz

Purchase lock volume increased 16% in January compared with December but was down 6% compared with January 2024, according to Optimal Blues latest Market Advantage report. The year-over-year decline in purchase lock counts was the lowest since Optimal Blue began tracking this data in 2019. Meanwhile, refinance activity surged year-over-year, rising 20% for both rate-and-term and cash-out refinances.

Lending 195
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Executive shakeups continue at Douglas Elliman

Housing Wire

The C-suite shakeups at Douglas Elliman are still going. Last week, an internal memo informed Douglas Elliman agents and employees that Stephen Kotler was stepping down as the CEO of the brokerages western region, as first reported by The Real Deal. Kotler will remain at the firm, joining his son Max Kotler and broker Michael Kotler on The Kotler Team in New York City.

Brokerage 338
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The housing data looks ugly. How will the market respond?

Real Estate News

Demand is weak, rates remain elevated and sellers appear weary but buyers may return to the market this spring to take advantage of deals on the margins.

Marketing 281
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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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UWM partners with Sphere LOS on a direct integration for brokers

Housing Wire

In a Wednesday afternoon LinkedIn post by chief technology officer Jason Bressler , United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced that it’s partnering with Sphere LOS to provide its first direct integration with the broker community. Bressler’s post offered reasons for the partnership. He noted that Sphere has an “all in one” workflow of the most-used products in a mortgage broker’s process, including a loan origination system ( LOS ), customer relationship management (

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Windermere appoints new diversity leader as it recommits to DEI

Real Estate News

Brooks Glenn will advance the Seattle-based firm's efforts to build "an inclusive culture that inspires people to stay and thrive." Plus, a promotion at BHGRE.

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For Anywhere, the challenges of 2024 were blessings

Housing Wire

From a slower housing market to the industrywide business practice changes , there is no doubt that 2024 was a challenging year for real estate brokerages, but Anywhere Real Estate believes these challenges have helped to set it up for success in 2025. The brokerage giant recorded revenue of $5.7 billion in 2024, up $56 million year over year. Despite this increase, Anywhere still recorded a net loss of $128 million, which is $31 million larger than its loss in 2023.

Brokerage 221
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Succession planning is critical for business continuity: Ginger Wilcox

Inman

Choose a successor, and start planning today to ensure your real estate company continues to thrive for years to come, Better Homes and Gardens' President Ginger Wilcox writes.

Business 111
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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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Kiavi lands another $300M in its latest RTL securitization

Housing Wire

San Francisco-based private lender Kiavi announced on Thursday that it has secured $300 million in capital after another securitization of its residential transition loans (RTLs). As the 21st transaction made under the company’s LHOME Mortgage Trust, Kiavi’s total volume of notes offered sits at $5.8 billion since 2019. Kiavi reported that the offered notes were “oversubscribed by five times its capacity” as institutional investors showed interest.

Investors 259
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Multifamily Developer Confidence Reflected Mixed Results in the Fourth Quarter

Eyes on Housing

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing reflected mixed results year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. While the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased seven points to 48 year-over-year, it is.

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Housing supply hits five-year high, but buyers aren’t playing ball

Housing Wire

Nationwide housing inventory showed a glimmer of recovery toward the end of 2024. But these new listings aren’t attracting buyers, and pending home sales dropped 4.2% month over month in January. That finding comes from two Redfin reports released on Thursday. Each tell similar stories, albeit from different perspectives. According to the first report , the monthly decline in pending sales was the largest on a seasonally adjusted basis since August 2023.

Buyers 315
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Broker Spotlight: Glen Stegemann, The Agency Sandestin

Inman

Find out how this Emerald Coast broker is making waves in the ever-popular Florida luxury real estate market.

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New California law to boost renters’ credit scores  

Housing Wire

California’s Assembly Bill 2747, set to take effect on April 1, 2025, is on track to transform how renters ‘ credit histories are built. The bill, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law last year, requires landlords to offer tenants the option to have their on-time rent payments reported to credit bureaus. This change addresses a critical issue: many renters have been unable to build credit as their rent payments have never been included in their credit reports.

Law 300
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Mortgage Rates Edge Down for a Fourth Straight Week

Appraisal Buzz

Mortgage rates continued to edge down this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping to 6.87%, down from 6.89% last week, according to Freddie Macs Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 6.77%. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continued to inch down this week, reaching its lowest level thus far in 2025, says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement.

Mortgage 195
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Zillow sued over alleged ‘masking’ of listings on StreetEasy

Housing Wire

On Tuesday, New York -based Dakis Group and its broker, George T. Spyridakis, filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle against Zillow. The suit alleges thatZillow charges a daily fee to post a listing on its StreetEasy platform, but it then masks or otherwise removes it from public view while still charging brokers the daily fee.

Realtors 244
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Reevaluate Your Relationship with Paper Forms

GoForrmz

Do you really understand the cost of paper? Have you ever considered the true cost of using paper forms as part of your business workflow? While the most obvious expenses such as the cost of purchasing paper and allocating storage space for your physical documents might already be on your radar, there are hidden costs that may not be as apparent. For instance, consider the time and effort your employees spend managing, organizing, and retrieving these forms.

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Net domestic migration: Which states are gaining—and losing—Americans

Empire Appraisal Group

Net domestic migration: Which states are gainingand losingAmericans While Sun Belt states like Texas and Florida continue to see positive net migration, its far less domestic migration than during the Pandemic Housing Boom. Lance Lambert & Meghan Malas Source: [link] This month, the U.S. Census Bureau published their net domestic migration figures for 2024.

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Anywhere CEO: Private listings push is ‘short-sighted’

Real Estate News

Ryan Schneider reaffirmed Anywheres "relax, not repeal" position on Clear Cooperation and reassured investors the company has the tech and people to compete.

Investors 188
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Residential Construction Input Prices Increase to Start the Year

Eyes on Housing

Prices for inputs to new residential constructionexcluding capital investment, labor, and importswere up 1.2% in January according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Producer Price Index measures prices that domestic producers receive for their goods and services, this differs from the Consumer Price.

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Chris Rochon Awarded 2024 Employee of the Year

Lamacchia Realty

Chris Rochon Awarded 2024 Employee of the Year Lamacchia Realty is proud to share that the 2024 Employee of the Year is Chris Rochon , our incredible Business Development Consultant! Chris genuine personality, passion for helping REALTORS succeed, and commitment to company growth have made him a standout employee, and so well-deserving of this award!

Realty 69
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Q4 Zoning Laws Weighing on Home Values 

Appraisal Buzz

The complete methodology of ATTOM s fourth-quarter 2024 study, which examines eligible low-income Opportunity Zones that Congress designated for economic reconstruction under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, is available below. In this analysis, ATTOM examined 3,783 U.S. zones that had at least five home sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 and had enough data to analyze.

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Lamacchia Realty Announces 2024 Top Producer Circle

Lamacchia Realty

Lamacchia Realty Announces 2024 Top Producer Circle Lamacchia Realty is proud to announce the members of the 2024 Top Producer Circle! To qualify, Lamacchia Realty REALTORS must sell at least 20 homes or $9 million in sales volume in a calendar year to be recognized as a Top Producer. Recipients of this accolade receive recognition through social media and more, along with a night out to Encore Boston with fellow Top Producer Circle members to celebrate their dedication and success!

Realty 65
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How to grow your team and take the No. 1 spot in the market

Inman

Get both your business plan and your team culture right if you want to make waves in the markets you're serving, The Agency's Juliet Clapp writes.

Marketing 144
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Clear Capital’s appraisal underwriting risk analyzer, AURA, now available through ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass Platform

Clear Capital

AURA is the latest addition to the suite of Clear Capital valuation tools available through Encompass Partner Connect API Reno, NV February 13, 2025 Clear Capital , the national real estate valuation technology company, today announced the integration of AURA , its appraisal underwriting risk analyzer tool, through Encompass Partner Connect, the latest API framework for mortgage technology from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

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Median price up in 49% of Opportunity Zones: ATTOM

Inman

ATTOM released its 2024 report on sales activity in Opportunity Zones around the country, finding it tracks closely to typical markets.

Marketing 111
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Rising Rates: Wait to Buy, Invest Now, or Start Selling?

BiggerPockets

Interest rates are still rising even three years after the first rate hikes.