Wed.Mar 06, 2024

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Title industry: We contributed $30 billion to GDP in 2022

Housing Wire

The title insurance and settlement services industry directly generated $30 billion of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, according to a report commissioned by the American Land Title Association that was published on Wednesday. Additionally, the report, conducted by Ernst & Young’s Quantitative Economics and Statistics (QUEST) team, found that the title industry was also directly responsible for 155,000 jobs , and $13 billion and wages and benefits for those employed in the industry

Insurance 508
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Precarious post-verdict market, competition a threat to Zillow

Real Estate News

A Wall Street hedge fund manager is sounding the alarm on Zillow’s market dominance, suggesting that its revenue and traffic are at risk.

Marketing 290
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The Fed is in no rush to cut rates amid inflation battle

Housing Wire

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated Wednesday that the central bank won’t be applying any cuts to benchmark interest rates until it’s sure that inflation is under control. In his prepared testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, Powell hinted at rate cuts “at some point this year” but kept the timing under wraps. Powell emphasized the Fed’s commitment to its dual mandate of bolstering employment and keeping consumer prices stable.

Marketing 482
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What is Appraisal Accuracy?

George Dell

Accuracy measures how close is a value to the true/actual value. Who cares? Accuracy is a professed desire of most users of valuation services. However, today’s conflicted regulations, legacy practices, and obsolete standards — do not have accuracy as a goal! The overarching goal of appraisal today is not “be accurate” — it is “be […] The post What is Appraisal Accuracy?

Appraisal 195
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The awesome power of high mortgage rates

Housing Wire

Housing professionals already know that high mortgage rates are bad for business. And they hope that rates will soon fall. But with mortgage rates ascending past 7% according to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center , those hopes have so far been dashed in 2024. Armed with data from HousingWire sister company Altos Research , we can see in minute detail how the housing market responded to the recent 7%-and-higher rate environment and what the market may see again soon.

Mortgage 468
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5 master-your-market steps to effective real estate branding

Inman

If you want to raise your profile and stay top of mind in your chosen market, luxury consultant Chris Pollinger writes, it requires crafting an effective and recognizable brand identity.

More Trending

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Location, location, location? Price eclipses previous buyer priority

Inman

Fifty-six percent of consumers surveyed by Coldwell Banker said that price is the most important factor for them when choosing a home, compared to 50 percent who said location was most important, casting doubt on the seasoned advice that location is everything in homebuying.

Buyers 190
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Mortgage demand ticks up ahead of the spring buying season

Housing Wire

The typically busy spring housing market seems to already be at the doorstep despite stubbornly higher mortgage rates. Mortgage applications increased by 9.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending March 1, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association ’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. It was the first increase in mortgage demand in three weeks.

Mortgage 459
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Want to quit listing appointments? Try this pre-screening strategy

Inman

Agent Danielle Lazier quit listing appointments because she was tired of giving away expertise with no reward. Here's how she susses out which clients truly want to work with her.

Clients 183
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Florida’s Premiere Plus Realty affiliates with United Real Estate

Housing Wire

Top-performing independent Florida brokerage Premiere Plus Realty has chosen to affiliate with Dallas-based United Real Estate , according to an announcement on Wednesday. The Naples, Florida-based Premiere Plus has roughly 1,500 agents and six office locations in downtown Naples, north Naples, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral and Marco Island.

Realty 459
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Luis Suárez buys $12M pad near teammate Messi in Fort Lauderdale

Inman

The Inter Miami striker bought the 7,100-square-foot property in an off-market deal. He'll be just a 10-minute walk away from fellow teammate, Lionel Messi.

Marketing 178
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Demand is rising for Connecticut program that pays caregivers living with aging loved ones

Housing Wire

A state-level program in Connecticut that pays caregivers living with loved ones who require special attention, and is designed to facilitate aging in place, is seeing a surge in demand across the state. This is according to reporting by Connecticut Public Radio. The state’s Adult Family Living (AFL) program is specifically designed to help older adults age in place in their own homes, avoiding the expenses and stress that could come from relocating to a dedicated senior care facility.

Design 458
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Howard Hanna dismissed from mother of all commission suits

Inman

Howard Hanna had been one of several defendants in a case known as Batton 2, which was brought by homebuyers and has a much larger scope than some better-known cases.

Realtors 178
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Jamie Duran joins Christie’s to lead SoCal expansion efforts

Housing Wire

Christie’s International Real Estate appointed Jamie Duran as executive vice president and managing director of its Beverly Hills-based affiliate, the company announced on Wednesday. Prior to joining Christie’s, Duran was affiliated with Coldwell Banker for almost 35 years. In her new role, Duran will work with owner and CEO Aaron Kirman to lead the expansion of the Christie’s brand in Southern California.

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Why inland California housing is so exposed to downturn risk: Report

Inman

Data provider Attom tracks the 50 U.S. communities most at risk of further housing decline. Half of them are located in one of three places.

Marketing 176
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Fannie Mae adds single asset verification report to desktop underwriting system

Housing Wire

Fannie Mae announced on Wednesday an enhancement to its desktop underwriting system, which will facilitate the asset, income, and employment verification process through a single data source. Lenders can use a single 12-month asset verification report to identify recurring deposits in the applicant’s digital bank statement data. The solution will automatically use approved data from third-party vendors to validate income, employment, and assets in one step.

Tools 448
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How to leverage SEO, drive organic traffic and outrank the competition

Inman

Think your website can't compete with the big portals? SEO expert David Marden writes that, with smart keyword planning, you can find your place in online search results.

Marketing 176
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Pennymac shakes up tech leadership

Housing Wire

Pennymac Financial Services has made changes to its technology leadership, creating a new role focused on digital innovations, the company announced on Tuesday. The changes come after the resolution of a long-standing arbitration process with Black Knight regarding its servicing platform. They also come as the mortgage industry is making efforts to adopt artificial intelligence solutions to improve productivity and better assist customers.

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Location marketing goes plug-and-play with Local Logic’s latest

Inman

Local Logic is a software company that unearths community data for use in provided marketing tools. Its latest is called Neighborhood Wrap, delivered via APIs and SDKs.

Marketing 173
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Former Newrez head of marketing Bijoy John joins Guaranteed Rate

Housing Wire

Guaranteed Rate hired Bijoy John, former head of marketing at Newrez , as its vice president of marketing. John’s new tasks will include consumer direct marketing and the crafting of strategies for new products. His goal at Guaranteed Rate is to increase origination volume for the company while also helping consumers throughout the loan life cycle. “What led me to Guaranteed Rate’s marketing team was Victor Ciardelli’s vision for the company.

Marketing 448
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Tell us about the worst real estate marketing you’ve ever seen: Pulse

Inman

Whether it was the photos, the property description, the website or the social media plan, what marketing element was a total turnoff?

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Fed’s Beige Book shows recent moderation in mortgage rates propped up demand for homes

Housing Wire

Moderation in mortgage rates led to a pickup in demand for residential real estate, but limited inventories across the country hindered actual home sales , the Federal Reserve reported in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts that was published Wednesday. Several Fed districts reported that a dearth of for-sale inventory contributed to faster home price growth since January.

Mortgage 448
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Elephant in the room: What execs revealed about commissions in Q4

Inman

In the wake of legal settlements in two of the largest commission lawsuits, RE/MAX and Anywhere revealed their paths forward to investors in Q4 earnings calls last month. Intel reads the tea leaves.

Legal 172
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Opinion: Moving beyond tech stack integrations

Housing Wire

For years, customized integrations have been the sign of a healthy tech stack , seamlessly connecting the various technologies used by a particular title agency ( mortgage lender, broker or appraisal management company, for that matter) to deliver optimal performance. After all, one of the challenges remaining to our industry – even after a wave of digitalization – takes place where two systems don’t connect perfectly, creating chokepoints where humans must move the transaction along manually.

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Appeals court rules Chicago transfer tax hike can move ahead

Inman

Voters are set to decide on March 19 whether they want to quadruple the tax buyers pay on real estate purchases above $1.5 million. Realtors say it amounts to a secret tax and rent hike.

Realtors 171
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CMG Financial inks seven-year partnership with Sagent

Housing Wire

California-based mortgage lender CMG Financial will partner with fintech Sagent for seven years as it brings its servicing business in-house. CMG Financial is “doubling down on controlling lifetime customer experience,” and the seven-year deal with Sagent is in line with the lender’s effort to prioritize its “homeowner-first strategy,” the companies said in a joint news release.

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The Lack of Transparency in Appraiser Compensation

Appraiserblogs

The current system of bundling appraiser compensation with third-party fees can lead to confusion and frustration for both appraisers and consumers. In their letter to the ASC, NAR highlighted the importance of appropriate compensation for appraisers. They stated that fair and reasonable compensation is critical to attracting and retaining high-quality appraisers, as well as allowing them to invest in their skills and education.

Appraisal 165
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NYCB, a struggling $78B resi mortgage servicer, to receive $1B equity investment

Housing Wire

A group of investors led by the former U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s private equity firm, Liberty Strategic Capital , will inject $1 billion in equity investment in struggling New York Community Bancorp (NYCB), one of the nation’s largest residential mortgage servicers. The move strengthens the bank’s balance sheet amid a confidence crisis related to its commercial real estate loan portfolio.

Investing 432
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Forget instant gratification. Compound small changes instead

Inman

We are used to hearing the word “compounding” in relationship to finances. Here, Inman contributor Carl Medford couples compounding with business habits to set in motion long-term results that can dramatically transform your business and your personal life.

Finance 160
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Top 8 Mobile Forms Every Construction and Field Service Company Should Have

GoForrmz

Originally published on 12/03/2015 Why do thousands of construction and field service companies use GoFormz as their mobile form solution? In the ever-evolving landscape of construction and field service industries, the seamless incorporation of mobile forms has become a cornerstone for efficiency and productivity. As companies embrace technological advancements to streamline their operations, GoFormz provides diverse avenues for elevating your processes, whether it's by bolstering safety protoc

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Zillow, Realtor.com team up on syndicated rental listings

Inman

The ongoing portal war has now sparked a new alliance that'll see Zillow's rental listings show up on Realtor.com's site.

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Decline for Construction Job Openings in January

Eyes on Housing

Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower in recent months. This is consistent with a cooling economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. The number of open jobs for the aggregate economy was relatively unchanged in January. In January, the number.

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Homebuyers sit up and take notice as mortgage rates fall

Inman

Purchase loan applications jump by a seasonally adjusted 11 percent after five consecutive weeks of declines as mortgage rates continue to retreat from 2024 highs.

Mortgage 128
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Renters Are Still Moving—These Markets Are Where You Should Be Investing

BiggerPockets

Migration has been one of the prevailing trends since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's slowing down, with several key stats showing less move intent and actual moves than the year prior. Here's where movers went last year and how investors can capitalize.