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The Federal Reserve cut rates on Wednesday and mortgage rates went up! What happened? The answer lies in the bond market. The 10-year yield and 30-year mortgage rates have been in a slow dance since 1971 and trended together. The bond market isn’t old and slow like the Fed — it moves very quickly, and for months it has been sending the 10-year yield (and mortgage rates) lower in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, not just one or two.
ATTOM has released its second-quarter 2024 U.S. Home Flipping Report , showing that 79,540 single-family homes and condominiums in the U.S. were flipped over the period. Those transactions represented 7.5%, or one of every 13 home sales, nationwide during the months of April through June 2024. The latest portion of flipped properties was down from 8.7% of all sales in the U.S. during Q1 of 2024.
Real estate agents have white-knuckled their way through more than two years of suffocatingly high mortgage rates that have stymied sales, choked off inventory and pushed home prices to new all-time highs. So what was the reaction from agents when the Federal Reserve surprised everyone by cutting rates by 50 basis points rather than the 25 that was taken as a given?
While supply has inched up in some parts of the country, August experienced a decline in existing-home sales, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). The Midwest had no change in sales, but the other three of the four major U.S. regions reported declines. Sales decreased in three regions from the previous year, while they held steady in the Northeast.
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.
Like the traditional forward space, the reverse mortgage industry has been operating in an elevated interest rate environment for some time. While news of the Federal Reserve lowering its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) to a range of 4.75% to 5% will have wider economic ramifications in the government’s ongoing efforts to fight inflation, there are expected benefits to the reverse mortgage business as well as the demographic it serves: seniors on a fixed income.
It’s a tough market for first-time home buyers, but they can still find ways to make their dream come true, according to NerdWallet’s Q2 First-Time Home Buyer Affordability Report. It’s not easy being a first-time home buyer. Traditionally, first-timers have lower incomes and less established credit than repeat buyers, and make smaller down payments (8% for first-timers, on average, versus 19% for repeat buyers).
It’s a tough market for first-time home buyers, but they can still find ways to make their dream come true, according to NerdWallet’s Q2 First-Time Home Buyer Affordability Report. It’s not easy being a first-time home buyer. Traditionally, first-timers have lower incomes and less established credit than repeat buyers, and make smaller down payments (8% for first-timers, on average, versus 19% for repeat buyers).
With home sale prices continuing to rise, wire fraud prevention firm CertifID announced Thursday that it is increasing its direct, first-party insurance coverage maximum to $2 million. This means that up to $2 million of a wire transfer verified by CertifID can receive direct, first-party insurance coverage. The company said this change is the result of increasing transaction sizes being processed by both residential and commercial real estate companies, and that it “is backed by the largest ins
Alabama Realtors wants members to have “greater flexibility” with their dues dollars. Without it, NAR faces legal risk and could “lose these members forever.
The Alabama Association of Realtors (AAR) is asking the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to provide greater flexibility by allowing members to decide which levels of Realtor associations they would like to join. AAR made the request in a letter sent Monday to NAR CEO Nykia Wright. AAR CEO Jeremy Walker and President Senia Johnson signed the letter.
A home’s layout and natural light are important, but a new survey reveals what people refuse to give up — and how many of them can stick to their budgets.
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.
The Federal Reserve ’s interest rate cut on Wednesday, which was larger than some people expected, couldn’t have come at a better time for the housing market. After a modest monthly uptick in July, existing-home sales fell 2.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That was a 4.2% decline compared to one year ago.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly common tool for consumers and businesses, primarily in reference to chatbots that can dynamically mimic human conversation and gather information. It could also have applications for aging in place , according to the leader of a senior care company. Jeff Salter, founder and CEO of Caring Senior Service , which provides in-home care services, will speak about the potential applications of AI for aging in place at an upcoming event hosted by
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.
Heartland Bank , the leading reverse mortgage lender in Australia and New Zealand , will rebrand its dedicated reverse mortgage division from “Heartland Finance” to “Heartland Bank” following a recent acquisition and a repositioning of its offerings. “We are excited to deliver the Heartland Bank brand to our reverse mortgage customers,” said Medina Cicak, the bank’s newly appointed chief commercial officer.
The rapidly approaching Five Star Conference and Expo , will continue its tradition of recognizing and honoring the extraordinary accomplishments of our industry’s women executives. Each year, industry colleagues nominate their peers across five categories, and those nominees are then narrowed down further. These are the women who are making a difference in the industry and making a mark on their colleagues and team members.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that they have secured a $15 million conciliation agreement with New Jersey-based OceanFirst Bank to settle allegations of discriminatory redlining in certain neighborhoods with majority Black, Hispanic and Asian populations. “ Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race, col
Despite a decrease in mortgage rates, existing-home sales fell 2.5% in August compared with July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Year-over-year, existing-home sales dropped 4.2% compared with August 2023. Driving the decrease was high home prices and lack of affordability: The median existing-home sales price increased 3.1% compared with August 2023 to $416,700, the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
Real estate industry veteran Jamie Duran is making the move to eXp Realty. On Wednesday, EQTY | Forbes Global Properties , a California -based luxury real estate team brokered with eXp, announced that Duran has been hired as the firm’s director of global growth. “Our ability to private label with eXp Realty has enabled us to elevate luxury real estate in Southern California and beyond, providing our clients with an exceptional experience that is truly unmatched in the industry,” Mike
This piece originally appeared in the September 2024 edition of MortgagePoint magazine, online now. Escalating home values have driven up property taxes, leading to homeowner distress, making it more important than ever to help them understand and plan for these increases. Meanwhile, as interest rates start to come back down and refis rise, opportunities for recapturing borrowers will emerge for servicers who invest in tools and technology to improve their customers’ experience.
The talk of this election season has rightfully been on affordable housing. Simultaneously, I have heard this common refrain from eager homebuyers: “I qualify for an FHA (or VA ) home loan, but I’m having a hard time getting my offer accepted by a home seller. Why?” Have you ever heard that before or some variation? If so, then you probably know the answer can be summed up in four words: “Source of income” discrimination.
Fed easing was already priced into mortgage rates, but there's room for more relief if investors who fund most home loans get less skittish about prepayment risk and quantitative tightening.
The overall critical defect rate for mortgages increased in the first quarter of 2024, ending five consecutive quarters of decline. But the increase itself was relatively modest and the share of loans with defects now stands at 1.58%, according to a report released Thursday by ACES Quality Management. The company’s Mortgage QC Industry Trends Report analyzes post-closing quality control data taken from its Quality Management & Control software platform.
Mortgage rates continued to fall this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) dropping to 6.09%, down from 6.20% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago at this time, the average rate for a 30-year was 7.19% “Mortgage rates continued declining towards the six percent mark, reviving purchase and refinance demand for many consumers,” says Sam Khater, chief economist for Freddie Mac, in a statement.
The two real estate platforms have been growing on the same trajectory at Keller Williams for more than a decade, their founders said, and during this challenging period in the industry, it made sense to combine forces.
About 79,000 homes were flipped during the second quarter, representing about 7.5% of all home sales, according to ATTOM’s U.S. Home Flipping Report. That’s down from 8.7% of all sales in the U.S. during the first quarter. However, ATTOM notes that this is a common pattern during the busy annual springtime buying season each year when other types of home sales spike.
"It is time to allow members the ability to choose where they allocate their membership and dues dollars between the local, state and national levels," Alabama Realtors wrote to NAR on Tuesday.
Debt, debt, and more debt! When will consumers catch a break? The most recent Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding quarterly report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revealed that the amount of outstanding commercial and multifamily mortgage debt rose by $31.4 billion (0.7%) in Q2 of 2024. At the end of Q2, the total amount of outstanding commercial and multifamily mortgage debt increased to $4.69 trillion.
Chris Pollinger shares powerful strategies to retain and motivate your real estate agents, even as listings hit all-time lows. Learn how to keep your team engaged and thriving during tough market conditions.
Owners’ equity share of household real estate assets remained above 70% for the tenth straight quarter, continuing to mark the highest levels of this share since the late 1950s. The share in the second quarter of 2024 was 72.7%, up from a year ago when it stood at 71.4%. Notably, this is the highest reading.
As part of eXp, Grand Lux Realty will operate out of White Plains, New York. Founder Michael Levy touted eXp's technology as one of the brokerage's selling points.
Folks, I recently attended a Train the Trainer 1.5 day class about the new UAD/URAR, jointly facilitated by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Aloft. About 20 other instructors from across the US were also present. This class is required before this new UAD material can be taught to other appraisers, under contract with the GSEs. My info below is a limited high-level summary for the new UAD and URAR of what was presented, and what the appraiser community can expect to see, from now into 2026.
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