Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 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?
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Property Appraisal Zone brings together the best content for appraisal professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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).
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Appraisal Buzz
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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
Real Estate News
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Real Estate News
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Alabama Realtors wants members to have “greater flexibility” with their dues dollars. Without it, NAR faces legal risk and could “lose these members forever.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Real Estate News
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Economists are divided over whether rates will continue to drop — and whether “the dam is going to break” and unleash a flood of buyers.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Vetted by HousingWire | Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to convert unrepresented sellers into listings and sales with our proven FSBO scripts. These scripts come from our experience — not just coaching agents but as experienced brokers with long real estate careers.
Real Estate News
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Existing homes sales were down 4.2% year-over-year as prices kept climbing, keeping buyers sidelined. The good news: Inventory continues to build.
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
"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.
Appraiserblogs
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Eyes on Housing
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Prices for inputs to new residential construction, excluding capital investment, labor and imports decreased 0.1% in August according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, this index was up 0.8% in August after a 1.8% increase in July. The inputs.
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
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.
Eyes on Housing
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Existing home sales fell to a 10-month low in August despite easing mortgage rates and improved inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Home sales remained sluggish as the lock-in effect kept home prices elevated. Meanwhile, the share of first-time buyer in August dropped to a record low. However, we expect increased activity.
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Jared Schwadron operates in New York City, the Hamptons and Miami and is the latest get for Compass as it competes to build a roster of top agents in lean times.
Lamacchia Realty
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Nicole LeBlanc Graham Promoted to Director of Business Development Operations On September 18 th at companywide updates, Anthony Lamacchia announced Nicole LeBlanc Graham’s promotion to Director of Business Development Operations for Lamacchia Realty. Nicole, who has been an integral member of the Business Development team since 2019 , was promoted to Business Development Manager in April of 2022.
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Great team leaders focus on business development and agent development, and the results can be staggering, coach Verl Workman writes.
Mortgagebroker News
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
Economists are watching to see if Canada's 25-quarter-point cut strategy will hold
Inman
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
The managing broker of Texas at Side said that luxury buyers in particular seem to understand the value of compensating their real estate agents.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
474 
Let's personalize your content