Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Tuesday issued a temporary fix that will allow homebuyers using VA loans to pay for their real estate agent’s commission — i.e., the buyer-broker fee. The change, a result of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement , was anticipated late last month and commented on by Michelle Corridon, the deputy policy director at the VA.

Buyers 523

Buyers Real Estate Real Estate Agent Brokerage 523

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced in Circular 26-24-14 that eligible veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and surviving spouses who use VA-guaranteed home loan benefits can pay for certain real estate buyer-broker fees when purchasing a home. The VA home loan program, which celebrates its 80th anniversary later this month, has provided more than 28 million loans to veterans to date.

Realtors 418

Realtors Real Estate Buyers Sellers 418

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

The iBuying platform Offerpad and Realtor.com are teaming up. In an announcement on Tuesday, the firms said that Offerpad was integrating with Realtor.com. According to the release, the integration will allow Offerpad to provide a cash offer to more sellers and will extend Offerpad’s reach to a larger audience of potential sellers. “Over the past year, with all of the adversity happening for buyers and sellers and the industry in general, we have really been focused on trying to find buyers and

Sellers 488

Sellers Real Estate Agent Buyers Real Estate 488

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

Rents declined in May for the tenth consecutive month, and the speed of the decline has slowed since earlier this year, suggesting potential challenges for additional reductions in total inflation. This is according to the Realtor.com Rental Report for May. The report suggests that this could possibly complicate the Fed’s policy decisions and also underlines the need for increased home construction, particularly in those locations where a lack of rental supply is leading to rising costs.

Construction 396

Construction Marketing Government Appraisal 396

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

California-based loanDepot plans to extend its $497.8 million in senior notes due in the fourth quarter of 2025 at a lower maturity and a higher interest rate. The transaction reflects a business under stress but brings temporary relief to the company’s financials, analysts told HousingWire. loanDepot subsidiary LD Holdings Group LLC announced on June 4 that it amended the terms of its previously commenced offer to exchange senior notes of 6.5% due in 2025 for newly senior secured notes due on

Mortgage 482

Mortgage Real Estate Investors Finance 482

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued a Request for Input (RFI) on the proposed 2025-2027 Underserved Markets Plans submitted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) under the Duty to Serve (DTS) program. The proposed Plans cover the period from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027. “Providing sustainable liquidity for affordable housing preservation, rural housing, and manufactured housing in a safe and sound manner is a key component of the Enterprises’ statutory responsibilit

Finance 390

Finance Real Property Design Lending 390

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

In a strange turn of events, one part of the East Coast real estate market is cooling faster than the rest of the country, while markets such as Rochester and Buffalo, New York are heating up by attracting buyers with relatively low prices. The part of the East Coast that is cooling down is the West Coast of Florida, rife with natural disasters that are only intensifying driving people away as the new construction and pandemic-era homebuying boom fade into the distance.

Insurance 370

Insurance Construction Housing Market Inventory 370

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

There is a large gap between how the American public feels about the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement and how real estate professionals feel about them. According to a survey published by Clever Real Estate , 67% of the general public supports the changes, while 70% of real estate agents oppose them.

Real Estate 468

Real Estate Agents Sellers Real Estate Agent 468

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking public feedback on the proposed 2025-2027 Underserved Markets Plans submitted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the Duty to Serve (DTS) program. The proposed Plans cover the period from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027. “Providing sustainable liquidity for affordable housing preservation, rural housing, and manufactured housing in a safe and sound manner is a key component of the enterprises’ statutory responsibility to serve underserv

Marketing 369

Marketing Finance Appraisal Mortgage 369

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

An article written by an Atlanta -based certified financial planner and published Tuesday by Forbes indicates that retirement may not be as difficult as many Americans think. Wes Moss, who hosts the “ Retire Sooner ” podcast and has 20-plus years of experience as an investment adviser, offered advice that reverse mortgage professionals and their business partners might take into account when working with clients on strategies for a financially secure retirement.

Investing 459

Investing Clients Business Mortgage 459

Real Estate News

JUNE 11, 2024

A new survey of lenders reveals a 38 basis point difference between mortgage rates by state, which can mean hundreds of dollars a year for borrowers.

Mortgage 345

Mortgage 345

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

In a legal brief filed on Monday, MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) made it clear that it does not agree with the Department of Justice ‘s position on the banning of cooperative compensation, as outlined in the DOJ’s statement of interest in the Nosalek commission lawsuit. The DOJ became involved in the Nosalek suit in late September 2023 , intervening over what it described as “significant concerns” about the terms of the settlement agreement that MLS PIN and the Nosalek pl

Legal 459

Legal Law Real Estate Real Estate Agent 459

Real Estate News

JUNE 11, 2024

The company is launching a new AI-backed home search that CEO Tushar Garg claims is “far ahead of everybody else” in terms of data and tech.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

Seattle -based proptech company Flyhomes announced Tuesday that it has acquired the assets of startup ZeroDown and is launching an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered home search portal to bring “conversational real estate search and research to the market.“ Developed over the past two years, the newly rebranded Flyhomes portal is proprietary technology that was designed under the guidance of ZeroDown co-founders Laks Srini and Abhijeet Dwivedi, who have joined Flyhomes as chief technology offi

Real Estate 458

Real Estate Real Estate Agent Technology Design 458

Real Estate News

JUNE 11, 2024

A temporary policy revision allows military borrowers to pay their agents, something that was previously prohibited under VA lending rules.

Lending 279

Lending Mortgage Agents 279

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

Sotheby’s International Realty is launching its eighth office in Michigan as the firm announced the affiliation of the The Home Seekers Real Estate Group on Tuesday. Home Seekers, which is based in Okemos, Michigan, will now operate as White Pine Sotheby’s International Realty. The firm, which is owned and operated by Rob Buffington, serves the Greater Lansing area — including Ingham County, Eaton County and Clinton County. “ Homebuyers migrate to Central Michigan to enjoy its proximity to numer

Realty 450

Realty Real Estate Agents Tools 450

Real Estate News

JUNE 11, 2024

The search portal integration is the iBuyer’s latest move as it focuses on growing market share through partnerships and agent incentives.

Agents 276

Agents Marketing 276

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

The National Association of Realtors addressed concerns of agent steering in its latest update to its commission lawsuit settlement FAQs. The topic of steering — when a buyer’s agent or broker prevents buyers from seeing homes that offer commissions lower than is typical for a market or discourages buyers from considering homes that offer lower commissions, as well as when a listing agent makes sellers fearful that if they don’t offer competitive compensation, buyers and their agents will avoid

Realtors 448

Realtors Sellers Agents Buyers 448

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

Because many AI tools disregard fair housing requirements and, when deployed, can perpetuate bias, Zillow is releasing a Fair Housing Classifier that establishes guardrails to promote responsible and unbiased behavior in real estate conversations powered by large language model (LLM) technology. This tool focuses on mitigating the risk of illegal steering — the practice of influencing a buyer’s choice of communities based upon the buyer’s legally protected characteristics under federal law, Zil

Tools 221

Tools Legal Real Estate Technology 221

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

There were a total of 131 consumer complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) between Jan. 1 and June 10 of this year that were related to the reverse mortgage industry, according to a database maintained by the bureau. This was 52 fewer complaints compared to the same period in 2023. Of these complaints, 42% were related to “trouble during the payment process,” which primarily had to do with customers seeking to contact their lender or servicer to fix an issue with

Mortgage 447

Mortgage Loan Officers Finance Clients 447

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

Rent. President Damon Joshua Rent. , a marketing platform for the multifamily rental industry, has announced that Damon Joshua has joined the company as President. With more than 25 years of sales leadership experience, Joshua will bring his strategic vision to guide Rent.’s roadmap as it continues to meet the needs of the rapidly changing multifamily industry.

Business 221

Business Technology Marketing Appraisal 221

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

In a market where every dollar matters, revenue retention areas like quality control and compliance are more critical than ever. Thus, keeping abreast of regulatory and investor updates and trends is vital to maintaining loan quality and compliance. Trevor Gauthier, chief executive officer at ACES Quality Management provides us with an update on the latest in QC and compliance.

Lending 443

Lending Clients Mortgage Training 443

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

According to a new release, Fannie Mae has completed a new Credit Insurance Risk Transfer (CIRT ) transaction. CIRT 2024-H2 allocated $284.8 million in mortgage credit risk to private insurers and reinsurers. “We appreciate the support of the 25 insurers and reinsurers that committed to write coverage on this deal,” said Rob Schaefer, Fannie Mae VP of Capital Markets.

Insurance 221

Insurance Contracts Mortgage Business 221

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

Optimal Blue announced yesterday that industry veteran Joe Tyrrell would be taking the CEO role at the company. Tyrrell was a long-time executive at Ellie Mae before it was acquired by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in 2020. He served as president of ICE Mortgage Technology for three years before leaving to become the CEO of Medallia , a customer and employee experience company.

Technology 439

Technology Supply Chain Training Business 439

Appraisal Buzz

JUNE 11, 2024

A total of 32,621 U.S. properties saw foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — in May, an increase of 3% compared with April but down 7% compared with May 2023, according to ATTOM. “May’s foreclosure activity highlights nuanced shifts in the housing market,” says Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, in a statement. “While we observed a slight increase in foreclosure starts, the decline in completed foreclosures indicates resilience in certain areas.

Real Estate 195

Real Estate Housing Market Appraisal Marketing 195

Housing Wire

JUNE 11, 2024

Rithm Capital , the parent company of multichannel lender Newrez , announced on Tuesday that it has closed a transaction with Great Ajax Corp. , which resulted in the purchase of 2.9 million shares of its peer’s common stock. Rithm, a New York-based real estate investment trust, has invested in becoming a global asset management firm focused on real estate, credit and financial services.

Real Estate 437

Real Estate Investing Retail Mortgage 437

Inman

JUNE 11, 2024

The temporary rules were first announced in May ahead of Memorial Day and came in response to calls from Realtors who feared veterans would become less competitive in the new landscape.

Realtors 193

Realtors Buyers Real Estate Brokerage 193

Eyes on Housing

JUNE 11, 2024

Total outstanding US debt stood at $5.05 trillion for the first quarter of 2024, increasing at an annualized rate of 1.86% (SA), according to the Federal Reserve’s G.19 Consumer Credit Report. From the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, the total increased by 2.09%. This is lower than the 6.67% year-over-year.

Finance 148

Finance 148

Inman

JUNE 11, 2024

Pending layoffs of 420 Newrez employees in Colorado and 53 workers in Florida follow $1.4 billion in acquisitions as parent company Rithm seeks to diversify beyond mortgage lending.

Lending 192

Lending Mortgage Investing 192

BiggerPockets

JUNE 11, 2024

Before you start investing in real estate, make sure you hear this episode. Almost every beginner ends up making these five big real estate investing mistakes.

Real Estate 92

Real Estate Investing 92

Inman

JUNE 11, 2024

Pennsylvania homeseller Spring Way Center is seeking to overturn the court approval of deals reached with Anywhere, Keller Williams and RE/MAX to resolve antitrust commission suits.

Sellers 190

Sellers Brokerage 190

Birmingham Appraisal

JUNE 11, 2024

My Appraisal Business Has Shifted, Has Yours? When most people think about real estate appraisals, they often associate them solely with buying or refinancing a home. However, real estate appraisals serve many other essential purposes that extend far beyond these conventional uses. With the recent slowdown in home purchases, my appraisal business has shifted towards private work, catering to a diverse array of needs outside traditional transactions.

Appraisal 86

Appraisal Property Taxes Valuation Real Estate 86

Inman

JUNE 11, 2024

The median United States asking rent rose 0.8 percent year over year in May to $1,653, the highest it's been since October 2022.

Inventory 187

Inventory 187

Mortgagebroker News

JUNE 11, 2024

Poll found Canadians still discouraged by high mortgage costs and housing affordability

Mortgage 85

Mortgage 85