Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Our economy faces many challenges persistent high mortgage interest rates , a declining rate of existing home sales, elevated costs for basic goods and services, labor market imbalances, and rising health care costs to name just a few. As a new Administration takes over, dozens of policy prescriptions are being discussed that aim to unshackle the greatest economy in the world.
Appraisal Buzz
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
As the nations population grows more diverse, understanding the racial and ethnic composition of households is becoming increasingly important for analyzing housing trends. A new study, Recognizing Racial Diversity Within Households: Implications for Housing Research , examines 13.5 million multi-race households in the U.S., representing 10.4% of all households, using data from the 2022 American Community Survey.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
The Supreme Court of Hawaii this week decided that insurance companies seeking to file their own suits against those deemed responsible for 2023s devastating wildfires on the island of Maui cannot proceed, paving the way for a $4 billion settlement to continue, according to reporting from the Associated Press (AP). The wildfires destroyed roughly 80% of the historic town of Lahaina, a cultural showcase and tourist mainstay for the booming Hawaiian tourism industry.
Appraisal Buzz
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
New Redfin data reported the largest gain since the end of last year occurred in the four weeks ending February 2, when new listings of homes for sale in the U.S.increased 7.9% from a year earlier. On the purchasing side, pending sales are down 8.1% year-over-year, (YoY) despite a little improvement from the previous month. At early phases of the homebuying process, the situation is comparable: Although it increased little from the previous week, Redfins Homebuyer Demand Index, which is a season
Advertiser: Trellis
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.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
High interest rates and home prices are causing some prospective homebuyers to avoid applying for a mortgage. But despite this trend, some buyers are willing to adjust their loan term expectations to achieve homeownership, according to a recent report by real estate technology company REsimpli. REsimpli questioned 1,200 respondents who had plans to buy or upgrade a home this year.
Property Appraisal Zone brings together the best content for appraisal professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Rental listings have been a consistent high-growth revenue stream for Zillow since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And the company has struck a deal that it believes can push that growth even higher. On its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call on Tuesday evening, Zillow announced a partnership with fellow Seattle-headquartered firm Redfin that will make Zillow the exclusive provider of multifamily listings on Redfin, Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com.
Appraisal Buzz
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Michael Gevurtz, CEO and Founder, Bluebird Lending This article originally appeared in the February 2025 edition of MortgagePoint magazine, online now. Michael Gevurtz is an entrepreneur and investor in the real estate and finance industries. He is the CEO and Founder of Bluebird Lending, a national private lender servicing real estate developers and investors with an array of loan products to acquire, construct, and refinance residential and multifamily properties.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
When I attended a national real estate conference last month, the Clear Cooperation Policy the provision requiring listings to be published on the MLS within 24 hours of marketing a property predictably surfaced as a hot-button issue. At one point, a poll asked the hundreds in the audience: What are your thoughts on Clear Cooperation? 1) Support it, 2) Eliminate it, 3) I dont understand it, or 4) I have no opinion.
Appraisal Buzz
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Mortgage credit availability increased in January, rising 2.5% compared with December to a score of 99.0 on the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). A decrease in the index score indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases are indicative of loosening credit. The index which uses data from ICE Mortgage Technology was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
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.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
If youve heard it once, youve heard it a thousand times: Older Americans want to age in place in their own homes, and they also want to remain in their current communities. But these desires could clash with a reality that many communities across the country simply dont have the resources to support seniors, according to a recent article from HomeCare.
Appraisal Buzz
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
The national median single-family existing-home price was $410,100 as of the end of the fourth quarter, an increase of 4.8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That is up significantly from the end of the third quarter when the annual gain was 3.2%. Regionally, and year-over-year, existing-home prices in the fourth quarter were up 2.1% in the South, 10.6% in the Northeast, 8.0% in the Midwest and 4.0% in the West.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
After teaming up in 2022 to bring fully digital verification of income and employment (VOIE), Argyle and nCino announced enhancements to its integration. The initial digital integration involved reports, pay stubs and W-2s to the more than 370 mortgage companies and 52,000 loan officers that rely on nCino to manage the loan application process. The latest enhancements to the integration, however, “improve application pull-through and loan quality by allowing lenders to embed VOIE directly
Appraiserblogs
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Join me in this class action lawsuit and help take a stand against HUD and the wrongful persecution of appraisers. Nationwide Call to Action: Seeking Legal Representation for Class-Action Lawsuit Against HUD Investigations For over two Years I have been subjected to systemic abuse, unwarranted investigations, and procedural violations at the hands of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Advertiser: Trellis
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.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
The Oregon state senates Committee on Housing Development held a hearing last week on a piece of proposed legislation that seeks to limit the amount of equity a reverse mortgage lender can receive after the sale or transfer of a property. Industry representatives contend that if enacted, the bill could potentially halt the availability of proprietary product offerings in the state.
GoForrmz
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Paperless transformation is the future of public administration Governments are under increasing pressure to modernize their operations, reduce costs, and enhance citizen services. One of the most effective ways to achieve these goals is by transitioning from paper-based processes to digital solutions. Digital tools like GoFormz enable agencies to streamline workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and improve the overall citizen experience.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Mortgage credit availability ramped up in January, according to a report released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that analyzed data from ICE Mortgage Technology. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased by 250 basis points (bps) on a monthly basis to 99.0 in January 2025. By comparison, the index rating was 92.7 in January 2024.
Birmingham Appraisal
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Square Footage: Why Accuracy Matters Square footage is one of the most critical factors in determining a homes value, yet it is often misunderstood. Many homeowners and real estate agents assume that the square footage listed in public records is accurate, but thats not always the case. When an appraiser measures a home, their calculation often differs from whats in tax records.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Despite bolstering its construction activities and the availability of single-family homes , the state of Florida continues to endure shortages in its affordable housing stock that impact the workforce and retirees living on fixed incomes. This is according to a 2024 annual report from the University of Floridas Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, which examines recent trends in housing production, home prices and rents, and the affordable housing inventory.
Realvals
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Marin County, located north of San Francisco, is known for its natural beauty and excellent schools. The county boasts a diverse array of school districts that cater to students from kindergarten through high school. These districts work together to provide high-quality education for children in the area. Marin County has 18 school districts, each serving different parts of the region and offering unique educational experiences.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Families are becoming more strategic when choosing a city to live in. And some cities are better equipped to promote the concept of family homeownership. Online marketplace LendingTree released a study this week that identified the best major metropolitan areas for families in 2025. The study utilized data from the U.S. Census Bureau ‘s 2023 American Community Survey and evaluated each metro using several metrics, including median family income, the share of children living in owner-occupi
Inman
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Amid sweeping commission changes and the push for greater transparency in real estate, rules around referral fees remain elusive, compliance expert Summer Goralik writes for Inman.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Informative Research , a technology provider that delivers data-driven credit and verification solutions to the mortgage lending community, on Tuesday announced its integration with Thomas & Company , which provides support for employee relations programs. As part of the integration, Thomas & Companys wage and employment verification service will be added to the Informative Research verification platform, allowing clients access to tens of millions of records necessary for verification o
Real Estate News
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
The home search giant beat revenue expectations in Q4 as it continued to make big strides in mortgages and rentals, and announced a new partnership with Redfin.
Housing Wire
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Midwest-based independent brokerage Sibcy Cline is the latest firm to settle the commission lawsuits. On Friday, the plaintiffs in the Keel suit filed a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement reached with Sibcy Cline. This filing came just one day after the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint adding Sibcy Cline as a defendant. Despite being named after lead plaintiff Jeremy Keel, the list of plaintiffs includes many names the real estate industry is familiar with, such as Rhonda Burne
Real Estate News
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Several smaller brokerages and two MLSs named in the Keel and Gibson cases are scheduled for a final hearing on June 24.
Inman
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
The independent, Ohio-based brokerage will pay $895,000 to settle a lawsuit known as Keel after its lead plaintiff, bringing the total settlement fund for plaintiffs in the case to $11.5 million.
Real Estate News
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
While some association policies address DOM, its up to local MLSs and brokers to define and track the data or decide if they want to collect it at all.
Inman
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Generating consistent business requires an understanding of both short-term success and long-term strategies, coach Ricky Carruth writes.
Lamacchia Realty
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
The Balestracci Group ranked #1 in Oxford, MA We are excited to announce that the Balestracci Group consisting of Mark Balestracci , Elissa Comeau and Matthew Jette has been ranked the #1 in Oxford, MA, for closed transactions and sales volume! In 2024, the Balestracci Group successfully closed 99 transactions, accumulating $48,029,886 with 18 transactions, and $7,283,700 in sales volume in Oxford, MA alone!
Inman
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
When real estate agents tackle objections head-on with education, they position buyers to make better decisions and themselves as trusted advisors, coach Darryl Davis writes.
Will Springer Realtor
FEBRUARY 11, 2025
Is the spring housing market already underway? Buyers and sellers across King County may answer with an Oh, yeah! by looking at Januarys Northwest Multiple Listing Service report. Sellers got a head start on spring by introducing more than double the number of homes for sale in December. The rate of homes hitting the market was also about one-third stronger than in January 2024 and, at 2533 new listings, it is the most of any January in four years.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
394 
Let's personalize your content