August, 2022

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Homebuilders are done until mortgage rates fall

Housing Wire

Tuesday’s housing starts report clearly shows that homebuilders are going to be done with single-family construction until mortgage rates fall. Housing completion data is still struggling to get some traction, but in the coming months, builders should be able to get more housing completions done while housing permits and starts for single-family homes are in decline.

Mortgage 533
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What Impact Will the Infrastructure Bill Have on the Housing Crisis?

Appraisal Buzz

The United States is currently in what many consider to be a housing crisis. Market prices for purchased and rented homes are through the roof, with no clear end in sight. More people are searching for homes than there are houses available. This supply and demand issue made property prices skyrocket, with few able to afford what sellers were asking.

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Opendoor is struggling in Sacramento

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Opendoor has been losing big lately in Sacramento since the market shifted. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at their activity over the past few months since I’m getting so many questions about them. This is not about throwing shade, and I’m not writing as a fanboy either. This is objective […].

Marketing 470
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When There’s No Comparison

The Appraiser Coach

If you’ve been a part of the appraisal world for long, you’ve had this experience. You’ve just submitted a completed report that you feel pretty good about. Soon afterward, however, Read More.

Appraisal 367
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Make Your First Investment Property an Attractive and Profitable Option

Cleveland Appraisal Blog

You’ve just purchased your first property to renovate. How can you capitalize on your first investment property? I welcome back guest blogger and Author, Jessica Brody, who shares some tips with us on how to do so. Enjoy! Whether your first investment property will be a rental or a flip, your goal is to walk away with more money than you put into it.

Investing 332
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Builder Confidence Falls for Eighth Consecutive Month

Eyes on Housing

Builder confidence fell for the eighth straight month in August as elevated interest rates, ongoing supply chain problems and high home prices continue to exacerbate housing affordability challenges. In another sign that a declining housing market has failed to bottom out, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell six points in August to 49, marking the.

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Fannie Mae is Bullish on Appraiser Trainees

Appraisal Buzz

Appraisers who have had the opportunity to participate in an appraiser conference recently have probably noticed a recurring theme from Fannie Mae – the importance of supervisory appraisers training the next generation of appraisers. Why is this so important to us? In simple terms, we are a risk management company. Guided by principles of good risk management and our mission defined by our congressional charter, the Fannie Mae Selling Guide states the policy requirements for the loans we acquire

Appraisal 397
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The inventory myth & dipping prices

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Let’s talk about two things today. The myth of six months of inventory being normal and dipping prices. I’d love to hear your take in the comments. UPCOMING (PUBLIC) SPEAKING GIGS: 8/25/22 State of Housing Brunch & Learn (sign up (for real estate community)) 9/08/22 SAFE Credit Union Market Update (details TBD) 9/15/22 Market update […].

Inventory 435
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Connecting With Agents

The Appraiser Coach

When it comes to getting business, a lot of us like to go for the “low-hanging fruit.” AMCs are a wonderful source of that “easy to get” business. They’ve been. Read More.

Agents 326
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Pros and Cons of Selling Your Home As-Is

Cleveland Appraisal Blog

Do you fix your home up or sell it as-is? That can be a tough question to answer. There are some things to consider before making this decision. This week I welcome back guest blogger Betty White who shares some pros and cons of selling a home in its as-is condition. I hope you find her article to be helpful! For some homeowners, extensive renovations can present a challenge in terms of time and finances, particularly if you plan to move out of your home soon.

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Housing Affordability Falls to Lowest Level Since Great Recession

Eyes on Housing

Rising mortgage rates, high inflation, low existing inventory and elevated home prices contributed to housing affordability falling to its lowest point since the Great Recession in the second quarter of 2022. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), just 42.8% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end.

Inventory 211
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Is housing inventory growth really slowing down?

Housing Wire

One of the most important housing market stories in recent weeks has been the decline in new listings , which has slowed the growth rate of total inventory. What does this mean? Some have said this is evidence of a soft landing for housing since we are in August and it doesn’t look like we are going to even get to the peak inventory levels we saw in 2019 this year, or even breach the lower levels of 2019 on the national data.

Inventory 526
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Handling Non-Linear Market Changes

Appraisal Buzz

This year has felt like riding a roller coaster…in the dark…facing backwards. Some of the changes are probably specific to my market, but others will be familiar to most of you. The shifts in supply and demand have been rapid and not always easy to predict. I wrote previously about the impact of increasing interest rates and inflation on the residential real estate market.

Marketing 394
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The housing market went from steaming to stagnant (free download)

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

The housing market went from steaming to stagnant a few months ago, and now that some time has passed, we’re getting more stats to help show the effect of higher mortgage rates. Today let’s look at sales volume to understand what’s going on. I have a free download too for anyone wanting to make visuals […].

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Bias in the (Transaction) Zone?

George Dell

The transaction zone is a range within which a sale price might occur. Yet our definitions of value nearly all define a “most probable” price. In prior issues, we have discussed how vintage appraisal practice is vulnerable to accusations of bias. The “appraisal process” is most vulnerable at the beginning of the analysis, wherein “good […]. The post Bias in the (Transaction) Zone?

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How Full Is Your Glass?

The Appraiser Coach

I love podcasts! In fact, I started recording podcasts because of how much I loved listening to them. Recently, I was listening to a podcast about car salesmen, and one. Read More.

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Has Inflation Peaked?

Eyes on Housing

Consumer prices eased slightly from a 40-year high in July as declines in energy prices offset increases in food and shelter indexes. Despite this improvement, inflation remains above an 8% rate for a fifth straight month. The food index recorded its largest annual gain since May 1979 as all six major grocery store food group indexes increased. Nonetheless, it is.

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This app lets homeowners generate floor plans of their homes for free

Housing Wire

In a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors , floor plans ranked as the third most desired listing feature for homebuyers, after photos and detailed listing information. But floor plans are a relative rarity on multiple listings services: only 10-15% home listings in the U.S. have floor plans. CubiCasa , a real estate software company based in Finland, launched a new product to enable homeowners to generate floor plans at no cost through their app.

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Burn it Down

Appraisal Buzz

The post Burn it Down appeared first on Appraisal Buzz.

Appraisal 370
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Buyers are making less aggressive offers

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Good news. Buyers aren’t having to make aggressive offers like they used to (even when there are multiple offers). Let’s talk about this today. I suspect this is true in many areas across the country. I’d love to hear your take. UPCOMING (PUBLIC) SPEAKING GIGS: 8/11/22 Realtist Lunch & Learn (sign up here (open to […].

Buyers 413
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Is Truth a Credible Edible?

George Dell

Truth can be hard to swallow! I find their ‘truth’ not credible. Not believable. Why? Well, for one thing. One important thing. That belief conflicts with MY belief. Clearly, my beliefs are better than theirs! Anybody can see that. At least they should see that. How can they be so stupid? Brad Cable just sent […]. The post Is Truth a Credible Edible?

Appraisal 195
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Knowing Is Half the Battle

The Appraiser Coach

In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the State of Idaho shut down, my company and I took a remote appraisal assignment. Because of the local stay-at-home order, we. Read More.

Appraisal 195
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New Home Size Trends Reversing?

Eyes on Housing

An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. During the housing boom of recent quarters, this led to a rise for new single-family home size. However, as the housing market weakens this trend appears to be reversing. According to second quarter 2022 data from the.

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Can lower mortgage rates stop the housing recession?

Housing Wire

To say that mortgage rates have been on a wild Mr. Toad’s ride in 2022 is an understatement. In less than a year, we went from 2.78% on the 30-year fixed to as high as 6.28% , then recently got as low as 5% — only to have another move higher this week to 5.30%. People thought the mortgage rate drama in 2013-2014 was a lot when rates went from 3.5% to 4.5%.

Mortgage 514
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The Appraiser Diversity Initiative – What You Need to Know

Appraisal Buzz

Today’s Buzzcast interview is with Loren Cooke, President of Solidifi, and Scott Reuter, Chief Appraiser of Freddie Mac. We sat down with Loren, Scott, and Jim Morrison, VP of Marketing and Sales for Allterra Group, to discuss bringing more diversity into the appraisal industry and their panel for Valuation Expo, “ Appraiser Diversity Initiative: How the Industry is Attracting New Entrants and Fostering Appraiser Diversity. ”.

Appraisal 370
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Opinion: Has the title industry reach the automation tipping point?

Housing Wire

Not many would count the title industry among the economy’s technology leaders. Candidly, there’s good reason for that. For decades, settlement services firms staked their reputations on personalized customer service and regional or local expertise, rather than cutting-edge technologies. More than a few observers have referred to us as a mom-and-pop industry because it’s comprised of a significant number of small agencies.

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Fannie Mae to accept lender-funded down payment assistance

Housing Wire

Fannie Mae will now buy mortgage loans with lender-funded grants, including down payment assistance, closing costs or financial reserves. The change could give nonbank lenders a way to guard against redlining accusations. The government-sponsored enterprise will start accepting such loans immediately. According to Fannie Mae’s guidance , “The lender must have a documented program that provides grants for low- to moderate-income borrowers, community development, equitable housing initiative

Law 508
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Fannie Mae sees dark days ahead for the housing market

Housing Wire

It will get worse for the housing market – and mortgage industry – before it gets better. That’s the takeaway from a group of economists at Fannie Mae who slashed their forecast for 2022 home sales this week. “Housing remains clearly on the downtrend — and has been for several months now — due to the combined effects of outsized home price increases and the significant and rapid run-up in mortgage rates,” Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan said in a statement.

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Movement Mortgage acquires brokerage Superior Rate

Housing Wire

South Carolina-based Movement Mortgage has acquired the brokerage Superior Rate Mortgage of New England to expand operations in the region, the company announced Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is another step to boost its sales amid shrinking loan origination volumes. The company announced new hires in the sales executive team in early August.

Brokerage 497
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After $223M loss in Q2, loanDepot closes wholesale channel

Housing Wire

California-based mortgage lender loanDepot is shutting down its wholesale division amid plummeting origination volumes and widening financial losses in the second quarter. The decision to close the channel also reflects fierce competition from its peers in the broker space, primarily from United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). The announcement on Tuesday came alongside a $223.8 million loss in the second quarter of 2022, more than double the $91.3 million loss in the first quarter of 2022.

Retail 497
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Expect a foreclosure spike in the coming months

Housing Wire

Distressed mortgages dating back to the height of the pandemic are expected to fuel a jump in foreclosure activity over the next 12 months, although the foreclosure rate is still expected to remain below the pre-pandemic historical average, a new report from Auction.com contends. The prediction by one of the nation’s leading marketplaces for distressed assets, is based on a survey of some 50 Auction.com clients, including private-sector mortgage servicers and government-sponsored enterprises (GS

Inventory 482
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Opinion: Taming inflation requires making housing affordability a national priority

Housing Wire

Inflation slowed more than expected in July , the result of a dip in gas and energy prices. But soaring housing costs continue to weigh heavily on family budgets. Rents and home purchase prices are up – 17% and 20% respectively – from last year. It seems as if every day there is yet another news story highlighting how so many families are suffering under crushing housing costs.

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HELOCs are now “raging back”

Housing Wire

A combination of fast-rising home values and the fact that nearly two-thirds of borrowers with at least some home equity have mortgage rates below 4% — and would not benefit from refinancing — is helping to propel a resurgent market for home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs). HELOCs allow homeowners to tap the equity in their home without incurring a much higher first-lien mortgage via a cash-out refinancing.

Lending 459
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Mountain West Financial steps back from wholesale lending

Housing Wire

Add mortgage lender Mountain West Financial to the list of victims of the price war in the wholesale channel. The Redlands, California-based company informed its broker network last week that it has “made the difficult decision to take a step back from wholesale lending,” according to a spokesperson. Founded in 1990, Mountain will continue to serve retail and consumer direct clients throughout the Western United States.

Lending 448