May, 2021

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Navigating appraisal challenges in today’s housing market

Housing Wire

The booming real estate market has created a high demand for appraisal services. This is good news for lenders, but it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on appraisers who have to be diligent in their work, while also meeting closing dates. HousingWire recently spoke with PCV Murcor Founder, President and CEO Keith Murray and COO Cindy Nasser on how the appraisal process can be streamlined in today’s tight housing market. .

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An open letter to home sellers in a crazy market

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Dear Sellers, How are things? I hope all is well. The housing market is so chaotic right now, so I wanted to share some thoughts and advice that I thought might help. This is coming from a good place and it’s based on observations and conversations with the real estate community. I hope this helps. […].

Sellers 495
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Who Needs Appraiser’s When One Has Cash?

Cleveland Appraisal Blog

Who needs an appraiser when one has cash? That’s a question a good friend asked me after telling me that a home on the same street from them sold, in hours, for a much higher price than many other generally similar homes are selling for in the neighborhood. The buyers paid cash. I must admit, in the past year, there have been times when I have felt like many buyers don’t really care about value anymore.

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The Similarities Between 2007 and Today

Appraisal Buzz

During the 2007-10 mortgage default meltdown, appraisals were a target of complaints and allegations by lenders, the GSEs, some state appraisal boards, and a few unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Many of the complaints and allegations about appraisals related to not addressing the changes happening in the market as the meltdown began to occur, calling the market stable when prices were starting to decline.

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Unlock The Blueprint: How To Construct A Better Payment Workflow

Speaker: Timothy Allsopp

Payment challenges often lead to delayed projects, financial bottlenecks, and strained relationships. With construction projects becoming more complex, outdated processes are no longer sustainable. By refining financial workflow, companies can improve cash flow, reduce error, and foster trust between stakeholders. Discover practical strategies for redesigning payment systems to overcome workflow challenges while creating a smoother, more reliable process for contractors and subcontractors alike.

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[Podcast] Masters In Business: Jonathan Miller on the Real Estate Industry

Miller Samuel

This is my fourth appearance with my friend Barry Ritholtz, a prolific columnist/blogger, radio show host/podcaster , and wealth management firm head on his Masters In Business show for Bloomberg Radio. He previously interviewed me in 2014 , 2016 and 2020. Barry also posted the interview on his essential Big Picture blog: MiB: Jonathan Miller, Appraiser Extraordinaire in addition to the Bloomberg Masters In Business landing page.

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Generation X is looking to move to these metros

Housing Wire

In the last few years, there’s been a lot of conversation surrounding 25 to 40-year-olds and their home purchasing habits. But according to a new LendingTree study , millennials aren’t the only ones making big purchases – Generation X is doing the same. Generation Xers are taking advantage of the housing boom. Generation Xers were born between 1965-1980 and range between 41 to 56-years-old.

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How much are buyers paying above the asking price?

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

“Buyers are crazy!!! How can they be paying these prices?” That’s what we tend to hear from people who are NOT trying to buy a house right now. It seems like onlookers really don’t understand what it takes to get an offer accepted these days. But for anyone actually in the game, the truth is […].

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An Entertainer’s Dream: Top Backyard Upgrades Your Summer Guests Will Eat Up

Cleveland Appraisal Blog

Hello everyone! I hope you’re doing great out there! I am working on a new article that I will share next week. Kelsey Luvisa from HomeLight wrote a cool article for the Cleveland Appraisal Blog on a hot topic in real estate, namely, backyard entertaining. I hope you enjoy their article and the warmer weather! An Entertainer’s Dream: Top Backyard Upgrades Your Summer Guests Will Eat Up.

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The Challenges of Appraising Multifamily Properties

Appraisal Buzz

When you calculate a house’s worth, you think about how numerous factors position the property in the current market. This process has appraisers review location, condition, and other variables so they can assess whether buyers will be interested. However, things aren’t always as straightforward as they seem. Challenges often arise in how professionals figure out the overall value of multifamily homes.

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Need Curated Pre-foreclosure Lists to Generate New Real Estate Leads? Trellis Has the Data!

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.

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Median Age of Construction Workforce

Eyes on Housing

NAHB analysis of the most recent 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data reveals that the median age of construction workers is 41, the same as a typical worker in the national labor force. While the residential construction has been adding jobs during the pandemic, access to skilled labor is still a business challenge in 2021. The median age of construction.

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How To Determine Time Adjustments

The Appraiser Coach

I recently had a question come in from a follower regarding how to best make time adjustments in this crazy world of multiple offers and offers over list. It was. Read More.

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Investors are buying up single-family homes across the US

Housing Wire

After three straight quarters of declines, home purchases by investors rose 2.7% year over year in the first quarter of 2021, marking the first period of growth since the COVID-19 pandemic began, per a new study from Redfin. Looking to take advantage of the hot housing market and a soaring stock market, investors bought about 1 of every 7 U.S. homes in the first quarter — up from the prior three quarters, in which they bought closer to 1 in 10 homes.

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When selling way above anything else (Q&A)

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

There’s no way it will sell for that much… But then it did. Today I have an interview with a local real estate agent about a property that recently commanded easily about $100,000 more than it looked like it could have on paper. I hope you enjoy this Q&A with Ted DeFazio and my takeaways […].

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15 Years of Appraising

DW Slater Company

15 Years of Appraising. This month marks my 15th year of real estate appraising. I clearly remember how nervous I was to quit my teaching job and a steady paycheck to join my husband in his business. We would both be self-employed and with 7 kids that was going to be a challenge but I can say that I have never looked back. Now, don’t get me wrong, I miss my students and fellow teachers but working together with my husband has proven to be a wonderful thing.

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Race and the Property Valuation Industry

Appraisal Buzz

Many of you reading this are probably familiar with this case that recently went viral. A husband and wife requested a bank appraisal to refinance their Jacksonville, Florida home. The wife is African American, and her husband is white. Only the wife was at home to greet the appraiser when they arrived to inspect her home. When the couple received the final appraisal report of their home’s value, they were shocked!

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Record Numbers of Builders Report Material Shortages

Eyes on Housing

Shortages of materials are now more widespread than at any at any time since NAHB began tracking the issue on a regular basis in the 1990s, in is survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). In response to special questions on the May 2021 HMI survey, over 90 percent of builders who buy the product in question reported.

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Existing home sales data: A bad sign for housing market?

Housing Wire

According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales for April’s housing market came in at 5,8500,000. This was a miss from estimates and the third straight month of declines in sales. I have been saying we should expect home sales to moderate since the end of summer 2020, and that is what we see in this report. This sales trend looks very normal to me.

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April housing starts drop 13.4% from March

Housing Wire

Skyrocketing prices for lumber, appliances and other building materials continue to handcuff new housing starts all over the country. Single-family housing starts in April dropped 13.4% from March to a rate of 1.09 million, according to the most recent study from the U.S. Census Bureau. Housing completions were at a rate of 1.045 million in April, just 0.1% above the March rate of 1.04 million — proof that builders are delaying housing starts due to the marked increase in costs for lumber and ot

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Is housing market demand starting to weaken?

Housing Wire

Nearly 50% of homes sold for more than their list price during the four weeks ending May 16, but there are signs that housing market demand may be reaching its peak, according to a recent study from Redfin. Pending sales for the seven-day period ending May 16 were down 10% from four weeks prior, compared to an 8% increase during the same period in 2019.

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We’ve got rising home prices but no housing crash in sight

Housing Wire

The key to the U.S. getting back on track economically is for its citizens to freely walk the earth again without the existential threat of COVID-19. The U.S. is getting closer and closer to meeting that goal, while other countries are still trying to control the virus. Before the successful vaccination program, I targeted Aug. 31, 2021, as the launching point for when we can fully achieve this, with the mindset that all jobs lost to COVID would be back online by September 2022 or earlier.

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How appraisers value homes in a hot housing market

Housing Wire

Robin Sheridan, a real-estate broker with Compass Washington, recently listed a three-bedroom home in Seattle for $795,000. The 76-year-old brick home had what Sheridan considered a “funky layout,” with two rooms added to the back that didn’t quite integrate into the flow of the home. Still, they functioned well as office spaces. Sheridan received 29 offers on the property, which went pending within five days – and sold for $1.013 million, or 27.4% over the list price.

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Mortgage rates manage another dip to 2.94%

Housing Wire

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage managed another dip last week, falling two basis points to 2.94%, according to Freddie Mac ‘s PMMS. Since the most recent peak in April, mortgage rates have declined nearly a quarter of a percent and have remained under 3% for the past month. Despites last week’s rates mirroring closer to what was seen in February, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist isn’t convinced they will last. “The low mortgage rate environment has been a

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Fannie alters 2021 forecast due to housing market shortage

Housing Wire

A full month of sub-3% mortgage rates , ongoing housing market supply constraints, and a 300% increase in lumber prices over the past 15 months has prompted Fannie Mae ‘s Economic and Strategic Group to revise several of its 2021 forecasts. March’s existing home sales report perfectly illustrated the country’s core housing market issues – a decade of under-building led to a 3.7% decline in transactions from the prior month, even though there’s never been more demand for a

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New home sales trigger concern over lumber prices

Housing Wire

Today the Census Bureau reported 863,000 new home sales in April 2021. This was a miss from estimates and revisions for the previous months were all negative. From Census : “Sales of new single?family houses in April 2021 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 863,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Volume-hungry mortgage lenders loosen credit standards

Housing Wire

Mortgage credit availability increased by 2.2% in April as mortgage lenders fight for borrowers in an increasingly competitive market. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday that the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) — which uses 100 as a benchmark — increased to 128.1 last month. A decline in the MCAI suggests that lending standards are tightening while a higher number suggests loosening credit standards.

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Fannie and Freddie set dates for their new refi option

Housing Wire

The Federal Housing Finance Agency didn’t have a set date for its new refi option targeted to low-income borrowers when it announced the program last week. But on Wednesday, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced release dates for their versions of the refi product. Fannie Mae’s RefiNow option will be available June 5, while Freddie Mac’s Refi Possible will be available two months later in August.

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What if mortgage rates don’t rise this year?

Housing Wire

With the economic expansion well underway, one big question remains: When will mortgage rates move toward 4% and higher? Mortgage rates increased toward 3.25% in mid-February from the recent all-time lows of 2.625% at the start of the year, but then retracted to around 3.0% currently. The bond market in 2021 has been above 1.60% for a brief time, with a recent high of about 1.75%.

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When will the Federal Reserve raise rates?

Housing Wire

I propose adding a new pastime to our gold standards of baseball, barbecues, and Thanksgiving dinner. This new pastime I call Fed-Watch or When Will the Fed Raise Rates? Since the financial crisis of 2008, this pastime has gained popularity to the point where this guessing game has become an obsession and started to drive some folks a little batty. Insanity and Gold Bugs go together like a horse and carriage, peanut butter and jelly and salt and pepper, or so I’ve been told. .

Mortgage 505
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What the Biden tax plans mean for the housing market

Housing Wire

“ Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” —?Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, 1789. Thankfully, after more than a year with innumerable challenges, it appears that the pandemic will end. From an economic perspective, the government acted boldly to support households and businesses through the crisis with monetary and fiscal stimulus.

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A guide for homebuyers looking to buy their dream home

Housing Wire

Are you thinking about buying your first home? Because of today’s low interest rates , some homebuyers may be able to afford the homes of their dream. But low interest rates aren’t the only thing you should consider when house shopping. Due to high demand, the housing supply is slim. But that doesn’t mean you should settle for a house you don’t love.

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National mortgage delinquency rate finally dips below 5%

Housing Wire

April’s 7.08% decline in mortgage delinquencies wasn’t even half of the drop March posted, but it did manage to push the national delinquency rate to below 5% for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, Black Knight revealed in a new report. Overall, the number of past-due mortgages fell to 4.66% in April while an additional 400,000 homeowners managed to become current on their payments.

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NAR: Almost 50% of homes sold for more than list price

Housing Wire

The National Association of Realtors Confidence Index Survey for April reveals how hot the housing market is. Per the report, homes that sold had five offers on average , and nearly 50% of homes sold for more than their list price during the four weeks ending May 16. NAR expects home prices in the next three months to increase nearly 6% from one year ago and will increase almost 3% from last year’s sales level.

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