Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Mr. Cooper Group became the target of at least four consumer class-action lawsuits after disclosing a cyberattack at the end of October when customer information was compromised and the company shut down certain systems. On Oct. 31, the Dallas-based servicer and lender said it had experienced a cybersecurity incident with an unauthorized third party accessing certain portions of its technology systems and customer data.

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Sacramento Appraisal Blog

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Pricing low on purpose can be a triggering issue. I know both buyers and agents can get extremely frustrated to have to enter a bidding war. And let’s not even talk about auction platforms. But pricing low is pretty much the norm in the Bay Area. People have always told me that, and I finally […] The post Pricing low on purpose: Bay Area vs Sacramento first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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George Dell

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

Editor’s Note: This original Gratitude post written by George Dell appeared in The Analogue Blog on November 21, 2018. A lot has transpired in five years. (The understatement of the Century!) But our gratitude is stronger than ever after all these years. Editor’s Note: Check out the later post from November 26th, 2019 here: Does […] The post Gratitude: a Redux appeared first on George Dell, SRA, MAI, ASA, CRE.

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Real Estate News

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

Fidelity National Financial, parent company of Chicago Title and more, is blocking access to title and escrow services while it investigates a security breach.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

When it comes to marketing your real estate business, video is king. Global statistics from 2023 show that people watch videos an average of 100 minutes a day, with millennials — the largest share of homebuyers in the U.S. — spending 10 to 20 hours a week watching videos. From short Instagram reels to longer videos on YouTube , video is here to stay.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

In many communities, homeowners and homebuyers have been hit with eye-popping property tax increases. It is costing more for schools and governments to pay for services. And homes in many communities have shot up in value in recent years, leading to tax increases through reassessments. But opinions differ on how much impact higher taxes are having on local housing and mortgage markets.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The baseline conforming loan limit for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2024 will be $766,550, up 5.5% compared to the current limit of $726,200 , the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday. Conforming loan limits are increasing at a slower pace, mirroring home prices, overall. That’s because the FHFA’s conforming loan limit increase is based on a formula related to home-price data in the third quarter of each year.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Mortgage rates headed lower this week as the 10-year Treasury yield dropped below 4.3% for the first time since September, according to new data from Freddie Mac. The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.22% for the week ending Nov. 30, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down significantly from last week ’s 7.29% and up from 6.49% the same week a year ago.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

While home prices in the U.S. held up in 2023, sales volume in the housing market cratered. Consumers care about home prices and mortgage rates; the industry cares about transaction volume. The industry is in a deep housing recession this year. If we get lucky with mortgage rates, though, we might just be at the bottom of the housing market recession right now.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

When market players say housing leads us into a recession, it traditionally means the Federal Reserve raised rates too much, housing slowed down as a result and a job-loss recession isn’t too far off. But a funny thing happened this year for the U.S. economy: single-family permits kept rising as new home sales were showing year-over-year growth. How did this happen when mortgage rates rose from the lows earlier in the year?

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Baby boomers and millennials have dominated the home-buying conversation in recent decades, but a new generation of homeowners is browsing online listings, heading to open houses and planning their home-buying budget. Gen Z — born between 1997 and 2012 — is making waves in the market with their approach to homebuying. Here are 14 real estate trends Gen Z buyers won’t pass up. 1.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 4, 2023

After mortgage rates spiked to 8% in October, causing a riot in the real estate industry, we had an epic move lower in mortgage rates last week. Does this mean we’ve hit the peak in mortgage rates for this economic cycle? The history of economic cycles and mortgage rates would say yes, but only if the market believes the Federal Reserve is done hiking rates and being hawkish and the labor data gets softer from here.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

If you follow real estate data closely, you’ll know that inventory rose late into November. You also know that new listings are up over last year, too. However, what you might not know is that home sales are climbing, which is a good sign. Watch the video above to get the latest housing market update from Altos Research. Short on time? Check out some key data takeaways below for the week ending Nov. 27.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

The jobs report today which should move mortgage rates lower, demonstrates why it’s time for the Federal Reserve to land the plane. The labor market doesn’t show wages spiraling out of control as it did in the 1970s because the inflation data doesn’t look like anything in the 1970s. We had a solid job openings print this week and jobless claims are still near historic lows.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Nearly three months after filing an initial complaint accusing Gary Keller and Keller Williams of inflating key profitability metrics including company sales and profits to convince individuals to purchase Keller Williams Regions and Market Centers, John Davis has made tweaks to his lawsuit. In his initial filing, in addition to Keller and Keller Williams, Davis also names former KW president Josh Team, Business MAPS Ltd. and Business MAPS Management LLC as defendants.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 18, 2023

Did the recent move lower in mortgage rates turn the housing market positive? With mortgage rates moving almost 75 basis points lower from the highs, does the data show that demand has improved? Let’s take a dive in the weekly tracker to see. Purchase application data Last year, when mortgage rates fell from 7.37% to 5.99% , we got three good months of positive purchase application data until the first week of February before mortgage rates started to run higher from 6%-8%.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 11, 2023

Total housing inventory growth has been slow in 2023, but with rising mortgage rates over the last few months, inventory has grown a bit faster than average. The question now is: Have we hit the seasonal peak in inventory for 2023? The housing inventory growth rate has decelerated for three weeks, and we were barely positive last week, with an increase of only 59 homes.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

The National Association of Realtors’ longtime CEO Bob Goldberg is leaving the trade association, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to HousingWire Thursday morning. “We are immensely grateful for Bob’s leadership and decades-long service to NAR,” Tracy Kasper, current NAR president, said in a statement. “It has been a privilege to work with him in expanding and strengthening our organization, and we congratulate him on his well-deserved retirement.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Going more in-depth than a Fed meeting, our virtual Housing Market Update event provides you with the strategy-building insights needed to operate in 2024. It’s a savagely unhealthy housing market out there, and these economists unpack what that means for you. Register for the virtual event on Dec. 11 here. In a typical year, there are about 5.2 million sales of existing homes nationally and home prices rise by about 4%.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Pending home sales in October fell to their lowest level since 2001. As mortgage rates edged near multi-decade highs, pending home sales declined 1.5% in October on a month-over-month basis, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). As a result, NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index fell to a reading of 71.4, down from 72.6 in September.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is increasing the “floor” and “ceiling” FHA loan limits in 2024 to $498,257 and $1,149,825, respectively, the FHA announced Tuesday. The new FHA loan limits apply to forward mortgages for a one-unit property and take effect on Jan. 1, according to the publication of FHA Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2023-21.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

The real estate industry as agents and brokers know it has been turned upside down. It remains to be seen exactly what the guilty verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit means for agents and brokers, as the industry waits for Judge Stephen Bough’s injunction. However, real estate brokers across the country have already begun preparing themselves, their firms and their agents for the worst.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Zillow Group has entered into an agreement to acquire CRM system , Follow Up Boss , according to an announcement on Wednesday. The acquisition purchase price includes $400 million of initial cash consideration and up to $100 million in potential cash earnout. “Follow Up Boss is beloved by agents across the industry, including many Zillow Premier Agent partners and ShowingTime+ clients.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Banks have tightened lending standards for most categories of residential real estate (RRE) loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) over the third quarter of 2023. The tightening came amid elevated interest rates and uncertainty in economic conditions. A survey taken by the Federal Reserve showed that a 20%-plus share of banks reported having tightened standards on non-qualified-mortgage (non-QM) jumbo residential loans (23.9%), QM jumbo loans (26%), non-QM non-jumbo (20.4%) and HELOCs (2

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Bright MLS released its National Housing Market Outlook on Wednesday, which shows that affordability will remain the biggest challenge for homebuyers next year. Homebuyer traffic will increase in 2024, fueled by lower mortgage rates and more existing-home inventory. Home sales are expected to rise, as homebuyers will have more options to choose from.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

U.S. house prices rallied again in the third quarter of 2023. In fact, home prices rose 2.1% quarter over quarter and 5.5% year over year in Q3, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index. Month over month, the FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index ticked up 0.6% in September. “U.S. house price growth continued to accelerate in the third quarter, appreciating more than in each of the previous four quarters,” Anju Vajja, principal associate director in FHFA ’s div

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The median price of a home in America is rapidly becoming out of reach for most first-time homebuyers. This is especially true for minority families who on average have less wealth than non-minority families. Like most things in our economy, home prices are influenced by supply and demand principles. An abundance of housing supply will diminish home prices while a shortage of homes available for sale will escalate prices.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Mortgage rates stabilized this week as the Federal Reserve decided to keep its rates unchanged Wednesday. However, mortgage rates still remain at a 23-year high. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.76% as of Nov. 2, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s was down slightly from last week ’s 7.79% and up from 6.95% the same week one year ago.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Mortgage applications rose to their highest level in six weeks after the 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 7.44% last week. Total home loan applications increased 3% for the week ending Nov. 17 compared to the previous week , according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Mortgage rates for the 30-year fixed loan averaged 7.44%, falling 6 basis points in one week, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

Let’s not sugarcoat it: 2023 was a bad year for the housing market. Mortgage rates eclipsed 8% at one point, inventory hit all-time lows, and home prices continued to climb. Next year, however, is shaping up to be better, according to Morgan Stanley. Analysts at the firm say that in 2024 the U.S. will avoid a recession, mortgage rates will fall, incomes will continue to rise and an uptick in listings will spur more housing activity.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

For the fourth consecutive month , homebuilder confidence sank in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Housing Market Index published last week. The pessimistic streak is especially notable given that the fall months have recently been lucrative for builders. The index fell to 34 in November, well below the 50 mark that divides bullish and bearish sentiments.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Detroit-headquartered lender Rocket Mortgage faces a class-action lawsuit for making repeated, unsolicited telephone calls, violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). According to the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on Tuesday, Kellie Deits – a resident of Arizona — received a call from a Rocket Mortgage representative in April who offered her mortgage products and services she had not requested nor inquired about.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Freddie Mac will launch a new fee-based repurchase alternative pilot program for performing loans in 2024, designed to improve the quality of performing loans through a potential replacement of its current repurchase policy for defective performing loans. “The pilot will use a fee-based structure that is more efficient, transparent and rewards lenders that deliver high-quality loans,” the GSE said.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Elevated mortgage rates sank builder confidence again in November, but recent economic data suggests housing conditions will pick up in the coming months. Builder confidence dropped six points to 34 in November, the fourth consecutive monthly drop, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The data collected for the survey was submitted ahead of Tuesday’s release of the October Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the U.S.

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