Sat.Aug 19, 2023 - Fri.Aug 25, 2023

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Mortgage lender AmeriFirst Financial files for bankruptcy

Housing Wire

Retail lender AmeriFirst Financial Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, just two months after it got back into the forward mortgage origination business. The Mesa, Arizona-based company listed estimated assets and liabilities as much as $100 million each, according to a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Delaware. RCP Credit Opportunities Fund is listed as the largest unsecured creditor in the AmeriFirst Chapter 11 case — with a claim of $17.9 million, court pleading

Mortgage 370
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Higher rates, insurance, & the stock market vs real estate

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Rates have gone up, but have they sucked all the demand out of the market? Nope. Let’s talk about that today by looking at a few stats. Also, someone asked if the stock market is connected to the housing market, so l made a cool graph. I have a few thoughts on insurance in California […] The post Higher rates, insurance, & the stock market vs real estate first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog | Real Estate Appraiser.

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Zillow rolls out 1% down home loan program

Real Estate News

The company said the new program, initially launching in Phoenix, will help ease one of the biggest barriers to entry for buying a home.

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Scope or Hypothesis?

George Dell

Scope of Work is required in legacy appraisal practice. Data Science (and Evidence Based Valuation) are more based on principles of good science. Editor’s Note: This is Standards, part 3.11 of George Dell’s series on How Do I Move to EBV? Links to the earlier posts are here. To sum up, the goal of traditional […] The post Scope or Hypothesis?

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Leverage Trellis Court Data To Identify More Investment Opportunities

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.

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Housing sector is showing signs of picking back up: Powell 

Housing Wire

In a hawkish tone, Jerome Powell said that Federal Reserve (Fed) officials are prepared to raise the federal funds rate further and hold it at high levels until they are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down to the 2% target. And that’s unclear at this point. There are some sources of pressure on U.S. prices — among them is the housing market, Powell said Friday morning during an economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “So far this year, GDP [gross domestic

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Maui broker: Hanging up on vultures, holding on to hope

Real Estate News

Chris Speicher feels "numb" in the wake of devastating wildfires but is committed to helping the community rebuild — in the right way.

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Interest rates stay anchored after Fed chair’s hawkish speech

Inman

After an initial swoon, bond markets take Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's tough talk on inflation in stride, but the housing sector remains vulnerable to rate hikes.

Marketing 148
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Zillow Home Loans rolls out 1% down payment option program

Housing Wire

Zillow ‘s mortgage arm launched a down payment assistance program where the company will cover 2% of the borrower’s down payment at closing, allowing buyers to pay just 1% upfront. The program is available for eligible borrowers in Arizona and will expand to additional markets, Zillow Home Loans said in a release. The 2% portion of the down payment will be paid during closing and not as a payment to the borrower. “For those who can afford higher rent payments but have been held

Mortgage 370
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Home Improvement Loan Applications in 2021: A State- and County-Level Analysis

Eyes on Housing

The residential remodeling market has grown rapidly in the past few years, mainly fueled by changes in housing and lifestyle decisions during the pandemic period. According to National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), expenditures for residential home improvements soared 13% to $328 billion in 2021, from $289 billion in 2020. This marks the largest gain since 1993 (16% increase).

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The Constructor's Digital Transformation Playbook: Reducing Risk With Technology

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.

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New home sales still hot, but will fall bring a chill?

Real Estate News

New construction got another boost in July, with sales up 31.5% year-over-year. Rising mortgage rates may reverse that trend.

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What’s next if NAR loses those bombshell lawsuits?

Inman

The most explosive damage to the National Association of Realtors and the overall industry will result if the defendants lose one or both so-called bombshell lawsuits. Author and trainer Nancy Ross breaks down the possible repercussions.

Realtors 148
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KW will cut profit sharing for agents who joined rivals

Housing Wire

Keller Williams is going with the carrot and the stick approach. The franchisor just announced a significant adjustment to its profit sharing program, aimed at rewarding agents who stay with the company and punishing vested agents who left for competitors. Keller Williams President Marc King last week wrote in an email that the company will cut the profit share distribution for vested “former” KW agents (agents who joined the company before April 1, 2020) who jumped ship to another brokerage fro

Agents 370
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Missing Middle Construction Weakens

Eyes on Housing

The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed since the Great Recession. For the second quarter of 2023, there were just 3,000 2- to 4-unit housing unit construction starts.

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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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KW to slash profit sharing for former agents

Real Estate News

Starting next July, former KW agents who compete against the company will see their profit share distribution reduced from 100% to 5%.

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Zillow is the latest lender to offer a 1% down purchase mortgage

Inman

UWM and Rocket Mortgage are also leveraging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs tailored to borrowers earning less than 80 percent of the area median income.

Mortgage 148
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Closing the gap: Increasing homeownership among diverse communities

Housing Wire

Homeownership is a hallmark of the American Dream; it’s one of the few paths to building generational wealth and achieving financial freedom. Unfortunately, for many, it can feel like a pipedream. According to a recent report from the U.S. Census , the homeownership rate has dropped to 63.1%, its lowest rate since 1970. Moreover, the outlook for individuals from minority communities is even more bleak.

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New Home Sales Increase in July

Eyes on Housing

Low existing inventory and solid demand more than offset rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs to boost new home sales last month. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in July increased 4.4% to a 714,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in June, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban.

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A wave of housing forecast updates point the same way: up

Real Estate News

Researchers from Zillow, Freddie Mac, and Goldman Sachs all issued revised, rising 2023 home value and price forecasts in the past week.

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Pending home sales climb to 2023 high following months of declines

Inman

Pending home sales rose 0.7 percent from June to July, reversing seven months of declines. However, rising rates and home prices are poised to stifle sales growth into the fall, Redfin said.

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Mortgage rates continue to climb beyond 7%

Housing Wire

Mortgage rate shot up again last week as the bond market continues to grapple with a growing economy in the run up to the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Investors are concerned that the central bank will continue raising the funds rate, pushing borrowing costs even higher. For many, there is worry that the Fed may overtighten on the monetary front and lead to economic damage,” said George Ratiu, chief economist at Keeping Current Matters.

Mortgage 370
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Single-Family Home Size Moves Lower to More than a Decade Low

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. Home size correspondingly increased in 2021 as interest rates reached historic lows. However, as interest rates increased in 2022, and housing affordability worsened, the demand for home size has trended lower. According to second quarter 2023 data.

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'Reason for optimism' as Maui’s road to recovery takes shape

Real Estate News

Rebuilding after the Lahaina wildfires will be challenging and costly, but not "ominous.

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Majority of Realtor associations tap late fees to boost bottom line: NAR

Inman

Most local associations maintain fewer than two years of reserves and draw on late fees as the most common source of non-dues revenue, according to NAR's inaugural Association Profile.

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Better’s shares plummet 93% in Nasdaq debut 

Housing Wire

Shares of Better Home & Finance Holding , the parent of digital lender Better.com, collapsed during its debut on Nasdaq Thursday. The company went public after merging with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aurora Acquisition Corp. the prior day. Better’s class A common stock, listed under the ticker “BETR,” declined to $1.15 at the closing on Thursday.

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Market in Focus: Georgia Population Growth Bounces Back After Low Growth in 2021

Eyes on Housing

Between 2021 and 2022, the state of Georgia gained 124,827 residents. This was the fourth largest population gain in the U.S. and one of only four states to have a nominal population increase above 100,000. In percentage terms, Georgia’s population grew at 1.2% between this time. This was the state’s highest percentage increase in population since 2016.

Marketing 147
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Why brokerages should care about the FTC Safeguards Rule

Real Estate News

An update to FTC rules could impact a broad range of real estate professionals — with stiff fines for noncompliance.

Brokerage 246
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Consumer unease over inflation rekindled in August following rally

Inman

Consumer sentiment dipped to 69.5 in August following months of recovery, a downward shift that underscores the complex web of rapidly changing expectations, according to data released Friday.

Marketing 148
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Mortgage payments increased 17% annually to $2,162 in July

Housing Wire

Homebuyer affordability remained unchanged in July from June, according to Mortgage Bankers Association ‘s (MBA) Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI). The index measures how new monthly mortgage payments vary across time, relative to income, drawing from data from MBA ’s weekly applications survey. The national median payment applied for by purchase applicants was $2,162 in July, up $318 from a year prior but unchanged from June.

Mortgage 370
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Existing Home Sales Slide to 6-Month Low

Eyes on Housing

Existing home sales in July fell to the lowest level since January as limited inventory and higher mortgage rates continued to weight on homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Low resale inventory and strong demand continued to drive up existing home prices, marking the first year-over-year price increase since January.

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RE/MAX to reduce workforce by 7%

Real Estate News

In an SEC filing, the company said the layoffs are part of a reorganization that will “yield cost savings in the long term.

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Keller Williams agent killed in boat accident before Mega Agent Camp

Inman

Beloved Keller Williams Moorestown agent Rob Montalbano died in a Lake Travis boating accident on Aug. 13. His brokerage and community have rallied to raise more than $68,000 for funeral costs.

Agents 148