Housing Wire

OCTOBER 18, 2023

One in five Americans now shares their homes with adult children, parents or grandparents. In the face of soaring housing costs nationwide, multigenerational living has gained traction as a path to make living expenses more manageable and to maintain closer family bonds. While many multigenerational families are living together under one roof, potentially leading to feelings of overcrowding, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have emerged as a practical solution for affordable housing that allows f

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Construction Modernization Real Estate Mortgage 545

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

OCTOBER 18, 2023

It feels like a gut-punch to housing demand to have 8% rates. So many predictions said we’d be at 6% or below by now, yet here we are. I think it’s really important to stay grounded and realistic, so let’s talk about this. I also have some market recap visuals (and a few insane graphs). […] The post A Gut Punch to Housing Demand (8% Rates) first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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Appraisal Marketing Real Estate Mortgage 372

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 17, 2023

On day two of the Sitzer/Burnett trial, the plaintiffs presented opening arguments, while the defense said conspiracy claims are "conjecture.

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Inman

OCTOBER 16, 2023

The long-awaited Sitzer | Burnett commission trial is underway in Kansas City, Missouri, and Inman is covering it all live as it unfolds. Check back early and often for news, views, schedules and more.

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Buyers Agents Real Estate Realtors 217

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 18, 2023

For years broker channel evangelists told me that a down market would give them an edge on their retail brethren. Well, it’s certainly been a down market. How has the broker channel fared in the wake of the Fed rate hikes ? I asked the good folks at mortgage data technology firm InGenius to run the numbers. Take a look. “From the first six months of 2022 to first six months of 2023, brokers have increased their percentage from 23% to 28% while retail has decreased by that same percen

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Retail Loan Officers Brokerage Mortgage 521

The Appraiser Coach

OCTOBER 17, 2023

Different types of appraisals call for different needs. As an appraiser, you are the most qualified to make choices regarding an appraisal. There are a lot of things you have to juggle, and clients and lenders have their own ideas of how it should be. What about in regards to comp photos? With the advent of the hybrid appraisal, it seems that the need for comp photos has become obsolete.

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Appraisal Appraisal Process Technology Clients 195

Inman

OCTOBER 19, 2023

The plaintiffs in a class action antitrust suit challenging the real estate industry’s commission structure took to the stand Wednesday and Thursday to make the case that the practice of homesellers paying buyer agents is “unfair.

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Real Estate Agents Buyers Brokerage 202

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 20, 2023

The last two years of soaring mortgage rates and rising home prices have brought the fastest erosion in housing market affordability in modern history, and it’s hurt first-time homebuyers the most. A homebuyer must earn $114,627 to afford the median-priced U.S. home, up 15% ($15,285) from a year ago and up more than 50% since the start of the pandemic in early 2022.

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Housing Market Marketing Buyers Modernization 511

Eyes on Housing

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Existing home sales in September fell to lowest level since October 2010 as limited inventory and higher mortgage rates continued to weigh 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 third consecutive month of year-over-year median sales price increase.

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Inventory Mortgage Realtors 193

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Lawyers jostled for position and weeded out ineligible jurors, including many who are members of the plaintiff class (Missouri home sellers).

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Sellers 328

Inman

OCTOBER 16, 2023

With the sweeping changes in society, technology and economics over the past century, the differences in how each generation thinks, speaks, and makes decisions about luxury real estate opportunities have never been more pronounced.

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Real Estate Technology 202

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 16, 2023

The trough for the mortgage origination market is nearing an end point and 2024 is shaping up to be a better year for the industry, economists of the the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said at the 2023 Annual Convention & Expo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The MBA doesn’t expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates further this year as real rates – which are inflation-adjusted– are 2%.

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Mortgage Marketing Inventory Technology 508

Realtor

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Getty Images While buying a home has always been a challenging milestone, today’s high interest rates have made this dream even harder to achieve. Over the past two years, interest rates on home loans have nearly doubled from the 3% range to around 7% today. This tacks many hundreds extra onto the monthly expense of housing, stretching some homebuyers’ budgets to the breaking point.

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Mortgage Real Estate Agent Real Estate Buyers 190

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 19, 2023

The summer sales slump continued through September, marking the seventh month of negative sales movement this year.

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Inman

OCTOBER 17, 2023

As the long-awaited commission trial begins, the Kansas City courtroom saw opening arguments followed by testimony from industry heavy-hitters including Gary Keller, NAR CEO Bob Goldberg and HomeServices of America President and CEO Gino Blefari.

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Brokerage Agents 200

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 19, 2023

The savagely unhealthy housing market continues to unfold as we approach Halloween. Sales are still falling, home prices keep rising, and inventory is still negative year over year. The core problem? Too many people chasing too few goods — and days on the market are still under 30 days. On top of all that, mortgage rates are now at 8%. It’s like we invited Freddy Krueger, Jason and Michael Meyers to come for a haunted housing market party.

Housing Market 505

Housing Market Marketing Inventory Buyers 505

Eyes on Housing

OCTOBER 17, 2023

Stubbornly high mortgage rates that have climbed to a 23-year high and have remained above 7% for the past two months continue to take a heavy toll on builder confidence, as sentiment levels have dropped to the lowest point since January 2023. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in October fell four points to 40 from.

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Mortgage Marketing 190

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 20, 2023

On Day 5 of the Sitzer/Burnett trial, plaintiffs focused on steering, high fees in the U.S., and how buyer agent pay is handled differently in other countries.

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Agents Buyers 312

Inman

OCTOBER 18, 2023

The study by a trio of researchers analyzed hundreds of thousands of listings and found that those offering lower commissions to buyers' agents received less attention and took longer to sell.

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Buyers Agents Realtors 199

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Freddie Mac is rolling out a free tool for lenders, DPA One, that matches borrowers with down payment assistance programs across the country. DPA One streamlines the available state programs into a single source that lenders can use to find and compare programs for their borrowers. “Time and again, research reveals that the down payment is the single largest hurdle first-time homebuyers need to overcome to attain homeownership,” said Sonu Mittal, senior vice president of acquisitions at Freddie

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Tools Finance Design Lending 501

Eyes on Housing

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Despite elevated mortgage rates averaging above 7%, single-family starts posted a solid gain in September as more buyers are turning to new homes because of a dearth of inventory in the resale market. Overall housing starts increased 7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing.

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Inventory Buyers Mortgage Marketing 183

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 19, 2023

On Day 4 of the Sitzer/Burnett trial, an expert witness for the plaintiffs said the current commissions system is a "clear case" of collusion and price fixing.

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Inman

OCTOBER 18, 2023

On Day 2 of witness testimony Wednesday, attorney Michael Ketchmark narrowed in on training materials and presentation slides he alleged violated antitrust policies held by the defendants.

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Training Agents Realtors Brokerage 197

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 19, 2023

In late August, when mortgage rates were well over 7% and beginning their climb toward 8%, Jeff Anderson had a client do what few other homeowners are willing to do: She gave up her 4% mortgage rate. You’re probably thinking, “Uh, why on earth would she do that?” The client wanted to pay off $30,000 in consumer debt, handle home improvement projects and help her daughter start college, said Anderson, a longtime mortgage advisor in Southern California.

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Mortgage Clients Lending Home Improvement 497

Eyes on Housing

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Over the first eight months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 615,453. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 15.6% below the August 2022 level of 728,866. Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The range of permit decline spanned 10.7% in the Northeast to 21.7% in the West.

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Construction Marketing 183

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Materials painted 6% commissions as the goal, plaintiffs’ attorneys argued, while witnesses defended it as just a number, and negotiable.

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Training 312

Inman

OCTOBER 17, 2023

Fed's "higher for longer" rate strategy could keep home sales from rebounding in 2024 or limit the strength of a recovery, according to two closely followed forecasts.

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Mortgage Marketing 197

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage eclipsed 8% this week as the Treasury yield surpassed 4.9% for the first time since 2007, according to one index. Per Mortgage News Daily , mortgage rates touched 8.03% on Wednesday, up from 7.69% the previous week. HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed Optimal Blue ’s average 30-year fixed rate for conventional loans at 7.78% on Wednesday, compared to 7.52% the previous week.

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Mortgage Housing Market Inventory Construction 493

Appraiserblogs

OCTOBER 16, 2023

“Many of the repurchase letters make no sense,” said the insider. If analysts don’t write enough defects on those files, they get hammered. If analysts fall short of their peers in “production points,” it’s considered their fault, said the insider. At the heart of Fannie Mae’s valuation system is a tool that shunts a subset of the millions of loans purchased by the mortgage giant each year into a “high risk” pool.

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Valuation Appraisal Tools Lending 151

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Overall filings remain low but economic stress in the form of increasing credit card debt and depleted savings could push them higher.

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Inman

OCTOBER 16, 2023

A report released Oct. 4 by the investment banking firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods forecasts commissions to decline by at least 30 percent as a result of ongoing threats to the real estate industry.

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Real Estate Investing Real Estate Agent Buyers 197

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Soaring interest rates and a higher-for-longer policy will take its toll on the economy, according to Fannie Mae ’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) group. “The cause of the recent run-up in long-term rates is multifactorial and likely includes some expectation of more resilient economic growth coupled with a higher-for-longer monetary policy stance from the Federal Reserve ,” the ESR group said in its latest economic commentary.

Mortgage 492

Mortgage Inventory Finance Marketing 492

George Dell

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Appraisal modernization has been touted in different ways. It depends on the touter. “Modernization” is a good word for marketing. But what is “modernization” selling? Is it selling modern technology? The partitioning of appraisal workflow (initiator, AMC manager-selector, data collector-researcher, inspector, analyst, reporter, reviewer, decisioner)?

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Modernization Technology Appraisal Marketing 150

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Compass regains a team, adds another; ERA gains two Florida affiliates; Real expands in NorCal; The Agency launches in Salt Lake City; RE/MAX adds 15 offices.

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Brokerage 306