Sat.Dec 16, 2023 - Fri.Dec 22, 2023

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The Federal Reserve delivers lower rates for Christmas

Housing Wire

The Federal Reserve played the good grinch for Christmas this year and delivered the best gift for homebuyers nationwide, leading to lower mortgage rates. The 10-year yield and mortgage rates fell together after the Fed meetings, which gave us mortgage rates under 7% last week. Mortgage rates and the 10-year yield What a crazy week! Not too long ago, on jobs Friday, I was on the HousingWire Daily podcast saying it’s time to declare war on the Federal Reserve for being too restrictive; you can li

Inventory 535
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MLS leaders bond over industry shifts — and Sammy Hagar?

Real Estate News

Art Carter and Brian Donnellan, CEOs of the nation’s largest MLSs, are pals as well as colleagues, walking the talk of collaboration in challenging times.

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More Appraiser Censorship??

George Dell

More appraisal censorship is here! Have you noticed this new regulation that censors California appraisers and flat out appears to prohibit accepted sound appraisal methodology and practice? Editor’s Note: A Guest Post from Bruce Hahn, CCIM, MAI, SRA Consider California Business & Professions Code Section 11424(a) which says: Licensees shall not base, either partially or […] The post More Appraiser Censorship??

Appraisal 221
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Leaders in luxury: Mayi and Daniel de la Vega

Inman

How one family turned their brokerage into a beacon of innovation and excellence. Mother-son team Mayi and Daniel de la Vega have led ONE Sotheby’s International Realty to emerge as the definitive luxury leader representing Florida’s East Coast.

Realty 200
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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 With construction projects becoming more complex, outdated processes are no longer sustainable.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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First American is the latest cybersecurity attack victim

Housing Wire

First American is the latest real estate firm to suffer a cybersecurity incident. Sources told HousingWire the incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, with First American confirming the incident Thursday morning. In a statement on the title company’s website it notes that First American has “taken certain systems offline” and that it is working to resume normal business operations as soon as possible.

Clients 528

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Property Tax Revenue Continues to Climb

Eyes on Housing

NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau’s quarterly state and local tax data shows that $129 billion in taxes were paid by property owners in the third quarter of 2023 (not seasonally adjusted).[1] In the four quarters ending Q3 2023, state and local governments collected $757 billion of property tax revenue—an 11.6% increase over Q3 2022. The year-over-year growth rate of property tax revenue.

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Title insurer First American Financial is hackers’ latest target

Inman

The nation's second biggest title insurer issues terse statement saying it's taken some systems offline. A ransomware group known as Blackcat, ALPHV or Noberus has infiltrated the computer networks of more than 1,000 victims.

Insurance 190
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Mortgage rates continue trending down before Christmas

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates stayed below 7% for the second week in a row, a welcome relief after a 17-week streak of above-7% rates. This week’s dip is the largest weekly drop since November 2022. The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% for the week ending Dec. 21, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down from last week’s 6.95% and up from 6.27% the same week a year ago.

Mortgage 510
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What happens with mortgages if there’s a recession?

Real Estate News

Even if the hoped-for economic “soft landing” isn’t so soft, don’t expect to see a wave of short sales and foreclosures next year.

Mortgage 276
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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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Immigrant Share in Construction Highest on Record

Eyes on Housing

After years of being unable to ratchet up the number of new workers coming from outside the U.S. to help with persistent labor shortages, the construction industry reversed this trend and managed to attract over 90,000 new immigrant workers, levels unseen since the housing boom of 2005-2006.

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Loan subservicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage laying off 212 workers

Inman

Illinois-based Dovenmuehle Mortgage, which collects monthly payments from homeowners in all 50 states on behalf of lenders and investors, says it's cutting HQ staff but not closing down.

Mortgage 188
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New home sales market welcomes lower mortgage rates

Housing Wire

New home sales missed sales estimates , but the builders’ stocks have been roaring higher. What gives? There are two key things to remember before I go into the report’s details. Mortgage rates rising to 8% in October impacted the data line, which I spoke about on CNBC recently. Also, new home sales are notorious for big positive and negative prints that tend to get revised.

Mortgage 502
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3 ways commissions lawsuits will change the industry

Real Estate News

Lending changes, outside-the-box compensation options and some amount of agent attrition are likely outcomes, say T3 Sixty executives.

Lending 266
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Builder Sentiment Rises on Falling Interest Rates

Eyes on Housing

Falling mortgage rates helped end a four-month decline in builder confidence, and recent economic data signal improving housing conditions heading into 2024. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose three points to 37 in December, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

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Top 11 reasons homeowners should sell during the holidays

Inman

Don't let sellers put off listing until 2024. Coach Darryl Davis says it's time to share the good news about hitting the market during the holiday season.

Sellers 188
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Housing starts flexes single-family muscle

Housing Wire

Boom! Housing starts had an epic beat Tuesday, which usually means the data will get revised lower at some point, but one thing is for sure: the housing starts and new home sales sector came to throw shade at the 2023 recession crowd. Many say housing leads the economy into a recession, which has been the case for decades since higher rates tend to put the U.S. economy into a recession.

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Cyberattack hits major title insurance firm

Real Estate News

First American Financial is the latest real estate service provider to be targeted by hackers.

Insurance 253
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New Home Sales Down in November but Should Improve Moving Forward

Eyes on Housing

Elevated mortgage rates acted as a drag on new home sales in November, but with the economy now apparently past peak interest rates for this cycle, sales are expected to rise as we move into the new year. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November fell 12.2% to a 590,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data.

Mortgage 161
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Nest Seekers sues Serhant in CT, adding to string of lawsuits

Inman

The $10 million lawsuit alleges two former Nest Seekers managers stole the firm's commissions, clients, intellectual and other confidential property as Ryan Serhant used "unfair and deceptive trade practices" to launch SERHANT. in Connecticut.

Clients 186
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Builders cheer up as mortgage rates fall

Housing Wire

A decline in mortgage rates since November helped end four months of declines in builder confidence. Recent economic readings suggest improving housing conditions in 2024. Builder confidence gained three points to 37 in December, the first monthly increase since July, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

Mortgage 479
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Jason Gesing steps away from eXp board, sells stock

Real Estate News

The former eXp CEO is resigning from the company’s board and reported selling 60,000 shares of company stock last week.

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Single-Family Starts Surge on Falling Interest Rates

Eyes on Housing

Single-family construction surged in November as lower mortgage rates helped to assuage affordability concerns and unleash pent-up demand for housing. Overall housing starts increased 14.8% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S.

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If I wanted to make $342,987 in 2024, this is what I’d do

Inman

If you truly want to have your best year ever in 2024, writes Jimmy Burgess, develop your plan of action and execute on your plan. Here's his blueprint for the new year.

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Loan officers are dramatically cutting their pay to win clients. It’s often illegal. 

Housing Wire

It was late 2022 and Mike was feeling the pressure. Mortgage rates had climbed close to the 7% range and he was determined to remain competitive on pricing with rival loan officers in North Carolina. But there was a problem: pricing exceptions, in which the lender takes the hit, were becoming scarce at his company. So he did what a lot of retail loan officers in the industry were doing — Mike would reclassify a self-generated lead as a corporate-generated lead, thus slashing his compensation fr

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Optimism growing among builders, mortgage industry

Real Estate News

The latest NAHB survey shows improving builder confidence, and even Fannie Mae’s more bearish economists see a recovery ahead.

Mortgage 250
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When Principles Cross Over

The Appraiser Coach

I’ve started getting into investing over the last couple of years, and I had an experience related to that that I want to share with you. I started looking at getting into short-term rentals. I’m smart enough to know what I don’t know, and I started looking for someone who could teach me how to make this work. I found a group that sounded really promising.

Business 150
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Zillow unveils top 10 markets where people dreamed of moving in 2023

Inman

The real estate portal pulled user search data and other metrics to find the top markets where people looked to move to in 2023.

Marketing 185
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5 trends that will reshape the real estate market in 2024

Housing Wire

The landscape of real estate is undergoing significant transformations in 2024, driven by a confluence of technological advancements, shifting market dynamics and evolving consumer behaviors. 1. Technology 2024: Proptech challenges and profitability pursuit The proptech sector, a technological cornerstone of the real estate space heavily reliant on venture capital, has encountered formidable challenges in the past year.

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Mortgage rates tumble, reach lowest level since June

Real Estate News

For those who can find a home to buy, falling rates will provide significant relief.

Mortgage 234
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ProTip: Checkboxes and Checkbox Groups

GoForrmz

Checkboxes and Checkbox Groups: What’s the difference, and when should you use one versus the other? When creating a digital form, you may need to capture more than an electronic signature. For example, a contractor may need a customer to sign and also select the service they would like to receive. Whether you’re creating a survey, timesheet template , or any other type of form, checkboxes are an easy way to make selections.

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First American Financial warns clients to watch out for fake emails

Inman

Two days after being hit by a cyberattack, the title insurance giant says it's still trying to restore operations and warns clients that it's taken its email system offline.

Clients 184
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Busting VA mortgage loan myths

Housing Wire

There’s no higher honor than serving in the United States Military , which I deeply understand as a former Army sergeant. And, like many of my fellow service members, I’ve experienced firsthand the sense of missing out on a significant benefit we’ve rightfully earned protecting our freedoms — the VA mortgage loan — which stands as one of the most powerful tools that our nation’s veterans and active-duty military personnel can use to purchase a home and build long-term financial

Mortgage 461