Housing Wire

AUGUST 12, 2020

Mortgage applications were back up 6.8% last week, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association , further evidence that, thanks to the pandemic, August is the new May for home-buying. Consumers responded to mortgage rates that fell to new low last week , with the refinance index jumping 9% from the previous week to its highest level since April, said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

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Miller Samuel

AUGUST 8, 2020

Although I've shared the following CNBC clip before, it's worth showing again given my 15-year ago hairstyle. In 2005, I was interviewed by CNBC in the midst of the Housing Bubble and said that 75% of the appraisals being done then weren't worth the paper they were written on (hey it was 2005 and they were done on paper, not pdf). They found me because I had just started my Matrix Blog because no one seemed to be listening to appraisers.

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McKissock

AUGUST 14, 2020

As a real estate appraiser, there are numerous data types and sources available that you could use to solve a specific appraisal problem. In order to reasonably believe that a source is reliable, it is recommended that you assess the dependability of a data source based on the following three characteristics, at a minimum. FREE Webinar: Join us Wednesday, August 26, 2020 for a live Pro-Series webinar, “The Data Puzzle: Pulling It All Together.

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Annarbor Appraisal

AUGUST 14, 2020

We are so often bullish about our market, but is it as “hot” as news outlets like to believe? We certainly have a shortage of inventory, which does create pressure on acting quickly and agressively on well priced houses that are in “show-ready” condition. That does not mean that prices are rising exponentially, or even that much at all? Simple example is taking all sales of single-family houses that are already built, not new construction or “to be built”, and arrying on a monthly basis.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 11, 2020

August is upon us, and the growth in the rate of new infections appears to be slowing. Vaccine development is progressing with some promising early results. The time has come to start thinking about what life will be like on the other side of this crisis. What can we expect post COVID-19? Logan Mohtashami Lead Analyst. Some things will not have changed.

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Miller Samuel

AUGUST 8, 2020

Yesterday's AI Public Airing Of The Sham Election Process was a dark day for the institution but a bright day for the good guys. The actual selection of Craig Steinley after he won the national nominating committees' endorsement took literally thousands of members to apply pressure to the BoD. Thankfully it worked. However, in order to enable the Board of Directors to do the right thing, they got to keep the sham petition process in place.

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Portland Appraisal Blog

AUGUST 8, 2020

“Why is an appraiser asking me about an old comp?” In the course of my work, I have elicited that question from quite a few agents and brokers. One agent said, “I thought you guys could only use comps going back 6 months.” Another replied back to me: “Please, why you would use a comp from 2.5 years ago when there have been many[,] many sales in this development just in the last year?

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2020

The mix of working from home and renters seeking more space – albeit cheaper space – is pushing more people out of more expensive U.S. cities and moving into the suburbs. Particularly, Millennials are fleeing New York City for more space in its surrounding suburbs. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, online mortgage lender Better.com said it has seen an increasing trend in 35 to 36-year-old renters applying for mortgages in the suburbs of New York, including Westchester; Connecticut an

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McKissock

AUGUST 12, 2020

Sell faster. And for more money. This is what every home seller (and agent) wants. And according to the Real Estate Staging Association, staged homes sell 73% faster with an average 297% return on investment. With so many differing opinions on home staging, we turned to Jay Hart, a Co-Principal at Sold with Style , a pre-sale consulting and home staging service for clients in and around NYC, to give us his best intelligence on staging.

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National Association of Realtors

AUGUST 13, 2020

The waiver of appraisal requirements for Federal Related Transactions under $1M for commercial real estate transactions was extended for one year throughout the state of North Dakota.

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Property Metrics

AUGUST 13, 2020

Every investment involves a certain amount of risk. There are certain general sources of risk that influence all assets – things like geopolitical risk and global macroeconomic risk. What makes each asset unique is the level of sensitivity that its rate of return has to those risks. In addition, specific types of assets have risks that are uniquely their own.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 10, 2020

Rather than a typically busy spring home-buying season , the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the bulk of home-buying this year into the summer months, and real estate agents are busier than ever. According to the National Association of Realtors , contract signings kicked off strong in August , with the most contract signings last week in the Midwest, at 21%.

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McKissock

AUGUST 11, 2020

As a professional appraiser, you don’t want to have a disciplinary complaint filed against you, and you certainly don’t want to be the subject of a complaint that results in disciplinary action. So, how can you prevent these undesirable consequences? Here are several do’s and don’ts to help you avoid situations that may get you into trouble as a real estate appraiser.

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REX Real Estate

AUGUST 11, 2020

It’s the peak of summer and the higher temps mean your wallet can really…

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National Association of Realtors

AUGUST 10, 2020

The NAR Appraisal Summit: Fair Housing Issues in Real Estate Appraisal took place on August 5, 2020 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EDT. Watch the recording.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2020

Average U.S. mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed rose to 2.96% this week from an all-time low of 2.88% , Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday. The average 15-year rate rose to 2.46% from 2.44% last week, according to the mortgage financier. “Even with this week’s uptick, very low rates are providing a significant boost to the housing market that continues to hold up well during this time of uncertainty,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

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McKissock

AUGUST 9, 2020

By Brooke Tanner. Real estate designations and certifications are additional qualifications that a real estate agent can receive by completing coursework to advance their knowledge and skillset in different areas regarding real estate. Many designations and certifications require prerequisites, including years of experience in real estate, obtaining memberships to individual councils, a minimum amount of transactions, or a minimum amount of total sales volume achieved before you can complete the

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REX Real Estate

AUGUST 14, 2020

Since Day 1, REX Homes has had a deeply rooted focus on giving back…

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 11, 2020

Last week, HousingWire reported surging mortgage volume and record low interest rates are putting excess pressure on appraisal turn times. This week, appraisal experts said those same variables are having a profound effect on an age-old conflict of appraisal reports versus what the market believes the home is worth. In an accelerated environment with homes being bought and sold at a rapid pace and market data being pulled ahead of time, historical data can struggle to catch up and create broad d

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 11, 2020

United Wholesale Mortgage announced Tuesday it is rolling out a loan program that offers borrowers mortgage rates as low as 1.99% for both purchases and refinances. The rate is only available through independent mortgage brokers, the company said in a statement. On July 31, the company announced a 1.875% rate for 15-year mortgages. We dive deeper into the conditions necessary to get that rate on the 15-year and other lenders offering similar rates, in the story: Making sense of ultra-low mortgag

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2020

As Maya Angelou so aptly said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”. Since the onset of the coronavirus that has plagued this nation we have watched policy makers and their varied responses at both the state and federal level. When it comes to housing and mortgage finance perhaps the most shocking thing is how the FHFA and the GSEs have simply ignored their role and used this time to threaten nonbank mortgage servicers facing liquidity problems, adding outrageous f

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2020

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they will add a 50 basis points fee to all refinances starting Sept. 1. “As a result of risk management and loss forecasting precipitated by COVID-19 related economic and market uncertainty, we are introducing a new Market Condition Credit Fee in Price,” Freddie Mac said in a bulletin. The housing industry was quick to react.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 11, 2020

United Wholesale Mortgage announced Tuesday it is offering conventional mortgage rates as low as 1.99%, but brokers warn this rate isn’t for every borrower, or even the majority. “You won’t find a no-cost loan in the low 2s or high 1s,” Mortgage Broker Jason Barlow explained in an interview with HousingWire. That’s because when borrowers go to take out a mortgage, they pay for their rate.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 12, 2020

A new quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors revealed that median single-family home prices rose year over year in 96% of its measured markets in the second quarter. This means that the national median existing single-family home price in Q2 was $291,300 — up 4.2% year over year. “Home prices have held up well, largely due to the combination of very strong demand for housing and a limited supply of homes for sale,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 10, 2020

As mortgage rates and housing inventory continue to hit record lows, potential homebuyers face an increasingly competitive environment. For the third consecutive month, Redfin said that more than half of its home offers faced competition in July. Last week , average U.S. mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to an all-time low of 2.88%, according to Freddie Mac , and according to the National Association of Realtors , inventory of homes on the market fell to a four-month supply in Jun

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2020

After Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced an added 50 basis point fee to all refinances, the housing industry was quick to react. Today, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers announced growing support behind its campaign to reverse the newly announced GSE fee. Since the call-to-action was sent out on August 13th, NAMB has seen a significant increase in growth from its supporters, rising to more than 10,000 in just twenty-four hours.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 12, 2020

This article was written for FinLedger, HW Media’s new fintech-focused news brand designed specifically for financial services professionals in banking, insurance and real estate. Stay tuned for updates. Blend announced Wednesday it has raised a $75 million Series F round at a valuation of nearly $1.7 billion, making it officially a unicorn. Fintech-focused Canapi Ventures led the investment, which brings Blend’s total venture raised to $365 million since its 2012 inception.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 11, 2020

The amount of rent payments collected in the U.S. has ticked down slightly to 79.3% of apartment households making a full or partial rent payment by August 6, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council ’s Rent Payment Tracker. While this is a slight increase from July 6 this year, it is a 1.9 percentage point decrease from the share of renters who paid rent through August 6, 2019.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2020

For the past two weeks, HousingWire took a deep dive into the effects an accelerated market can have on appraisal turn times and the delta between appraisal ratings and market forecasts. This week, industry experts discuss how to navigate client and referral partner expectations and minimize closing times when factors like these begin to decelerate the buying process.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2020

During this time when people are hunkering down with their families in cramped homes, an expansive vacation property seems more ideal than ever, especially in mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. After seeing significant drops in April and May, the luxury market has rebounded in places that are usually popular for second homes.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 12, 2020

The mortgage borrowers most in need of information about relief options provided by the CARES Act, such as forbearance, are the ones who are least likely to know about it, according to a Fannie Mae report. “Among all mortgage borrowers surveyed, those with lower incomes were more likely to be concerned about paying bills and were less familiar with relief options,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 14, 2020

After COVID-19 paused travel , short-term rentals actually fared much better than hotels year-over-year, a new study said. As of June 21, short-term rental revenue per available room was down just 4.5%, while hotel revenue per available room was down a full 64.8% than the previous year. This decrease in hotel revenue occured despite the fact that the hotel average daily rate increased 31.9% during that period, compared to the 23.2% increase in average daily rate for 1-bedroom or studio rentals,

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2020

In a release on Thursday, the Federal Reserve detailed some of the research it’s doing on the benefits and risks associated with central bank digital currencies. Current research is being conducted within the Federal Reserve Board’s “TechLab” on innovations in alternative technological payments and projects, according to the release. Central bank digital currencies, or CBDC’s, refer to cryptocurrencies issued by central banks and are intended to supplement some sort of fiat currency (curre

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 11, 2020

Till , a startup that aims to help renters set up customized payment schedules , has raised $8 million in a seed funding round. Route 66 Ventures , MetaProp and NextGen Venture Partners participated in the financing, the first external round of funding for the Washington, D.C.-based company since its 2017 inception. Till says its Flexible Rent platform helps keep renters from being evicted by giving them a way to create a customized payment schedule “that aligns with their individual cash flow,

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