Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2024

House of Representatives proposes to relieve Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers of mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) once they reach a certain level of home equity , aligning FHA policies with those of conventional loans. Mortgage insurance exists as protection from foreclosure on low equity loans. Introduced by Reps.

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Housing Wire

JULY 22, 2024

In a recent episode of “Ten Minute Talks,” HousingWire President Diego Sanchez and Alita Group President Stacy Mestayer discussed an alternative option to title insurance. Sanchez addresses the current version of title insurance and why an alternative is needed.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

Why is homeowners insurance so expensive in the Upper Midwest? The growing prevalence of extreme weather events and the high cost of construction are pushing property insurers to significantly raise their prices , even in places you might not expect. More: catastrophic weather events are “a key driver” of the premium hikes.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 13, 2024

Malibu’s Franklin Fire torched over 4,000 acres this week in one of the country’s most expensive housing markets, putting more pressure on homeowners insurance premiums in a state that is already facing an insurance crisis. What will happen to insurance costs in California now?

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Housing Wire

JULY 24, 2024

While it may be easy to attribute the slower market conditions to the state’s well-publicized insurance issues , local agents say there is a perfect storm of factors. “It Insurance is still a major hurdle for many. Altos’ data shows that the 90-day median time on market jumped from 49 days a year ago to 70 days as of mid-July.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 9, 2024

The home insurance marketplace has been facing a reckoning. With the death toll from Helene crossing the grim milestone of 230 this week — and with thousands of impacted homes without flood insurance wiped away — this could lead to a ripple effect that drives homeowners insurance premiums even higher.

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Housing Wire

JULY 24, 2024

A freshly minted tech startup based in Palo Alto, California, and Seattle believes it has a solution for homeowners looking for insurance. Finaya is adding a marketplace for assessing and comparing home insurance offerings. Homeowners can choose from standalone home insurance or a bundle of insurance options.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

Homeowners insurance costs are higher now than they have typically been , which has the potential to hit those living on a fixed income particularly hard. Currently, they say my insurance just went through the roof.” I currently have a woman right now, her insurance went from $3,000 to $14,000.

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Housing Wire

JULY 30, 2024

As the mortgage and real estate markets continue to face challenges, nearly 800,000 low down payment home purchases in 2023 leveraged private mortgage insurance (PMI), with first-time homebuyers accounting for 64% of the total. Mortgage Insurers (USMI). In terms of outstanding debt, the industry insures approximately $1.6

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 4, 2024

For the title insurance industry, this meant an uptick in title insurance premium volume, which came in at $4.09 Title insurance professionals continue to play a critical role in preventing fraud and protecting property rights, ensuring secure real estate transactions in this evolving market.” billion in Q1 2024 and $3.92

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Housing Wire

JUNE 7, 2024

Despite this grim outlook, there is a title insurance product that offers homeowners immediate peace of mind. Unlike traditional title insurance, which only protects against title fraud that occurred prior to the purchase of the property, this policy also covers fraudulent deeds that are filed years later.

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Housing Wire

MAY 21, 2024

After two years of limited demand, private equity and insurance companies are increasing their allocations to single family residential mortgages. This increased interest is being led by private equity investors and insurance companies.

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Appraisal Buzz

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

Matic announced that it has published its annual year-end trends and predictions report, which examines significant developments in the house insurance market and their effects on mortgage lenders and homeowners. In the second half of 2024, premium growth slowed considerably, with average rate increases for new plans being 6.6%

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Real estate data company StreetWire has partnered with Northern California MLS MetroList to produce an insurance product called Home Value Lock. The coverage is good for three years after the closing date on a home purchase, and the insurance covers up to 10% of the original purchase price.

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Appraisal Buzz

OCTOBER 3, 2024

First American Financial Corporation , a provider of title, settlement and risk solutions for real estate transactions, has published a data-driven analysis of the vital role that the title insurance industry plays in protecting the smooth functioning of the real estate economy in the United States.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Home insurance premiums continue to rise, but the severity of the increases have cooled in recent months, which suggests that a semblance of stability is returning to the market. In 2024, many homeowners faced challenges finding coverage as insurers tightened underwriting criteria or withdrew from high-risk regions,” the analysis stated.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 3, 2024

.” The exploding cost of homeowners insurance —which is largely regulated by states—also likely requires federal action, Stork said. Remarkably, insurance agencies have blown off attempts from Federal Housing Finance Agency Sandra Thompson to meet. “Something needs to be done.” ”

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 16, 2024

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced on Wednesday that it’s offering a conventional cash-out loan product with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of up to 90% and no mortgage insurance. The announcement comes after interest rates have dropped and competition for refinances has increased.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 18, 2024

As the housing market picked up in much of the country during the third quarter of 2024, so did business for the title insurance industry. In total, during the first nine months of the year, title insurance premiums are up 3.2% Top underwriters for the quarter by market share included First American Title insurance Co.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 21, 2024

The construction activity is likely to place the housing industry and its financing partners on a “collision course” with insurers, the outlet said. Big payouts from natural disasters are driving insurers to raise rates and pull back on coverage,” the report stated.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 13, 2024

The American Land Title Association is making it clear that it won’t have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau making drastic changes to title insurance without first at least hearing the trade groups thoughts on the issue. 2, the trade group stressed the importance of title insurance.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 17, 2024

The relative stability of the housing market in the first quarter of 2024 resulted in a fairly strong quarter for the title insurance industry. billion in title insurance premiums during Q1 2024, down only 0.8% Top underwriters for the quarter by market share included First American Title insurance Co. year over year.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Older homeowners are also struggling with rising insurance premiums , particularly if they’re still paying off forward mortgages. Nationally, home-insurance premiums rose by an average of 21% from May 2022 to May 2023, Policygenius , an insurance marketplace, found.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 24, 2024

states that the insured “shall not give or receive, directly or indirectly, any consideration for the referral of title insurance business or escrow or other service provided by a title insurer.” My office is committed to ending illegal kickback schemes in the title insurance industry,” Schwalb said in a statement.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

The Bipartisan Congressional Real Estate Caucus is calling on the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to cease its pilot program for title insurance waivers until the program is vetted and the agency seeks public input on it. The National Council of Insurance Legislators and 14 attorneys general have also pushed for its termination.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

Other holding costs for real estate include taxes and insurance. According to S&P Global, insurance premiums increased nationally by 34% between 2017 and 2023, with even more increases hitting homeowners in 2024. In particular, insurance can be a significant portion of monthly payments.

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Housing Wire

JULY 24, 2024

In the letter, the officials expressed concerns over the revived pilot program that aims to remove the title insurance requirement for certain loans sold to Fannie Mae. The pilot program will shift title risk on refinanced loans purchased by Fannie Mae from state-regulated title insurance companies to Fannie Mae itself,” the letter stated.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

The storm comes at a time when Florida homeowners are already dealing with rising insurance premiums and even the potential loss of coverage as insurers face heavy financial losses and closures. A report released earlier this year by S&P Global found that homeowners insurance rates in Florida rose by 43% from 2018 to 2023.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 21, 2024

Both insurers and consumers have a role to play to ensure adequate protection. Rising insurance costs have hammered homeowners in areas exposed to climate change risks, including wildfires. The report uses California as an example, highlighting a new policy passed in June by the California Department of Insurance.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 8, 2024

Additionally, the storm has prompted buyers and home insurers to hit pause. Tampa-area agent Jeff Borham of eXp Realty said that protocols for insurance are having an impact. According to him, you can’t bind insurance once a storm is named, but if insurance was bound before the storm was named, homebuyers can still close.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 28, 2024

Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. “The launch of val-ID is a testament to our dedication to enhancing security and streamlining operations in the title insurance industry. . “The launch of val-ID is a testament to our dedication to enhancing security and streamlining operations in the title insurance industry.

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 7, 2024

Single-family rental (SFR) investors are worried about the rising cost of home insurance, but the majority expect to buy more properties in the next year as mortgage rates cool and home-price growth subsides. This is due in part to skyrocketing insurance costs in many parts of the country. home insurance rates jumped 11.3%

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Zillow is partnering with First Street to provide users with data on a property’s risk levels for flood , wildfire , wind, heat and air quality through risk scores, interactive maps and insights into insurance requirements. It also provides home shoppers with information on wind, fire and flood insurance requirements. “At

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Slightly more than half of Americans say that weather events are becoming an increasing risk factor for their homes, while nearly one in five report difficulties in accessing homeowners insurance. The rising perception of climate risks also correlates to challenges that Americans have in accessing adequate insurance coverage.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

For more than two years, a storm has been brewing in the title insurance industry. As part of the settlement, the firms agreed to end the practice of giving real estate agents consideration for the referral of title insurance business, and they will cease their title insurance operations in Washington, D.C., Although the D.C.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 3, 2024

The transaction involves the loan insurance firm Securent Risk Retention Group along with its data, brokerage and services business, Risk and Insurance Services. He previously worked with VineLight’s principals, Bryan Binder and Jason Garmise, at CastleLine , a provider of mortgage data and insurance products.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 10, 2024

It’s also due to growing property taxes and homeowners insurance premiums as providers exited states where risks are elevated. Bankrate calculated the average annual cost of owning a single-family home based on items such as property taxes, homeowners insurance and maintenance costs, as well as energy, internet and cable bills.

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