Housing Wire

DECEMBER 18, 2024

They say housing leads the economy in and out of a recession. Currently, housing starts are back at the levels seen during the COVID-19 recession in 2020. Interestingly, employment for residential construction workers typically one of the first areas to experience declines before a recession has not yet seen its usual downturn. Several factors have been keeping labor steady, such as working through a backlog of orders and long turnaround times to complete projects.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Where is the best place to spend your golden years? According to U.S. News & World Report’s new study, 2025’s Best Places to Retire in the U.S. , Naples, Florida takes the top spot. Florida’s Paradise Coast beat out 149 other top U.S. cities, with Virginia Beach, New York City, Sarasota, and Boise rounding out the top five best retirement locales.

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Sacramento Appraisal Blog

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Condos are struggling, and they’re really having a moment in today’s housing market. Let’s talk about what’s going on with volume, supply, and prices. Be sure to read my closing thoughts about housing doom and hot pockets too. UPCOMING SPEAKING GIGS: 12/5/24 Made 4 More Team (Exporting Data from MLS) 12/11/24 Gateway: Think Like an […] The post Condos are having a moment first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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Real Estate News

DECEMBER 2, 2024

The $444 million deal brings the 8th-largest brokerage firm into the Compass fold and represents the brokerage giant’s first major move into the global market.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Vetted by HousingWire | Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Are you looking to add a dose of inspiration, humor and expertise to your Instagram feed? From luxury property tours to laugh-out-loud real estate memes, these 21 agents and influencers bring the best of the industry right to your phone.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 7, 2024

Last week, we witnessed a Santa Claus rally in mortgage rates alongside improved housing demand. The economy continues to create jobs, with wages growing at an annual rate of 4%. We also see growth in our pending contract data compared to 2022 and 2023. Additionally, the purchase application data delivered another pleasant surprise with positive results.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 3, 2024

With technology rapidly advancing, Zumper is the latest company in the real estate industry to dive into artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. The rental portal this week launched an AI assistant named Zoe, which according to the company can answer “virtually any renter question about a property or its neighborhood.” Zoe can also help manage the process of renting an apartment by requesting tours and submitting leads.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 7.2% year over year in November, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association ‘s (MBA) builder application survey that was released Tuesday. Applications decreased by 12% from October 2024. Applications to purchase newly built homes have seen annual increases since February 2023, as prospective homebuyers continue to favor new homes , given affordability challenges and constrained existing inventory , Joel Kan , the MBAs vic

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

The American dream is synonymous with two ideas. One is the idea that anyone in this country can find a path to economic success regardless of their circumstances at birth. The second idea is the symbolic encapsulation of the first idea: homeownership. Owning a home is the signifier of economic success, but over the last few years, that milestone has gotten farther out of reach for first-time homebuyers.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 5, 2024

The recent surge in immigration to the United States has ignited discussions about its potential effects on the housing market, particularly concerning housing costs. This conversation is especially pertinent amid an ongoing affordability crisis, where approximately half of renters are cost-burdened, and many individuals are being priced out of homeownership.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Ryan Serhant ’s eponymous brokerage has been in rapid growth mode this year following the success of the Netflix show “Owning Manhattan,” and now investors want in on the action. SERHANT. announced Monday that it secured $45 million in a Series A funding round led by real estate venture capital firm Camber Creek and participation from Left Lane Capital.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 16, 2024

According to a new study from Redfin , older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to buy homes in places with significant climate risk. More than one-third (36.9%) of home purchases made by people 65 years of age and older last year were in counties with an elevated risk of extreme heat, compared with less than one-third (32.3%) of home purchases made by people under the age of 35.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 19, 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic turned previously sleepy cities into boomtowns.Expanded or permanent work-from-home policies gave people more flexibility in where to live, and those in uber-expensive markets like San Francisco and Manhattan took advantage by moving to areas where they could get more space for less money. This created incredibly competitive housing markets in smaller cities that pushed sales and prices sky high.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Prospective homeowners enter the housing market with two questions: Where do I begin? How much home can I afford? Once the process starts, nearly half of home buyers report shedding tears at some point. Potential homeowners should be able to handle this confusion in a world where technology and digital tools rule customer service. Fortunately, home buying doesn’t have to remain confusing for new buyers.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

Rent prices have fluctuated alongside home prices in this year’s housing market. More inventory can bring down prices, but some renters still struggle to meet the rental price hikes found in new construction. Seattle-based brokerage Redfin released a report this week that highlighted a 1.5% increase in asking rents for newly constructed apartments in 2024 the biggest spike in 18 months.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 9, 2024

Weve now been in the post-pandemic housing market recession market as long as we were in the pandemic boom. Two and a half years. As we look into 2025, the question everyone is asking is: Do we have a new era starting? Does the housing market start to get back to normal? What can the data today tell us about signals for growth or weakness after the new year?

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Realtor.com has revealed its Top Housing Markets for 2025 , highlighting the areas ready for growth in the year ahead. This years list highlights markets characterized by moderately affordable homes, strong inventorymainly boosted by new constructionand a sizable base of younger families, many with military and international connections. According to Realtor.com, the top 10 markets for 2025 are concentrated in the South and West: 1) Colorado Springs, Colorado 2) Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Bea

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 6, 2024

A recent analysis of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) data by the Urban Institute dispels the myth that manufactured homes do not appreciate as much as site-built homes. The report , which includes government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) mortgage data for manufactured homes, reveals that between 2000 and 2024, manufactured homes appreciated at nearly identical rates to site-built homes, growing approximately 5% annually.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 11, 2024

According to Redfin , the median U.S. asking rent fell 0.7% year-over-year in November to $1,595, the lowest level since March 2022. Rents were down 1.1% on a month-over-month basis. The median rent is now 6.2% lower than when it hit an all-time high of $1,700 in August 2022. Highlighting improved rental affordability, November marked the 19th consecutive month where the median asking rent price per square foot (PPSF) fell year-over-year, down 2.2% to $1.79.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 18, 2024

CreditXpert , a leading mortgage technology company, announced on Wednesday the launch date for its new credit optimization platform. The company will replace its What-if Simulator and Wayfinder tools with the new platform on Dec. 31. CreditXpert seeks to take a different approach when addressing homebuyer credit profiles. Instead of focusing on credit repair, the company takes it a step further with credit optimization, which benefits more applicants on a shorter timeline with improved predicta

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2024

A new bill introduced in the U.S. 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. Introduced by Reps. Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas) on Thursday, the bipartisan bill allows borrowers to stop paying mortgage insurance once their loan-to-value (LTV) ratio reaches 78%, rather than paying it f

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 7, 2024

Rapid changes in mortgage rates have left many would-be homebuyers asking: Is now a good time to buy? Will prices go up or down? Will mortgage rates and affordability improve or get worse? There is no perfect time to buy, of course. But there are specific factors homebuyers should weigh as they determine their timing. Patricia Maguire-Feltch, managing director of consumer origination sales at Chase Home Lending, says that realistic evaluation is key when making the big step to buy.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

In this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast , host Tracey Velt is joined by Tim Weisheyer, Florida Realtors ‘ 2025 president. The duo explore the concept of servant leadership for business success, relying on learning for long-term success, balancing technology usage with relationship building and the trade group’s top priorities for 2025.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 18, 2024

The fallout from Fed day got out of hand very quickly. The market reacted badly to the FOMC statement and remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Powell during the Q&A presser, sending the 10-year yield and mortgage rates higher. Also, the Dow was down over 1,000 points today. So what gives? Market players were already talking about how the Fed would dial back rate cuts in 2025, but Powell didnt sound sure of himself in that press event and left an opening to create tighter financial conditions.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Why most teams struggle to scale Scaling a real estate team to $100 million in production is a daunting challenge, but the biggest roadblock isn’t market conditions or competition — it’s outdated strategies. Many team leaders fall into the trap of simply working harder, hoping that hustle alone will create results. Without systems and processes that support consistent growth, teams often hit a plateau, leaving leaders frustrated and burnt out.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 10, 2024

This article originally appeared in the December 2024 edition of MortgagePoint magazine, online now. Few, if any, industries in the world have experienced such dynamic shifts in recent years as the mortgage industry. Within that rapid evolution, the landscape of credit and verifications has also experienced a fundamental shift. Mortgage lenders are no longer restricted to traditional and often time-consuming processes that have historically bogged down the loan journey.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Leading real estate brokerage William Raveis is making another game-changing acquisition before the new year. This week, the firm announced the acquisition of Nantucket, Massachussetts -based brokerage Jordan Real Estate (JRE). The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. William Raveis a top-ranked brokerage serving the Northeast, Florida and South Carolina has made several expansion moves in 2024.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 5, 2024

ATTOM has released its latest Special Housing Market Impact Risk Report , a study examining county-level housing markets around the U.S. that are more or less vulnerable to declines, based on home affordability, equity, and other measures in the third quarter of 2024. The report shows that California, New Jersey, and Illinois once again had high concentrations of the most-at-risk markets in the country, with parts of Florida also joining that mix.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Despite being the beneficiaries of historic increases in home-price appreciation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic , older baby boomers — many of whom are approaching the age of 80 in 2025 — are now finding themselves challenged by a dearth of housing inventory that can best accommodate living in later life. This is according to a recent story published by Business Insider, which characterizes the dynamic as partially of the generation’s own making.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 8, 2024

U.S. mortgage holders experienced a home equity increase in the third quarter of 2024 up 2.5% year over year to a total of $17.5 trillion nationwide. But that was down from 8% growth in the second quarter, and negative equity also ramped up for the first time in two years, according to a CoreLogic report. CoreLogic’s Q3 2024 Homeowner Equity Insights report showed that the total number of mortgaged homes with negative equity rose by 3.5% from the second quarter.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 2, 2024

Nationwide, the average rent price fell by -0.8% to $1,720 in October, marking their 15th consecutive month of year-over-year declines and falling the most for smaller-sized units, according to Realtor.com’s October Rental Report. Realtor.com notes that new rental properties coming onto the market are expected to put continued downward pressure on rents next year.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Tracking live weekly housing data would have been nearly impossible just a few years ago, but now we can gather and analyze real-time housing demand data. This valuable information can significantly enhance our understanding of housing economics and what is coming next. The question is: How can we harness the data to give you more confidence when talking about the housing market?

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 5, 2024

As consumer debt reaches all-time highs and the cost of living continues to escalate, home equity investment fintech Splitero on Thursday announced a purchase commitment from funds managed by asset manager Blue Owl Capital. Per a release from the companies, Blue Owl’s alternative credit strategy funds will purchase up to $350 million of home equity investments.

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Appraisal Buzz

DECEMBER 5, 2024

Down payment shares peaked early this year, in Q2 2024 versus the normal Q3 trend, according to Realtor.coms bi-annual down payment report. Nationwide, down payments in Q3 of 2024 averaged 14.5% with a median down payment of $30,300, down from Q2 2024s historical peak of 14.9% and $32,700. Overall, 2024 was down year-over-year as easing mortgage rates improved affordability conditions.

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