April, 2024

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DOJ charges one of America’s top LOs in alleged mortgage fraud scheme

Housing Wire

Two former New Jersey -based mortgage loan originators have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger. Christopher Gallo has been noted as a top-producing loan originator, at one point being Scotsman Guide ‘s fourth-ranked LO in the country.

Mortgage 541
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Zillow offering 7-day ‘touring agreement’ for agents

Real Estate News

The NAR settlement does not address home search portals, but Zillow wants to make it easier for buyers to try out an agent in a way that aligns with new rules.

Agents 307
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Underperforming agents are getting a real estate reality check

Inman

As the commission landscape changes, Side's Hilary Saunders writes, it's time for agents, teams and brokerages to look at the ways this will improve the industry's reputation.

Agents 192
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Most Home Buyers Want One, Medium-Sized Home Office

Eyes on Housing

According to the latest What Home Buyers Really Want Study*, the vast majority of home buyers are looking for a home with at least one home office (or space dedicated to work/study). More specifically, 66% would prefer to buy a home with exactly one home office, 13% want at least two offices, and 20% want.

Buyers 217
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U.S. Immigration Crisis: What It Really Means for Housing Markets and Investors

BiggerPockets

A record 300,000 migrants entered the U.S. through the southern border in December. Rather than trying to sneak past border agents, many surrendered to apply for asylum.

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Emerson REALTORS of Auburn Joins Forces with Lamacchia Realty

Lamacchia Realty

We are pleased to announce that Emerson Realtors out of Auburn, Massachusetts have joined forces with Lamacchia Realty. Emerson Realtors was co-founded by Kevin Maher, a fifth generation REALTOR® whose career spanned an impressive 45 years. Lamacchia Realty has been serving Auburn and the surrounding areas for over a decade, and the Lamacchia Worcester office was the top real estate office in Worcester County in 2023 by transaction.

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Why is housing supply so low? Blame local zoning

Real Estate News

Two U.S. senators are pushing for policy changes that would reduce “exclusionary” zoning regulations and promote local development.

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Is NAR a net-positive? It depends if you ask an agent or a broker: Intel

Inman

These increasingly uncertain attitudes among agents in March were a departure from brokers, who were more likely to tell Intel that they still view the National Association of Realtors positively.

Agents 181
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Inflation Stays Hot as Housing Cost Growth Persists

Eyes on Housing

Consumer prices continued to rise in March, with shelter and gasoline prices driving over half of the total increase. This marks the third consecutive strong reading. Despite a slowdown in the year-over-year increase, shelter costs continue to put upward pressure on inflation, accounting for over 60% of the total increase in all items excluding food.

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How to Supplement Your Income with Real Estate (So You Can Do What You Love)

BiggerPockets

Why are rock stars turning to real estate side hustles to pay their bills? During the lockdowns, many musicians, gig workers, and creatives saw their income streams dwindle.

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Protecting Your Paradise: A Deep-Dive into Vacation Rental Insurance

Mashvisor

A bill for $10,000 reaches your desk. A guest recently fell and hit their head at your property and needed a brief hospital visit.

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Home prices post largest gain in more than a year: S&P 

Housing Wire

Home prices were near an all-time high in February. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index posted a 6.4% annual gain in February, up from a 6% gain in January, according to the newest report released Tuesday. It was the largest annualized increase recorded since November 2022. On an annual basis, the 10-city composite index grew by 8%, up from 7.4% the previous month.

Inventory 442
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How are agents paid? Don’t ask buyers

Real Estate News

More than a quarter of consumers surveyed by Redfin don’t know how much their agent was paid, while nearly 20% weren’t sure who provided the compensation.

Agents 321
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12 factors that convince a buyer to pay a full-service commission

Inman

Expressing your value to clients begins with knowing yourself, writes mega-team leader Carl Medford. You cannot articulate what you have never taken the time to determine on your own.

Buyers 181
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Highest Paid Occupations in Construction in 2023

Eyes on Housing

Half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $58,500 and the top 25% make at least $79,450, according to the latest May 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In comparison, the U.S. median wage is $48,060, while the top.

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Should You Invest for Cash Flow or Appreciation? Let’s Reevaluate in an Era of High Interest Rates

BiggerPockets

For real estate investors, the question of cash flow versus appreciation is as old as time. However, in an era of high interest rates, buying properties for cash flow isn’t easy.

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Trudeau teases potential mortgage rule changes before April budget

Mortgagebroker News

Could the government extend amortization limits as part of housing plan?

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GSEs will not count buyer agent commissions as IPCs

Housing Wire

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not count buyer’s agent commissions as part of their allowable interested party contributions (IPCs), according to announcements from the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) on Monday. The GSEs noted that this guidance was not an update to their selling guides but a clarification on the treatment of seller-paid real estate agent fees.

Buyers 530
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DOJ can reopen its investigation into NAR, appeals court rules

Real Estate News

Ruling could lead to further changes in industry practices by allowing the Department of Justice to revisit an antitrust case originally settled in 2020.

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AI, machine learning power lead-gen tool from Realeflow

Inman

Seller predictive analytics company Realeflow has announced its latest product, Leadflow AI Agent, a lead-generation solution to help residential agents be the first to know when someone wants to list a home.

Tools 169
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Building Material Prices Continue to Rise in March

Eyes on Housing

Inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, increased for the fifth straight month, according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index for inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, represents building materials used in residential construction.

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A Wave of Zoning Law Changes Could Have Huge Impacts for Investors and Housing—Here’s What You Need to Know

BiggerPockets

The U.S. is facing a housing deficit of about 3.2 million units, and the situation is especially dire in urban areas like New York.

Law 86
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Government to allow longer amortizations for certain first-time buyers

Mortgagebroker News

Freeland opens the door to 30-year ams

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NAR clarifies details on buyer broker agreements

Housing Wire

As the July deadline for the implementation of the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement approaches, the trade organization is looking to iron out some details about buyer broker agreements. Under the terms of the settlement agreement , agents will have to have a written agreement with a client in order to work with them as a buyer’s agent.

Buyers 428
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Top portal rivals show mutual support for buyer agency

Real Estate News

This week, Zillow CEO Rich Barton praised Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales’ latest push to educate homebuyers about changes coming to the industry.

Buyers 293
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KW CEO predicts downfall of indie model amid NAR settlement

Inman

Keller Williams president and CEO Mark Willis sat with Real Estate News to talk about his return to the Texas franchiser and how commission lawsuits could spark a new wave of brokerage and agent consolidation.

Brokerage 167
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Green Building: Resiliency Practices

Eyes on Housing

Green homes go beyond lessening their environmental impact; they also actively mitigate the effects of the environment upon them. All homes can face damage from environmental hazards, prompting builders to implement resiliency practices to reduce such risks. This post will detail the prevalence of resiliency building, specific practices by hazard, as well as resiliency certification.

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The 25 Best Sunbelt Markets for Cash Flow—And a Closer Look at the Top 4

BiggerPockets

Jazz icon and Los Angeles native Roy Ayers once famously sang, “Everybody Loves The Sunshine.” Never have truer words been said.

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Canadian economy grows again

Mortgagebroker News

GDP performance continues to defy recession expectations

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Finally, some healthy housing inventory growth

Housing Wire

Housing inventory finally hit my target level of growth last week with mortgage rates now over 7.25% , something I couldn’t get all last year. Of course, what is different this year versus last year is that new listing data is growing yearly instead of trending at the lowest levels recorded in history. This is something I talked about last week on Yahoo Finance.

Inventory 493
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Stronghill Capital shuts down consumer, correspondent lending

Housing Wire

Small-balance commercial lender Stronghill Capital shut down its nascent consumer and correspondent lending businesses late last week. The Austin, Texas-based lender will continue offering small-balance commercial and business purpose debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans to its clients, CEO John Eisinger told HousingWire Monday morning. He cited a difficult market and elevated rates as reasons for shutting down correspondent and consumer lending businesses , which were added in 2022.

Lending 429
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U.S. mortgage delinquency rates remain near historic lows: CoreLogic 

Housing Wire

In February 2024, the national delinquency rate for residential mortgages stood at 2.8%, marking an 0.2 percentage-point decrease from February 2023. The rate remained unchanged from January 2024, according to the latest CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights report. The data provider examined all stages of delinquencies to gain a complete view of the mortgage market and loan performance health.

Mortgage 437
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HomeServices settles commission lawsuits for $250M

Housing Wire

HomeServices of America , the last remaining brokerage defendant in the landmark Sitzer/Burnett antitrust commission case , has agreed to pay $250 million in damages to settle lawsuits that will change agent compensation across America. The New York Times first reported the story. The deal comes just days after the federal judge overseeing the commission case in Missouri approved a preliminary settlement that will see the National Association of Realtors and multiple other residential brokerages

Brokerage 455
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Powell makes it clear: No rate cuts anytime soon

Housing Wire

Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made statements at the Washington Forum that indicate there will be no rate cuts anytime soon because the economy and the labor market are too strong with sticky inflation. This is a change from previous statements where the Fed talked about the rate cuts it expected to make this year — although that timeframe has changed several times.

Retail 482