External Articles

Recent tech innovations have targeted point of sale or specific underwriting tasks to improve operational efficiencies, leaving the manual review of appraisals as an underexplored area ripe for digitization and automation. Collateral underwriting turn times in particular have been slowing

Artificial Intelligence company Quantarium announced on Thursday its partnership with Valligent Technologies to launch a condition adjusted “Quantarium Valuation Model” for equity lending, broker price opinions and real estate owned valuations. The latest tech, coined QVM-Insights, leverages Quantariums AI power

Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight report for October demonstrates some of the side effects of the historically low mortgage rates we’ve seen in 2020: incredibly high volume and an increase in time-to-close. Across the board, 30-year mortgage rates decreased on average

On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rolled grenades down Wall Street and Main Street: he said he would not extend several emergency lending programs beyond Dec. 31, and also asked the Federal Reserve to return a portion of $195 billion

The National Association of Realtors has rolled out a new, free interactive training platform designed to help combat discrimination in the real estate industry called Fairhaven. Fairhaven is a fair housing simulation exercise that will be offered directly to NAR

We are now under 60 days remaining until we have President Biden and Vice President Harris leading a new administration in D.C. Beyond any political views of the election and the ensuing drama, industry is asking: What will a Biden

The mortgage industry is responding with mixed reviews to the Federal Housing Finance Agency‘s Final Capital Rule for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which it released on Wednesday. The final rule mandates that the GSEs maintain tier 1 capital in excess of

Digital notary platform NotaryCam announced on Wednesday it has been awarded the Remote Online Notarization (RON) Compliance Certification through the Mortgage Industry Standard Maintenance Organization (MISMO) – making it the eighth company to receive the specialized certification. Originally introduced in April, the MISMO RON compliance

Existing home sales came in at a whopping 6,850,000, beating estimates with the highest print since 2006. Days on market fell from 36 days to 21 days on a year-over-year basis. Cash buyers remain at a historically high level of

A slim majority of California residents voted in favor of Proposition 19 on Election Day, green-lighting a motion that gives new property tax breaks to older homeowners while increasing property taxes for those inheriting their parents’ or grandparents’ properties. The

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Thursday, alleging a series of violations of antitrust law, including commission arrangements and consumer disclosure requirements. NAR has adopted a “series of rules, policies,

The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell this week to 2.72%, Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday – the lowest rate in the survey’s near 50-year history. This week’s rate broke the previous record set on Nov. 5 by 6

Existing home sales grew for the fifth consecutive month in October, up 4.3% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.85 million, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. Compared to last October,

Homeowners in Charlotte, North Carolina and Raleigh, North Carolina can now use Knock Home Swap to purchase their new home before selling their old one. The solution is now available in 11 markets in six states. Home Swap is offered

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its Final Capital Rule Wednesday for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it continues to work toward ending conservatorship. The final rule mandates that the GSEs maintain tier 1 capital in

At the Notarize Rewired event Wednesday on the panel, Home Buying After COVID, four experts talked about some of the largest pain points in the title industry. When asked if they could change one thing, or “wave a magic wand,”

The homeownership rate in Texas rose to an all-time high of 70% in the third quarter, exceeding the national metric for the first time since 2012, according to a report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Texas home sales

HousingWire recently spoke with CoreLogic’s Chief Appraiser Shawn Telford about re-examining traditional appraisal workflows in light of the changes brought on by COVID-19. HousingWire: What changes have appraisers had to make to their workflows in light of social distancing and

Real estate agents across the country have made it clear – low inventory and low mortgage rates have kept them busy throughout the pandemic, especially in typical vacation destinations. That trend is holding true for the housing market in Hawaii,

Single-family housing starts gained for the sixth consecutive month in October on an annualized pace not seen since April 2007, a Census Bureau report released Wednesday revealed. Housing starts overall rose 4.9% in October compared to September’s pace and to

Out-of-town moves are on the rise, and it’s largely thanks to the pandemic. Some homebuyers are looking to move closer to friends and family, while others are simply on the hunt for more space and a break from cramped urban

Home shoppers and sellers are flooding the market with demand, creating recording-breaking volume and unique opportunities for people looking to get in on the action. With both parties in the home-buying process fueling the market, there are plenty of success