The housing market is booming, and people are taking this opportunity to move out of cities and into suburban and rural areas. These migration patterns are largely due to record low mortgage rates and the fact that many companies are
Painting Brick: To Paint or Not To Paint Your Home
There are lots of mixed opinions when it comes to painting brick homes. Some homeowners love the idea of sprucing up their classic brick house with a fresh coat of paint, while others wince at the thought of covering up
Staging a Bathroom to Sell: A Complete Guide
When staging a house for sale, it can be easy to focus on big projects such as updating your landscaping, dusting your home, or repainting chipped walls. Oftentimes, this can lead home sellers to neglect focusing on important rooms that
Renovating A House Checklist: Where to Start
Home renovations provide homeowners with the opportunity to take their house and turn it into a home they’ve always dreamed of – all while increasing the home value. And, with the change of seasons, maybe you’ve decided it’s time for
New York poised to expand CRA rule to nonbank lenders
New York State is close to approving a controversial bill that expands the requirements of the state community reinvestment act (CRA) to non-depository lenders, following the lead of Massachusetts and Illinois. The CRA rule, enacted in 1977, mandates that banks
Bidding wars are starting to cool off
For the fifth consecutive month the number of bidding wars on home sales declined, according to a new report from brokerage Redfin. In September, 58.9% of offers written by Redfin agents ended up in a bidding war, the lowest rate
GSE forbearance rate declines to 1%
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume declined at a reduced pace this week, as mortgage holders continue to exit COVID-19 plans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The total number of loans in forbearance decreased by seven basis points to
HW+ Member Spotlight: Karen Mayfield
This week’s HW+ spotlight features Karen Mayfield, head of National Retail Sales at Wyndham Capital Mortgage. In her role, Mayfield is tasked with expanding on the company’s digital roots into the retail mortgage environment. With more than two decades in the industry,
Rocket Pro TPO redesigns pricing calculator for brokers
In the face of a serious housing shortage, exceptional service from brokers is more important than ever. With forced bidding becoming the new norm, top brokers understand the importance of providing loan pricing with speed and certainty. Purchase originations demand
Why brokerages and mortgage lenders are rushing into JVs
The excited and at times nervous first-time homebuyers that James Dunn often represents ask him how that whole process of taking out a mortgage works, and Dunn, a Los Angeles-based real estate agent with eXp, replies with a few trusted
Recruiting the next generation of appraisers
The appraisal industry’s lack of diversity — in terms of age, gender and ethnicity — and the growing number of appraisers exiting the profession as they reach retirement age have been well-documented issues. But now that the industry is keenly
Charlie Oppler: DOJ needs to honor agreement with NAR
You should be able to count on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to honor an agreement. And yet, in a complete breach of commitment and legal precedent, the DOJ backed out of an agreement with the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
DOJ, OCC, CFPB pledge to combat “modern-day redlining”
Attorney General Merrick Garland The Department of Justice, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are teaming up in a new initiative to combat redlining. The Civil Division of the DOJ will partner
UpEquity raises $50M, hopes to originate $1B in next year
Austin-based mortgage tech platform UpEquity raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by the venture capital firm S3 Ventures. The funding will support the company’s growth as UpEquity forecasts more than $1 billion in originations over the
PNC Bank breached COVID-19 payment deferral agreement: suit
PNC Bank allegedly breached Fannie Mae’s COVID-19 payment deferral agreement by continuing to charge homeowners who opted for the home retention option for past-due monthly principal and interest payments. A national class action-seeking lawsuit filed in Maryland federal court claims
New Residential scoops up fix-and-flip lender
New Residential Investment Corp. announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Genesis Capital LLC, a fix-and-flip lender, from Goldman Sachs. New Residential said that it expects Genesis to originate close to $2 billion of loans
Lenders are courting self-employed borrowers again
Mortgage credit availability increased for the third consecutive month in September, but is still 30% below the pre-pandemic level, according to a report released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Much of the growth in credit availability has come
CRMLS relaunches “submit offer” feature
California Regional MLS announced the relaunch of their integrated “submit offer” feature on Tuesday. CRMLS, the country’s largest MLS, services more than 110,000 real estate professionals in southern California. The relaunch comes in response to demand for the feature from
Redwood Trust plants flag in the massive home equity market
Redwood Trust CEO Christopher Abate laid out a bold vision of growth for the real estate investment trust at an investor conference in New York City last month. Part of that vision included finding ways to tap into the nation’s
How lenders can work more efficiently in a tight profit margin environment
As the refi boom declines – taking the intense production volume of 2020 and early 2021 with it – and we move to a more purchase-heavy market, lenders are seeing a decline in profit margins and an increase in origination
Austin Real Estate Market: Prices | Trends | Forecast 2021-2022
Austin’s housing market is booming. The market reflects what is happening in other major cities across the country. A lack of supply is lagging strong demand, causing home prices to rise. Austin’s housing market remained one of the strongest in
Forbearance declines at the fastest pace in a year
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume declined at the fastest rate in a year, as mortgage holders exit COVID-19 plans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Exits are expected to pick up the pace in the weeks ahead due to economic improvement. The total
Boston Massachusetts Housing Market: Prices & Forecast 2021
The Greater Boston housing market is hot with rising prices as we enter into the fall of 2021. The sky-high prices, combined with a historic scarcity of housing supply in this region, reflect a sizzling seller’s market. But we are
Risk Rating 2.0: What to Know About FEMA’s New Flood Insurance System
For the past 50 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has used the same flood risk methodology for calculating insurance premiums. The previous methodology, introduced as part of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, calculated homeowner’s risk by