As compliance becomes an increased focal point for mortgage lenders and investors, staying ahead of state and federal regulations can be the difference between a flourishing business and one mired in fines. SitusAMC’s Scott McNulla, Senior Director of Regulatory Compliance,
Gary Keller stars at KW’s Mega Camp
Gary Keller, executive chairman of KWx Whatever changes are afoot at Keller Williams, Gary Keller remains the company’s public face. Last October, Keller, founder of the real estate franchise network, stepped down as CEO. He took the role of executive
Rental assistance isn’t reaching at-risk tenants
The Emergency Rental Assistance Program, created to help renters quash their missed payments, is disbursing the $46.5 billion allocated to the program at a snail’s pace. The month of July saw a mere $1.7 billion made available to eligible households
Lone Wolf builds tech empire with Propertybase
With four other real estate tech acquisitions in the last year, Lone Wolf Technologies recently added Boston Logic-owned Propertybase to its tech toolbox. The acquisition rounds out Lone Wolf’s technology platform that includes websites, lead generation tools, and CRM. With
New MISMO standards are critical to a growing PLS market
Prior to the Great Recession, private label securitizations (PLS) constituted a majority of all residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued. In the intervening years, the makeup of the RMBS market has changed significantly and, today, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie
Purchase mortgage applications rise as Treasury yields fall
Mortgage applications rose 1.6% on the week ending Aug. 20, moving in concert with a drop in Treasury yields, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The market composite index moved 1% on an unadjusted basis from
Positive revisions boost new home sales report
In Tuesday’s new home sales report from the Census Bureau, monthly supply hit recent highs at 6.2 months and 5.9 months on the more critical three-month average. I focus on the monthly supply as being the most critical data for
Housing Market Forecast 2021 & 2022: Is Crash Coming Next?
Record-low mortgage rates and shortage of inventory are keeping the US housing market strong as far as demand is considered. Home prices have been surging month-over-month breaking new records. While affordability issues worsen, low mortgage rates, growing savings, and a
SF Bay Area Housing Market: Prices | Trends | Forecast 2021
This page has been updated to reflect the most recent trends in the San Francisco Bay Area housing market. While the national housing market appears to be cooling, it hasn’t declined significantly as much in the Bay Area. The real
Los Angeles Housing Market: Prices | Trends | Forecast 2021
We’ll discuss the recent trends in the Southern California housing market as well as the Los Angeles housing market. Following the impact of the pandemic, which temporarily stalled the market, we saw the first signs of recovery in property sales
Is My House in a Flood Zone? Search FEMA Flood Map by Address and So Much More
Considering all that’s happening with climate change and the potential risk it brings to homeowners, you may be wondering if your house is in a flood zone. Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, looking to sell a vacation home, or
Miami Real Estate Market: Prices | Trends | Forecast 2021
South Florida’s housing market is strong in 2021. Home prices continue to climb and inventory remains low. It is a seller’s market with many sellers getting top dollar. After getting hammered by the pandemic, the Miami and South Florida housing
Moving Forward: The Role of the Home in Well-Being and Productivity
Recent events have made the spaces in our homes more important than ever—to our productivity, well-being, health and comfort. As we head into a new future, how can we make sure that our homes serve us better? While homes have
Salt Lake City Utah Housing Market Trends & Forecast 2021
The pandemic has supercharged Utah’s housing market driven by historically low interest rates and low unemployment rates. Utah housing market has been ranked as the nation’s #1 housing market for the strongest pace of job growth, along with low unemployment,
Home sales beat estimates: no housing crash in sight
The National Association of Realtors reported 5.99 million home sales for July, which was an excellent beat of estimates and a dagger into the hearts of the 2021 housing crash crew. Mother demographics and low mortgage rates, two things that
LRES acquires REO services firm Keystone Asset Management
LRES Corporation, a California-based REO and valuation services company, has inked a deal to acquire Keystone Asset Management, a REO property management firm that also offers related services. Terms of the deal, which is due to close on Sept. 1,
Forbearance numbers dip slightly as exits slow
The total number of loans in forbearance remained relatively unchanged, declining by one basis point to 3.25% as of Aug. 15, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest tally. Though the drop is more subdued than in previous weeks, the
Fewer first-time homebuyers are competing these days
Existing-home sales grew by 2.0% in July from the month prior, a report published by the National Association of Realtors on Monday found. But first-time homebuyers are still getting squeezed. Completed sales transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops,
How new analytics can help lenders expand access to mortgage credit
As the economic recovery from COVID-19 continues, conflicting trends in mortgage credit availability have emerged. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that the number of mortgages reached its highest level to date in 2020, with $1.2 trillion in
Minority borrowers struggled in 2020: HMDA
The mortgage market had a stunning year in 2020, with closed-end originations increasing by 65.2% from the year prior, a Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) report published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week disclosed. But some of the
How a noncompete ban would impact the mortgage industry
On July 9, President Joe Biden ordered the Federal Trade Commission to fully ban or limit an employer’s use of noncompetes. If such a rule is implemented, industry veterans and labor attorneys say it could change how the mortgage industry
AI can finally address some of the chokepoints in title
For the title industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a futuristic concept to be discussed wistfully in conference breakout sessions. It’s here — and not a moment too soon. There are few general production processes in the housing
Here’s how Priority Title & Escrow made the Inc. 5000 list
Buoyed by the volume of mortgage originations in 2020, 12 title companies made the Inc. 5000 list this year. Like all the companies on the list, those in title dealt with the special challenges of pandemic conditions and found a
The fastest growing companies in housing
Congratulations to all of the entrepreneurs, founders and executives who have survived the onslaught of phone calls, emails and DMs from first-year private equity associates (yeah… we’re looking at you Summit Partners….). But hey, growth equity firms and potential acquirers