Beverly Hills, California-based The Agency leads the top 50 firms in average sales price by sides with a whopping $2.5 million average sales price in the 2022 RealTrends 500 brokerage rankings. The 2022 RealTrends 500 rankings top 50 firms by
RealTrends 500: eXp, Compass lead in one-year movers by closed sides
eXp Realty and Compass lead the top movers by transactions. Different from our top movers by transaction side percentage, this is the actual numeric increase in transaction sides year to year between 2020 and 2021. The 2022 RealTrends 500 rankings
Cracking the code on marketing to the Realtor channel
As lenders adapt to a purchase-centered market, HousingWire spoke to Brian Boero, CEO of 1000watt, about opportunities to grow lenders’ effectiveness in the Realtor and broker market. HousingWire: What’s happening right now in the Realtor world that lenders should know
RealTrends 500: Keller Williams and RE/MAX offices tops in percentage transaction sides
Keller Williams and RE/MAX lead the list of the top 50 one-year movers by percentage transaction sides, with Keller Williams — Cunningham Group, based in Santa Monica, California, seeing a 136% increase in sides between 2020 and 2021. Data for
Biden’s $1.6 trillion budget calls for a 19% budget increase for HUD
The Biden administration unveiled a $1.6 trillion discretionary spending request for 2023, which includes a 19% budget increase for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). If the request is approved by Congress, HUD could receive $71.9 billion, approximately
Fannie Mae finalizes two additional credit insurance risk transfers
On the heels of completing its first credit insurance risk transfer (CIRT) deal of the year in early March, Fannie Mae has announced that it has executed two additional CIRT deals. The newest deals, CIRT 2022-2 and CIRT 2022-3, together transferred $1.8 billion
Ginnie Mae EBO loan market buffeted by rising rates
Mortgage rates, rates New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. (MIAC) is in the market with two whole-loan offerings of nonperforming Ginnie Mae-insured mortgages that combined are valued at more than $1.2 billion. The two deals involve nonperforming loans that are eligible for
Profit margins are plunging for nonbanks
Nonbanks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported grim profitability figures in the fourth quarter of 2021, when costs reached a new high and margins fell to the lowest level since early 2019. And most industry observers think it will
Maxwell adds Amy Brandt to board of directors
Digital mortgage platform Maxwell has brought on Amy Brandt to its board of directors to gain perspective on the challenges that lenders face and the gaps in the mortgage digitalization process. A veteran with two decades of experience in digital
Freddie Mac names chief diversity and inclusion officer
Freddie Mac today named Wendell Chambliss, its top counsel for affordable housing goals, as chief diversity and inclusion officer. Chambliss will assume the role April 11. Chambliss will take over for Dionne Wallace Oakley, who has been balancing the diversity
Forbearance rate declined to just 1.18% in February
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume dropped in February for the 21st-consecutive month, with more borrowers current on their mortgage payments due to improvements in the economy and viable loss mitigation options. The total number of loans in forbearance decreased by 12
Fannie Mae rolling out its third CRT offering of 2022
Fannie Mae is off to steady start on its path toward issuing $15 billion in notes this year through its Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS) real estate mortgage investment conduit, or REMIC. The agency is about to unveil its third deal
Opinion: Does your title M&A strategy add up?
Most title business owners dream of the day they can sell the firm they’ve built for the maximum multiple. Others look forward to building their brands with strategic acquisitions when the timing is right. Here are some tips and pointers
Will zombie foreclosures haunt servicers?
During the Great Recession, “zombie foreclosures” were a thorn in the side of servicers. With no money to pay their mortgages, some underwater borrowers simply abandoned their homes. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020, zombie foreclosures were one
Tomo raises $40M Series A, hits $640M valuation
Tomo, a fintech startup focused on the purchase mortgage sector, announced raising a $40 million Series A led by SVB Capital, according to a press release shared with FinLedger. The fundraise more than doubles Tomo’s valuation to $640 million. It
3 questions lenders should ask before implementing non-QM
With refinance volumes anticipated to decrease by 62% this year and many originatorsexperiencing layoffs, lenders are looking for a way to diversify their offerings with non-QM products and gain new business in order to maintain profits. “I think non-QM could
FHFA wraps up enterprise regulatory capital framework tweaks
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Friday finalized proposed changes to the enterprise regulatory capital framework. The amendments replace the fixed prescribed leverage buffer amount — currently 1.5% of an enterprise’s adjusted total assets — with a dynamic buffer
UWM sues two more broker shops for working with Rocket & Fairway
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) just sued two more broker shops that allegedly violated its controversial broker agreement by sending loans to rivals Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage. The Pontiac-based wholesale lender filed two lawsuits on Wednesday in Michigan federal
CFPB weighs rulemaking on algorithmic bias in valuation models
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Wednesday that it may propose a rule to regulate the use of automated valuation models (AVMs) by lenders and appraisers. The government watchdog is concerned that automated valuation models
What are you wearing to the Offerpad profitability party?
Offerpad CEO Brian Bair Get out the streamers and kazoos and start preparing the hors d’oeuvres – an iBuying company has reported a year’s worth of profitability. Offerpad Solutions generated $6.5 million for the year 2021, company CEO, chairman and
Waters demands investigation following racist appraiser email
An appraiser who wrote a racist email to a researcher has received a response — but not likely the one he wanted. In an emailed tirade, appraiser Dave LaVigne lambasted appraisal bias researcher Elizabeth Korver-Glenn for her research on appraisal
Here’s how to proactively maintain fair lending
HousingWire recently spoke with Amanda Phillips, ACES Quality Management’s EVP of Compliance, about the current compliance landscape with CFPB updates and how lenders can ensure they’re compliant with fair lending and fair servicing. HousingWire: How does Fair Lending affect
The legal battle between REX Homes and NAR heats up
Discount brokerage REX Homes (Real Estate Exchange, Inc.) filed a motion on Thursday in federal district court in Seattle challenging the legality of the National Association of Realtors’ claims that REX pushes false advertising, which the trade group alleged in
CoStar downplays employee attrition, readies resi war chest
CoStar continues to grow and make money, and if you don’t like it – tough. “Like any company we have people who decide the demands of the environment are not for them and that’s fine,” said Andy Florance, CoStar’s CEO,