housing wire

Austin, Texas might be the hottest housing market in the country. The Lone Star State’s friendly tax policies combined with the city’s huge tech scene and its cool factor have made it a destination for Silicon Valley types for several

A new report from Redfin shows that homes listed midweek sell for an average of $1,700 more than homes listed on the weekend, based on homes sold above their list price from July 2020 through February 2021. And they sell

Across the mortgage industry, revenues swelled to record highs in 2020. Nonbank lenders and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reaped the rewards – they nearly tripled their profit per loan last year. According to recent data from the Mortgage Bankers

Title insurers wrote $19.2 billion in premiums last year, but a recent report from the American Land Title Association predicts a slowdown in 2021 due to – you guessed it! – low inventory. ALTA officials “do not expect the same level

A perfect storm of record low interest rates and shifting consumer behavior spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an absolutely incredible year for mortgage lenders in 2020, especially the independent mortgage banks. Virtually every IMB saw origination volumes soar

SentriLock, the home lockbox company wholly owned by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), announced Tuesday that they created a computer and smart phone platform to help real estate agents juggle their home showing appointments. The development is intriguing for

Private equity firm Gridiron Capital has acquired Michigan-based appraisal management company Class Valuation from another private equity player, Narrow Gauge Capital, the firms said in a statement on Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Narrow Gauge will

Servicers’ total number of loans in forbearance fell a whopping 24 basis points to 4.66% of portfolio volume during the first full week of April, according to a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association – one of the biggest drops

National mortgage services provider Lenderworks has brought on Fannie Mae‘s head of single-family strategy Andrew Peters as president, the company said Monday. Peters served as a strategy consultant for the government sponsored enterprise before rising to the position of vice

In Lender Letters issued on Thursday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac confirmed that loans purchased by the GSEs with application dates on and after July 1, 2021, must meet the standards of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Revised Qualified Mortgage

Canadian real estate technology company Voxtur Analytics Corp. closed on the acquisition of appraisal management software firm Appraisal Now for approximately $30.5 million, the company said this week. “This strategic acquisition bolsters recurring revenues and accelerates the development of Voxtur’s

The Urban Institute‘s Housing Finance Policy Center recently posited that down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers could help turn the tide of systemic racism by reducing intergenerational wealth disparities. Researchers said federal, state, and local housing policies have “systematically excluded

Residential brokerage and mortgage lender William Raveis is buying its clients’ homes across New England, the tri-state area and Florida. But don’t confuse its new program with iBuying – they’re looking to solve the sell-before-you-buy dilemma in a different manner. “We’re

Over the last several years, non-bank mortgage originators have established a much larger market share. Additionally, non-bank servicers have more than doubled their ownership of servicing rights in the last 10 years. This gives non-bank lenders and servicers significantly greater

One of Mighty Buildings 3D-printed ADUs. Photo credit: Mighty Buildings Aging parents. College students returning to the fold. Millennials seeking affordable housing in high-priced markets. People with disabilities who can live on their own but need a little family support.

Better.com has received a $500 million investment from SoftBank that values the digital mortgage lender at about $6 billion, CNBC reports. Although the news was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal, CNBC confirmed the news later with sources familiar

Over the past five years, more than $1.2 billion in potential home equity has been uncovered for distressed homeowners facing foreclosure. That $1.2 billion is the amount of surplus funds generated by foreclosure sales on the Auction.com platform between 2016

Millions of Americans transitioned to remote work in 2020, reconfiguring homes to be makeshift classrooms and offices. One of the big beneficiaries of the new live/work/play setup has been home goods retailer Home Depot. A recent report from TradingPlatforms noted

JPMorgan Chase has appointed Bhavesh Patel to lead client management for the bank’s correspondent lending channel. As director of client management, Patel will focus on improving the client experience and driving future growth for the business, which is growing at

First introduced in 2010, HousingWire’s Women of Influence award recognizes outstanding women in housing who are moving markets and paving the way for other women around them to do the same. Last year’s winners were truly outstanding and exemplified what

In the most competitive housing markets in the country, virtually every buyer has immaculate credit, a few hundred thousand dollars – or more – for a downpayment and knows what their mortgage options are. Not that many of the buyers even

Notarize announced Wednesday that it will now allow independent notaries – of which there are 4.4 million in the U.S. – to utilize its software and platform for their own independent transactions. The software will be available to notaries in

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a proposed rule on Monday that would bar servicers from starting on foreclosures until 2022. The CFPB also proposed streamlined processes for moving homeowners out of forbearance and in to loss mitigation options. However,

Mortgage applications decreased for the fifth straight week – this time down 5.1%, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. As has been the case for several weeks now, rising mortgage rates and low inventory are contributing to the slowdown in mortgage