housing wire

The mortgage application process can be a confusing one — especially if you’ve never gone through it before. There’s a lot of red tape, a ton of moving parts and, worse yet, dozens of terms and phrases you’ve probably never even

Existing home sales decreased 2.5% in November, ending the five-month streak of month-over-month gains, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.85 million, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday. Compared to last November, home

The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments increased for the second time in nearly six months from 5.48% to 5.49%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. According to Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, more

Digital closings firm Qualia announced Monday that it had reached unicorn status with a fresh infusion of venture capital. And for good measure, it also announced that it had acquired a rival in the title and escrow software space. Qualia

Comparing single-family houses vs. townhouses can be difficult. What is the right fit for your home purchase? That depends on a whole host of factors — things like your budget, your need for space and privacy, and your penchant for

Ten days ahead of the latest expiration date, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the Federal Housing Administration is providing a two-month extension of its foreclosure and eviction moratorium, and initial forbearance requests through Feb. 28, 2021.

After nearly 40 million people became unemployed by May because of COVID-19, the housing industry, borrowers and the Federal Reserve quickly realized that without ample aid, things could quickly turn sour. However, servicers leveraged the lessons learned from the last

Private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo will acquire proptech company RealPage in a transaction valued at approximately $10.2 billion, including net debt, according to a release. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the RealPage board of directors, is expected

A second round of stimulus checks will be sent directly to citizens beginning next week, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The $900 billion stimulus package negotiated by Congress over the weekend will include $600 individual stimulus checks for those making under

Headed into 2021, the American Land Title Association announced the promotion of six of its staff members to new leadership positions. “I am incredibly proud of this team and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such a talented

The economic hardships wrought by the coronavirus pandemic will be long-term, and millions of renters and homeowners alike could take a serious hit in the upcoming months, affordable housing experts said on a recent webinar hosted by Freddie Mac. Despite

United Wholesale Mortgage’s (UWM) much-anticipated Wall Street debut is expected to take place on Jan. 22, 2021, the company told HousingWire late Thursday. UWM, the nation’s second-largest mortgage originator by volume, is going public through a merger with a publicly-traded

With a number of tech companies relocating to or expanding their footprint in Austin, Texas, current residents and local first-time homebuyers are getting squeezed by rising home prices. And it’s a trend that is only going to get worse, as

With LIBOR slated to be phased out at the end of 2021, industry trade group Structured Finance Association sent a letter this week to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s legislative leaders asking them to support Secured Overnight

Renting your home out on Airbnb can be a smart way to make some extra cash. In fact, it might even make homeownership more affordable. According to a study from Earnest, the average Airbnb host makes about $924 per month.

Remote online notarization is spreading like wildfire across the U.S. as COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders forced many companies and mortgage notaries to look for alternative methods to continue operating amid the socially distanced environment in 2020. But what is in

The coronavirus is raging. Eleven million workers are unemployed. And at the end of this month — absent immediate and urgent action by Congress and the administration — millions of American families will be put into eviction and foreclosure proceedings

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is looking to finalize a rule that would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold higher levels of liquidity to protect against any sudden shortfalls, creating a further $10 billion cushion for the publicly

Single-family housing starts continued their seven-month climb in November, coming in to the highest level since 2007, according to the Census Bureau. Housing starts rose 1.2% in November compared to October and are up 12.8% year over year to a

The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell four basis point this week to 2.67% – the lowest rate in the Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey’s near 50-year history. This week’s mortgage rate broke the previous record set

2020 has been a remarkably strong year for the housing market. Sales volume has remained elevated compared to last year since about mid-June, home values are growing more quickly than they have in 15 years and homes are typically selling a full

Keller Williams-owned Smarter Agent, a Philadelphia-based startup that allows agents to create their own branded apps, will be shutting down its dedicated app. Inman News first reported that Smarter Agent would be shutting down. Keller Williams declined to provide HousingWire

United Wholesale Mortgage is facing a potentially ugly court battle from a few of its own constituents. Three mortgage brokers in California claim that UWM pulled the rug out from beneath them in March when it changed the commission structure

2020 was a year that forced a number of industries to modernize and adopt technologies that had been otherwise underutilized. For the housing economy in particular, tech helped to solve many of the challenges that COVID presented and allowed the