The American Land Title Association announced at its ALTA ONE conference Tuesday that it is launching its Good Deeds Foundation to provide grants and sustain efforts to strengthen communities in crisis. The foundation will help the charitable efforts of its
Orchard launches platform that digitizes home-buying process
Home buying and selling marketplace Orchard announced the launch of a digital platform, Orchard Dashboard, that enables homeowners to manage the entire real estate transaction in one place. “The traditional way of buying and selling a home has barely evolved
Compass enters title and escrow with Modus acquisition
Real estate technology company Compass announced on Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire title and escrow software startup, Modus. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Modus, based in Seattle, will merge its 60-plus
The surprising future of mortgage technology
Talk to any mortgage technologist about the future of the industry and two topics will emerge immediately: big data and smarter automation. I know this because this is what we’ve been talking about in our industry for the past decade.
What renovations should you make before selling your home?
With ever-waning levels of inventory, surging homebuyer demand and bidding wars on the rise, it’s clear that sellers have the upper hand this season. And while that certainly bodes well for homeowners (hello, more profits!) that doesn’t mean every property
Here’s how to get an instant offer on your home
Gone are the days when you had to prep your home, market it and pay a costly commission to a real estate agent just to sell. Though that’s certainly still an option (and will probably net you more in profits),
Opendoor discloses that it’s under federal investigation
Opendoor has officially filed its announcement to go public after announcing its merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. II in September. But the filing also revealed that Opendoor is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission over its advertising
Biden’s first-time homebuyer tax credit in the age of COVID-19
When former Vice President Joe Biden first proposed his $15,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit in February, there were no U.S. deaths from COVID-19. Now that the pandemic has plunged the U.S. economy into a recession and killed more than 208,000
Rock Venture’s Trina Scott on adjusting business strategy during social upheaval
Trina Scott, chief diversity officer at Rock Ventures and 2020 HousingWire Woman of Influence, will speak at our HousingWire Annual event on Oct. 8. HousingWire sat down with Scott ahead of that event to get a glimpse of what she’ll
Forbearance rate drops to 6.81%, MBA says
The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments fell to 6.81% in the last week of September, the lowest since mid-April, according to the Mortgage Banker Association. The rate dropped from 6.87% in the prior week,
Princeton Mortgage’s Rich Weidel on how small shops can still compete with Rocket and UWM
Rich Weidel, the CEO of family-owned and operated lender Princeton Mortgage, was scared. He saw the big competitors only getting bigger. He wondered how a smaller retail-and-wholesale shop could possibly compete with the likes of Rocket Companies, with massive budgets
Green housing expert Bob Simpson to speak at HousingWire Annual Oct. 8
A consequential change in decarbonizing housing stock hasn’t been a priority in this pandemic year, but post-pandemic, it is sure to rise in importance. With nearly 40% of total U.S. energy consumption used in the residential and commercial sector, the
Mortgage delinquencies expected to remain above pre-pandemic levels until 2022
Following previous natural disaster recovery patterns, mortgage delinquencies are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until March 2022, according to a report from Black Knight. If trends persist, the data service provider estimates once the first wave of forbearances
Loans in forbearance gain after 6 weeks of decline
After six weeks of steady declines, the number of mortgages in active forbearance rose by 21,000 last week, according to a new report. Though the raw number increased, the number of all mortgages in active forbearance remained at 6.8%, unchanged
Hamptons home sales begin cooling after summer’s frenetic pace
Home sales in the Hamptons, the ritzy New York getaway for Wall Street titans and Hollywood celebrities, showed beginning signs of cooling off in September after a pandemic-induced boom during the summer months. Signed contracts to purchase single-family homes rose
AmeriHome plans to go public – Let’s look at the numbers
AmeriHome on Thursday became the latest mortgage lender to file for a public offering, the latest to do so amid a coronavirus pandemic that has helped spur record origination volume this year. The lender told the SEC in a filing
Movement Mortgage’s Montell Watson to speak at HousingWire Annual Oct. 8
Call it what you want – a disruption, a revolution, a transformation or perhaps a thorn in your side, there is no denying the pandemic has stirred the housing industry in all its sectors. How companies adapt and pivot while
CSBS takes aim at nonbanks with proposed rule
This week the Conference of State Bank Supervisors issued a final proposed prudential standards rule for comment to address their concerns with nonbank servicers. The proposed rule addressed capital, liquidity, governance, policy related to entity survivorship, and more. It’s a
Employee-owned Axia launches new wholesale division
Axia Home Loans, a Washington-based lender with an unusual ownership structure, is looking to break into the ultra-competitive wholesale space. Axia, a 100% employee-owned company helmed by CEO Alexander Rosenblum, launched Unified Reliance Wholesale on Thursday. The division, currently staffed
The state that may never accept RON mortgage closings
As COVID-19 swept through the U.S., there is one state that has refused to accept remote online notarization laws, even as stay-at-home orders forced many other states to temporarily accept RON. California, the most populated state in the U.S., has
U.S. unemployment drops to six-month low of 7.9%
The U.S. unemployment rate in September hit a six-month low of 7.9%, down half a percentage point from August’s 8.4%, the Labor Department said on Friday. With 1 million people making up that half percentage drop, the department estimates that now 12.6
Caliber Home Loans plans $2B-plus IPO
Texas-based mortgage lender Caliber Home Loans is the latest mortgage firm to ride the IPO wave, filing paperwork to potentially go public this year at a valuation north of $2 billion, according to a new report. The company, owned by
Better.com’s Vishal Garg talks the future of banking, tech stacks and a customer-friendly IPO
Though he wouldn’t comment on recent reports that he is raising $100 million in capital at a $4 billion valuation, Better.com CEO Vishal Garg had no qualms on Thursday in outlining his vision for an eventual public debut. Garg, a
How one mortgage servicing company is prioritizing home retention during economic uncertainty
Nearly two years ago, Ocwen acquired PHH Corporation, and Glen Messina became the president and CEO of the newly combined companies. Today, Ocwen Financial Corporation is a leading non-bank mortgage servicer and originator providing solutions through its primary brands, PHH
