Fidelity National Financial, a provider of title insurance and settlement services to the real estate and mortgage industries, is working to prevent wire fraud in today’s growing digital environment. Mortgage demand remains at a record high, and much of the country’s
People movers: Sagent, Homespire Mortgage, Title Partners
Fintech company Sagent announced it hired veteran technology leader Uday Devalla as its new chief technology officer. Devalla brings a wealth of industry experience to his new position, leading engineering, digital transformation, information security, and regtech strategy in housing for
OJO Labs rolls out agent referral network
OJO Labs has launched the OJO Select Network, an agent referral program that matches top performing agents with ready homebuyers or sellers based on an understanding of the agent’s skill set and the consumer’s needs. Select Network gives agents access
Fed’s Brainard for Treasury Secretary?
Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, who started her public career in the 1990s as an economic advisor to President Bill Clinton, is the leading candidate for Treasury secretary if former Vice President Joe Biden usurps President Donald Trump in the
UWM rolls out “game-changing” mobile app for brokers
Just days after announcing that United Wholesale Mortgage would be going public in the fourth quarter at a $16.1 billion valuation, CEO Mat Ishbia today unveiled a new tech tool that he claims will bring “game-changing flexibility” to brokers. The
Home Point Financial launches community foundation with initial $1 million grant
Home Point Financial announced on Friday the launch of its charitable community foundation with an initial pledge of $1 million dedicated to funding 50 new minority and female-owned brokerages. In the midst of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts National
Revamping qualified mortgages: A clearer message?
The federal Ability to Repay Rule has always been a study in contradiction. Back in 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the rule to instill strict underwriting standards for mortgage loans, but also hoped not to hamper the availability
New-Construction Home Listings Drop 4% in August, Reversing Course From July’s Rebound
The new-homes market is recovering—with sales on the rise—but hurdles including a lumber shortage are still hampering builders. New listings of newly-built homes dropped 4.1% year over year to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 74,000 in August, reversing course after a
Home Prices Just. Keep. Climbing. National Median Now Up 14% from Last Year
Pending sales rose 29%, and new listings jumped 6% from last year Key housing market takeaways for 434 U.S. metro areas during the 4-week period ending September 20: The median home sale price increased 14% from 2019 to $319,978—the highest
Porch adds five new board members ahead of public debut
Real estate tech company Porch announced Wednesday that it has brought on five new members to its board of directors ahead of becoming publicly traded. The company added: Javier Saade, founder and managing partner of Impact Master Holdings as well
The Mortgage Collaborative supports members through virtual educational sessions
The Mortgage Collaborative, an independent cooperative network, has supported its members through this year’s uncertain environment with its 2020 virtual educational and networking platform TMConnect. Through TMConnect, TMC offers virtual educational and networking sessions for employees from throughout its member
Real estate agents can host virtual home tours with this new solution
On Wednesday, real estate tech company Zigzy launched beta testing of Townify, a solution that enables real estate agents to host virtual open houses, which has become a necessity in a time when we are told to remain socially distant,
Here are the 2020 HousingWire Vanguards
The 2020 list of HousingWire Vanguard potential candidates was more competitive than ever before. On any other given year, many would have easily won – but this was not any other year. The competition was fierce. But even more impressive
Time is almost up to nominate your Tech Trendsetter!
For the second year in a row, HousingWire’s Tech Trendsetters award will recognize 50 individuals in the technology industry. The award highlights the most impactful and innovative technology leaders serving the housing economy. Nominations opened at the beginning of September, and will close September 25,
RE/MAX acquires location intelligence data company
RE/MAX Holdings has acquired fintech company the Gadberry Group, its second fintech acquisition this month. No financial details were disclosed in Monday’s announcement, but according to RE/MAX the acquisition was comprised of cash and stock. Gadberry Group is a location
New-home sales show housing ready for rescue role
Sales of new houses in August rose to 1.001 million at a seasonally adjusted and annualized pace, the Commerce Department said on Thursday – the first time the number has broken 1 million in 14 years. The number shows that
So you want to eClose a mortgage in Virginia?
In 2012, Virginia became the first U.S. state to pass legislation allowing for remote online notarization. However, the use of RON didn’t become widespread in the U.S. until 2020, when COVID-19 forced lenders and title companies to look at new
How servicers can prepare for potential default wave
HousingWire recently spoke with Sutherland Mortgage Services President Krish Swaminathan about the next wave of servicing, how servicers can best communicate with their customers and the technology available to help with compliance even in a work-from-home environment. HousingWire: What are
Sacramento, Austin and Phoenix Are the Most Popular Destinations For People Searching For Homes Outside Their Metro Area
Remote work is accelerating the trend of migration away from expensive places like New York and San Francisco toward relatively affordable inland areas, where out-of-towners are winning bidding wars and driving up home prices. Nationwide, 28.7% of Redfin.com users looked
TransUnion: Accounts in financial hardship continued to decline in August
For the second consecutive month, the total percentage of accounts in “financial hardship” for auto, credit card, mortgage and personal loans fell across the board in August, according to a consumer credit snapshot by TransUnion. In particular, the percentage of accounts
California Real Estate Market 2020 Overview
Updated: Sep 24, 2020. We will discuss the latest California housing market prices and trends and find out how they can affect the buyers & sellers in the coming months. After home sales bounced back in June, the California housing market
Average mortgage rates tick up this week
The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan is 2.9% this week, up from 2.87% last week, Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday. It’s the ninth consecutive week the rate has been below 3%. The average
The Power of the Network is the Network
Being a part of the CENTURY 21® Network gives each broker and agent access to a host of tools, tech resources, training, marketing materials, and some beautiful branding. But time and time again brokers and agents alike emphasize the valuable
Better.com in talks to raise $100M at $4B valuation: report
Digital mortgage lender Better.com is in talks to raise more than $100 million in new funding that would value the company at about $4 billion before an upcoming public offering, according to a new report. The New York-based mortgage lender,
