News

Existing-home sales jumped 25% in July from June, beating the prior record gain of 21% set a month earlier, as low mortgage rates fueled demand for real estate. Sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops rose to a seasonally

Home Point Financial has named Perry Hilzendeger as its president of servicing. A 30-year veteran in the consumer finance and mortgage industry, Hilzendeger will be assisting in the company’s growth, responsible for leading the mortgage servicing team and delivering customer

Residential sale-leaseback company EasyKnock has announced a new contributor to its Series B funding round. Viola FinTech has added $5 million to this round of funding, bringing the Series B total to $25 million. EasyKnock’s CEO Jarred Kessler told HousingWire

More than two dozen former Federal Reserve officials wrote a letter to the Senate urging its members to reject Judy Shelton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to one of the empty seats on the Fed’s Board of Governors. The letter cites

DataTrace Information Services announced on Thursday its launch of MarketView – a platform that will provide title companies with accurate market insights including existing market share. Title companies will have the ability to search market data nationwide by state, county,

A new report from the National Association of Home Builders shows confidence in the market for new multifamily housing increased in the second quarter but still remains weak. The Multifamily Production Index rose 10 points to 37, which is still

In a combined letter on Thursday, Fannie Mae CEO Hugh Frater and Freddie Mac CEO David Brickman addressed industry criticisms following the GSEs’ announcement last week of an additional 50 basis point fee on refinances starting Sept. 1. After the

High-end luxury home prices are staying strong after the rollercoaster ride the housing market has been on this year. The median sale price for luxury homes in the U.S. rose 1.2% year over year, to $825,000 in the three months

The number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose back above 1 million last week, increasing for the first time in three weeks, as the COVID-19 pandemic fueled layoffs. “The labor market’s recovery remains precarious,” Wells Fargo economists

For the first time since March, the total percentage of accounts in “financial hardship” for auto, credit card, mortgage and personal loans fell across the board in July, according to a consumer credit snapshot by TransUnion. In particular, the percentage

Buyer-generated content, including consumer reviews of builders, is now available on Zillow and will be viewable on builder profiles, community pages and paid new construction listings. Builder Ratings and Reviews was launched Wednesday and surveys new homeowners at move-in asking

Mortgage applications fell 3.3% last week after interest rates rose to their highest level in two weeks, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance index also fell 5% from the previous week, however, it was 38%

The Federal Housing Administration has announced an upcoming release of its FHA Catalyst: Electronic Appraisal Delivery module on the FHA Catalyst platform. This solution will allow lenders to electronically submit, track, and manage single-family property appraisals and will become available

Across the nation, people are spending more time in their homes than ever before due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Homeownership allows individuals to design a space where they live, work and perhaps homeschool their children. Women no longer feel they

Last week, the MBA reported that refinance activity rose to its highest level since May, now accounting for 65.7% of total applications – and everyone involved in the mortgage process is working hard to make sure those transactions go through.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a new category of qualified mortgages called Seasoned QM, which would require loans to meet certain performance requirements over a 36-month seasoning period. The CFPB said they hope this new category will “encourage

New home construction continues to climb, as privately owned single-family housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.496 million, a 22.6% jump from June, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Privately

Seeking to alleviate financial hardships on consumers, two bills; H.R. 6370 and S.3508, ‘‘Disaster Protection for Workers’ Credit Act of 2020’,’ have been introduced in Congress that amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act by placing a moratorium on reporting any

Compared to last year, the housing market this year has seen some big changes. Notably, people are moving inland from the large cities as the pandemic has created a coastal exodus, prompting apartment dwellers to seek more space and big

The Census report on new construction showed a whopping 22.6% increase above the revised June estimate in housing starts in July. Year-over-year starts are up 23.4%. This means we can add housing starts to our growing collection of V-shaped recovery