December, 2023

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How to leverage pop culture moments to improve your listings

Inman

When it comes to marketing high-end homes, it pays to think like an ad firm. That means knowing your target audience, using themes they’ll understand, and finding ways to creatively defy convention.

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Housing inventory defied all predictions in 2023

Housing Wire

Going into 2023, people thought housing inventory would skyrocket, home prices would crash, and we would see the housing market of 2008 all over again. We created this weekly tracker at the end of 2022 to give people a live weekly outlook on everything that drives the housing market and which factors to follow. Those reading the tracker would have understood why the housing market dynamics shifted on Nov. 9, 2022, and they’ll be ready for what’s coming next.

Mortgages 521
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What to Do With Your Home if You Buy a Second Property

RIS Media

The decision to buy a second property brings a host of considerations, and one of the most crucial among them is whether to sell or rent your existing home. This dilemma requires careful evaluation of financial, emotional, and strategic factors to ensure that the choice aligns with your goals and circumstances. We will explore renting… The post What to Do With Your Home if You Buy a Second Property appeared first on RISMedia.

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Zillow files antitrust suit against real estate listing services

Seattle Times Real Estate

The case is the latest challenge to established real estate players, after a federal jury decision dealt a blow to long-standing industry commission practices.

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The 2025 Real Estate Roadmap to Success

Don’t just react to changes, plan for them, so you can approach the new year with confidence, direction, and a competitive edge for your business. Having a well-defined business plan helps you chart a clear course, navigate challenges, and set a foundation for growth. This workbook gives you the key steps to outline what matters and will ensure you’re moving ahead.

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Fannie and Freddie Serious Delinquencies in November: Single Family Mostly Unchanged, Multi-Family Increased

Calculated Risk Real Estate

Single-family serious delinquencies were mostly unchanged in November, however, multi-family serious delinquencies increased. Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in November was 0.54%, unchanged from 0.54% October. Freddie's rate is down year-over-year from 0.66% in November 2022. This is below the pre-pandemic lows.

Loans 135
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Why You Need To Use a Real Estate Agent When You Buy a Home

Keeping Current Matters

If you’ve recently decided you’re ready to become a homeowner, chances are you’re trying to figure out what to do first.

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Opinion: To support low-income borrowers, return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector

Housing Wire

Since the 2008 housing crisis , there have been significant changes that prompted the Treasury to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under conservatorship. While the conservatorship has allowed for the mortgage market to be restored to its pre-crisis state and strengthened these two government-sponsored entities (GSEs), there are significant downsides to maintaining the status quo indefinitely.

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Mortgage rates should drop below 7% as housing demand picks up

Housing Wire

What a week! Mortgage rates almost fell below 7%, the 10-year yield is below 4.25% again, and people are seriously talking about Fed rate cuts in 2024. Times can change quickly, which is why we created the weekly tracker so you have the information you need in real-time. Purchase application data Hello, early Christmas present! Mortgage rates have fallen by almost 1% in a short time, and it has created four straight weeks of positive purchase application data.

Mortgages 543
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The 2023 housing market bent, but didn’t break

Housing Wire

As we approach Christmas day, we can only hope that the Federal Reserve now realizes their fear of 1970s-style inflation created a rate-hike cycle that disproportionately impacted the U.S. housing market and that they need to be pro-housing again. Even with all the drama we have dealt with in 2022-2023, the housing market stayed intact and never broke.

Marketing 538
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The Federal Reserve delivers lower rates for Christmas

Housing Wire

The Federal Reserve played the good grinch for Christmas this year and delivered the best gift for homebuyers nationwide, leading to lower mortgage rates. The 10-year yield and mortgage rates fell together after the Fed meetings, which gave us mortgage rates under 7% last week. Mortgage rates and the 10-year yield What a crazy week! Not too long ago, on jobs Friday, I was on the HousingWire Daily podcast saying it’s time to declare war on the Federal Reserve for being too restrictive; you can li

Mortgages 536
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Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant

Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.

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Why home prices haven’t crashed even with high mortgage rates

Housing Wire

The most underreported housing story I’ve seen this year is that even with mortgage rates rising to 8%, the number of homes that took price cuts before they sold was 4% below 2022 levels. This happened even with higher home prices and higher mortgage rates in 2023. Weekly housing inventory data We will start with the price cut data percentage because it deserves a detailed explanation. 2022 was a historic year for housing as we had the most significant home sales crash ever, and mortgage r

Mortgages 534
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New home sales market welcomes lower mortgage rates

Housing Wire

New home sales missed sales estimates , but the builders’ stocks have been roaring higher. What gives? There are two key things to remember before I go into the report’s details. Mortgage rates rising to 8% in October impacted the data line, which I spoke about on CNBC recently. Also, new home sales are notorious for big positive and negative prints that tend to get revised.

Sales 529
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The Fed was wrong about jobs and inflation

Housing Wire

After today’s jobs report , which showed unemployment at 3.7%, it’s now clear that the Federal Reserve does not need to create a job-loss recession to bring down the growth rate of inflation. The Fed has much to answer for after their massive rate hikes and quantitative tightening policy. These were created to bring down inflation by impacting the labor market but they disproportionally affected housing in a negative way.

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First American is the latest cybersecurity attack victim

Housing Wire

First American is the latest real estate firm to suffer a cybersecurity incident. Sources told HousingWire the incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, with First American confirming the incident Thursday morning. In a statement on the title company’s website it notes that First American has “taken certain systems offline” and that it is working to resume normal business operations as soon as possible.

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Tech-Forward Strategies for Scaling Agent Efficiency & Accelerating Growth

As the real estate market evolves, technology has become essential for success. According to NAR, only 26% of agents feel their brokerage provides the necessary tech tools and, as a result, agents seek teams and brokerages who prioritize technology investments! Whether you manage an established team or are forming a new one, this guide outlines key considerations and necessary applications to thrive.

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Mortgage rates are (finally) back at 7%

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates continued their downward trajectory this week as the 10-year Treasury yield dropped below 4.2% for the first time since September, according to new data from Freddie Mac. The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.03% for the week ending Dec. 7, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down significantly from last week ’s 7.22% and up from 6.33% the same week a year ago.

Mortgages 529
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Housing starts flexes single-family muscle

Housing Wire

Boom! Housing starts had an epic beat Tuesday, which usually means the data will get revised lower at some point, but one thing is for sure: the housing starts and new home sales sector came to throw shade at the 2023 recession crowd. Many say housing leads the economy into a recession, which has been the case for decades since higher rates tend to put the U.S. economy into a recession.

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The Fed holds rates steady at final meeting of 2023

Housing Wire

The Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) held its short-term policy interest rate steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.5% at its last meeting of the year on Wednesday. It was the fourth pause recorded in 2023. Investors will parse Jerome Powell’s press conference this afternoon for clues about when and why the central bank might change its policy stance next year.

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The mortgage market just had its strongest week in months

Housing Wire

Falling mortgage rates last week brought increased demand. Total home loan applications increased 2.8% for the week ending Dec. 1 compared to the previous week , according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.17% last week. Slower inflation and the confidence financial markets have that we are nearing the end of the Fed ’s hiking cycle has brought mortgage rates to the lowest level since August.

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Accelerating Real Estate Sales Pipelines to Streamline Buyer Journeys

Navigated 360° tours, like YourVRTours, advance pipelines by engaging clients further along the sales funnel. These immersive experiences provide comprehensive property insights, increasing buyer intent and readiness. By embracing navigated tours, agents can optimize property exposure, better qualify leads, and streamline the sales process. Stay ahead in the ever-evolving real estate landscape with innovative technology that elevates buyer journeys and progresses pipelines more effectively.

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How analysts see 2024 shaping up for mortgage lenders

Housing Wire

Kyle Joseph, a specialty finance equity research analyst at Jefferies , believes that the worst of the current mortgage cycle may be behind us, a sentiment shared by most analysts covering this industry. “Barring any sort of unforeseen consequences, I’d like to think so , ” Joseph said in an interview. “Obviously, this cycle was fast and furious – for lack of a better term – in terms of how quickly rates went up, and volumes basically got cut into a third of what they wer

Mortgages 516
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Home prices climbed in October at fastest annual rate

Housing Wire

Despite lower sales activity, home prices continued their upward trend in October, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Real estate experts say the performance reflects limited inventory in the country, a problem expected to continue in 2024. The data released on Tuesday shows that home prices in all nine U.S. census divisions posted a 4.8% annual gain in October, up from a 4% gain in the previous month.

Mortgages 511
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Mortgage rates continue trending down before Christmas

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates stayed below 7% for the second week in a row, a welcome relief after a 17-week streak of above-7% rates. This week’s dip is the largest weekly drop since November 2022. The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% for the week ending Dec. 21, according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down from last week’s 6.95% and up from 6.27% the same week a year ago.

Mortgages 511
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Zillow, ShowingTime sue 2 multiple listing services

Housing Wire

Zillow Group and ShowingTime are taking two multiple listing services (MLSs) to court, due to their allegedly anticompetitive behavior. On Friday, Zillow Group and ShowingTime filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Arizona against Arizona Regional MLS and Wisconsin -based Metro MLS. The lawsuit also names MLS Aligned , the parent company of showing platform Aligned Showings.

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Maximizing Your Online Presence: Tips for Real Estate Agents on Social Media

Speaker: Sarah Santa Ana, Real Estate Coach, Move4Free Realty

Networking is one of the crucial elements in every real estate organization's success. Both agents and real estate companies need to maintain robust networking links. This is why social media is essential for any real estate professional! Social media enables you to stay in touch with your present clients, maintain connections with your past clients, and engage potential customers and investors.

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First American cybersecurity attack disrupts closings over holidays

Housing Wire

The nation’s second largest title insurer , First American , as well as some of its subsidiaries, remain offline as of Wednesday morning in the wake of the title firm’s Dec. 20 cybersecurity incident. The systems outage has derailed closings across the country over the holidays for homebuyers and sellers using the company’s title services in more than 2,000 locations.

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HUD proposes 30-day notice rule for public housing rent nonpayment

Housing Wire

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday published a proposal that would require public housing agencies (PHA) to provide 30 days’ notice before filing an eviction notice in court for nonpayment of rent. PHAs with tenants in public housing and owners of properties participating in HUD multifamily project-based rental assistance programs would need to provide “written notification at least 30 days” before a court filing for an eviction due to rent nonpayment.

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Mortgage rates continue a downward trend in the twilight of 2023

Housing Wire

As we prepare to bid adieu to 2023, mortgage rates this week again stayed below seven percent. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.61% as of Dec. 28, a slight decrease from the 6.67% rate recorded on Dec. 21 according to Freddie Mac ‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.93% this week, down from 6.95% one week ago.

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Hackers accessed data of 1.3M customers in Fidelity cyberattack

Housing Wire

Mortgage subservicer Loancare informed authorities that the data of about 1.3 million customers was compromised following a cyberattack in November on its parent company, the big four title firm Fidelity National Financial (FNF). This data includes customers’ social security numbers. The company informed officials in Maine and California that 1,316,938 customers had information accessed by hackers during the incident.

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Rise of The Apps: Building Your Dream Tech Stack For Real Estate Success

Speaker: Trey Willard, Realtor/Team Leader at Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

In order to create continued success in today’s real estate market, realtors need to utilize an arsenal of technology that will increase their efficiency and presence on social media. Using technology to manage your prospects and tap into their needs through websites, social media, and other channels is critical for real estate success in 2022 and beyond.

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Inflation data is good news for real estate in 2024

Housing Wire

Today’s inflation reports show that Federal Reserve rate cuts are in play in 2024 — not because of the labor market breaking, but because real rates are too high. If the labor market gets weaker, meaning jobless claims break over 323,000 on the four-week moving average, we can get even more rate cuts. The labor market is not there yet so for now we can focus on the fact that the Fed overhiked, and because of that, they have room to cut.

Land 505
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Promising signs abound for 2024 housing market

Housing Wire

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and December is well under way, we can start looking ahead to the 2024 housing market. New listings and home sales remain low this week while available inventory of unsold homes is finally falling across the country after rising with mortgage rates late into November. It’s looking like we’ll end 2023 with higher housing inventory than this time last year.

Marketing 505
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DataDigest: Mortgage rates aren’t causing delinquencies. Disasters are

Housing Wire

In September 2022, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.1%, according to Freddie Mac data. Fast-forward one year, and the rate averaged 7.2%, an expensive difference for many homebuyers (rates have since started to drop ). But compare mortgage delinquencies over the same period: 2.8% in September 2022, 2.8% in September 2023, according to CoreLogic data.

Mortgages 504
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Home prices increased 6.3% over last year in October: FHFA

Housing Wire

U.S. house prices increased year over year in October, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index. However, the data shows it slowed down compared to the previous month. In fact, home prices climbed 6.3% from October 2022 to October 2023, compared to 5.5% year over year in September, according to the FHFA HPI released on Tuesday.

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Driving Profit: 4 Pillars for Growing Your Real Estate Brokerage

In the rapidly changing real estate landscape, achieving profitability requires a strategic approach beyond traditional methods. Our guide, "The 4 Pillars to Brokerage Profitability," outlines four essential pillars for scaling your real estate business: a seamless lead-to-close technology ecosystem, tailored integrated solutions for teams and agents, value-added success services and community support, and consumer-centric operations throughout the full homeownership lifecycle.