Housing Wire

JANUARY 3, 2025

The California Department of Insurance unveiled a new regulation this week that aims to increase homeowners insurance coverage in areas prone to wildfires , a response to the recent pullback in policies by several major insurers. Announced by California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday, the regulation is under administrative review and is set to take effect by the end of January, according to reporting by The Associated Press (AP).

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Design Marketing As-is Sales 523

Real Estate News

JANUARY 3, 2025

After remaining largely stable during the second half of 2024, recent threats from agents and local associations could result in further declines this year.

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Agents 362

Housing Wire

JANUARY 9, 2025

Several fires burning more than 45 square miles in the Los Angeles area have forced more than 100,000 residents from their homes and killed five people, The Associated Press reported on Thursday. Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed, with many displaced residents scouting for rental properties and temporary shelter.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he wants to eliminate property taxes in the state. In a post on X, the governor said that taxing land/property “is the more oppressive and ineffective” form of taxation. “Property taxes are local, not state. So wed need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60

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Development

Housing Wire

JANUARY 16, 2025

The 10-year yield and mortgage rates have been on a wild ride lately, even testing my top-end forecast at 7.25%, but today, the 10-year yield fell after remarks by Fed President Chris Waller about whether the Fed would do even more rate cuts than the market was anticipating. His statement on this, in a CNBC interview : If inflation continues on this path through the beginning of 2025, it’s reasonable to think that possibly rate cuts could happen in the first half of the year.” This w

Mortgages 511

Mortgages Residential Construction Marketing 511

Housing Wire

JANUARY 17, 2025

Todays housing starts data exceeded estimates; however, a closer examination of the report with the builder confidence reveals that the recent rise in mortgage rates , approaching 7.25%, has negatively affected builder sentiment. Since late 2022, our analysis indicates that mortgage rates in the 6%-6.5% range are positive to grow sales, whereas rates at 7% and above especially 7.50% or higher significantly impact the builder data.

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Mortgages Construction Sales As-is 488

Housing Wire

JANUARY 27, 2025

Todays new home sales report beat market expectations, just like last weeks existing home sales report. However, a detailed analysis of the data explains why housing permits continue to remain at recession-level figures. Builders are struggling to get clarity on how many homes they can sell in this rate environment in the future. Without more clarity on mortgage rates , substantial growth in housing permits is unlikely.

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Sales Construction Mortgages Residential 478

Housing Wire

JANUARY 27, 2025

New home sales continue to be a bright spot in a dismal housing market. The December report from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development shows new-home sales registering at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000, good for a 6.7% rise year over year and 3.6% higher than November. Even better, new home sales for the calendar year 2024 are estimated at 683,000, which is 2.5% more than 2023 and the highest sales have been since 2021.

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Sales New Construction MLS Mortgages 476

Housing Wire

JANUARY 24, 2025

Existing home sales ended the year on a positive note , which aligns with our weekly Housing Market Tracker data, but something surprising is that home prices firmed up late in the year as well. We observed a shift in the forward-looking data starting in the summer, which continued throughout the year. Notably, we compared the data from 2022 and 2023 and noticed positive year-over-year data starting in October 2024, which you can see in the chart below.

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Sales Mortgages As-is Marketing 482

Housing Wire

JANUARY 10, 2025

Real estate and mortgage firms are stepping up to help housing professionals and the Southern California community as wildfires ravage the area. Here’s a roundup of the companies and people offering help, which will be updated with new information as it becomes available. Help for those in the community Coldwell Banker Realty in Southern California, which is affiliated with Anywhere , created a Facebook group page for its network to coordinate a wide variety of needs from short- and long-t

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Land Agents As-is Industrial 488

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.

Industrial

Housing Wire

JANUARY 9, 2025

This week, the Seattle City Council had its first meeting of 2025 and housing was a key topic of discussion. But if the meeting itself was any indication, determining a path forward for the citys severe housing shortage will be a struggle as elected leaders attempt to ascertain a sustainable plan for the next decade, according to reporting by The Seattle Times.

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Construction Commercial Land Development 447

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

As wildfires tear through Southern California and firefighters battle winds up to 100 mph, tens of thousands of residents have evacuated. The looming impacts on real estate and insurance are also at the forefront of Californians minds. According to Anthony Marrone, the fire chief for Los Angeles County , the wildfires have torched more than 1,000 structures, killing at least two people and injuring several more.

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Banks As-is Development Closing 418

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

Heading into the 2025 housing market, we havent had this many homeowners with mortgage rates over 6% since 2016. According to the latest FHFA data , as of Q3 2024, 17.2% of outstanding mortgages, around 8.7 million borrowers, carry a mortgage with an interest rate over 6%. In the last decade, as more and more homebuyers financed their purchases with mortgage rates in the 4s or lower, an interesting thing happened: We held on to these homes longer and resold them less often.

Mortgages 488

Mortgages Finance Equity Loans 488

Housing Wire

JANUARY 23, 2025

Fannie Mae s title insurance pilot program could save borrowers up to $2.19 billion. This is according to a study released in January by Legal Economics Andrew Rodrigo Nigrinisand Todd Zywicki of the George Mason Universitys Antonin Scalia School of Law.Nigrinis is a former enforcement economist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In their analysis, Nigrinis and Zywicki found that borrowers refinancing their mortgage could save an estimated $2.19 billion in total or as much as $1

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Title Land Loans Closing costs 468

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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.

Agents

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 8, 2025

Another jobs week has come to an end, and amid the chaotic headlines about job numbers, tariffs , and the leadership of the Treasury , mortgage rates remained calm. Better mortgage spreads are limiting how high rates can rise in 2025. This situation contrasts with the challenges the market faced in 2023, during the banking crisis when the Federal Reserve was still raising rates.

Mortgages 489

Mortgages Banks As-is Sales 489

Housing Wire

JANUARY 6, 2025

Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance , part of Warren Buffetts conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway , has been accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of manipulating underwriting standards and setting borrowers up to fail in manufactured home loans. The consumer watchdog on Monday filed a lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Tennessee against Vanderbilt for purported violations of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.

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Loans Finance Lending Mortgages 448

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Home price appreciation across the country is barely positive compared to last year at this time. Depending on how you measure it, home prices are about 2% higher on average across the country than last year at this time. Late last year, prices were about 4% to 5% above last year. Now, were looking at 2%. The question worth asking now, is what happens the rest of this spring.

Sales 447

Sales Marketing Mortgages As-is 447

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 1, 2025

Higher mortgage rates are forcing many first-time homebuyers to adopt a “wait-and-see” approach to the market. According to HomeLight ‘s Top Agent Insights report released this week, real estate agents are feeling this and are being forced to switch up tactics to attract buyers. HomeLight is an Arizona -based real estate platform designed to connect agents with clients.

Purchase and sale agreement 481

Purchase and sale agreement Mortgages Agents Brokerage 481

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Sales

Housing Wire

JANUARY 28, 2025

Nationstar Mortgage currently doing business as Mr. Cooper has agreed to settle a lawsuit which alleges that the company violated mortgage servicing laws and forced borrowers into foreclosure. Attorneys general and mortgage regulators in 50 states, as well the District of Columbia, agreed to a settlement that requires Mr. Cooper to provide $5.8 million in payments to eligible borrowers.

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Inspection Loans Mortgages As-is 443

Housing Wire

JANUARY 2, 2025

Rising mortgage rates suppressed applications in the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) final mortgage applications survey index of 2024, released on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, application volume dropped significantly even with a seasonal adjustment to account for the holidays. Mortgage demand declined 21.9% from two weeks earlier during the week ending Dec. 27, the MBA reported.

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FHA loan Mortgages VA loan Loans 468

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

Financial advisers are professionals uniquely suited to assist their clients with assessing and managing health care costs in retirement. But consumers who have access to a planners services do not appear to be better informed about the associated costs than people who do not use an adviser, according to a new research brief from Boston College s Center for Retirement Research.

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Investor As-is 428

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

The current environment of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is evolving. There is constant movement in the mortgage industry with the desire for growth and expansion. It is easy to become blinded by the end goal of increasing loan volume and quality origination talent. Thus, it has never been more important to focus on due diligence in analyzing a mortgage industry acquisition target.

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Due diligence Purchase and sale agreement Industrial Mortgages 417

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.

Agents

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

Officials with the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) are reportedly moving to aggressively cut costs, following a leadership change and audit of its financial situation. The agencys new chief financial officer reportedly identified as much as $2.8 million in misappropriated federal funds that he said were used inappropriately by his predecessors.

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Bankruptcy Finance Development As-is 393

Housing Wire

JANUARY 9, 2025

In 2024, more people moved out of Illinois than into the Prairie State. According to the National Movers Study conducted by United Van Lines , 60% of moves in Illinois last year were outbound, which was the second-highest percentage of outbound moves among all states. The most popular reasons for relocating out of state were family (cited by 25.9% of respondents), jobs (20.7%) and retirement (20.3%).

Marketing 418

Marketing Agents As-is Mortgages 418

Housing Wire

JANUARY 7, 2025

Experian has become the latest focus of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as the agency intensifies its regulatory and enforcement activity ahead of the impending White House transition. On Tuesday, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against Experian in a U.S. district court in California, accusing the credit reporting giant of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).

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Finance Banks Mortgages Loans 418

Housing Wire

JANUARY 22, 2025

The Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) is taking aim at 165 real estate agents, brokerage firms and landlords in its latest series of lawsuits filed in Chicago. The group claims that this is the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history. The lawsuits, filed on Monday, are the result of an undercover investigation conducted by HRI. In total, the housing watchdog group filed 176 complaints against 165 defendants with the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

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Brokerage Agents As-is 418

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.

Agents

Housing Wire

JANUARY 16, 2025

Mortgage and property tax payments are not the only expenses that prospective homeowners need to consider. Homeowners associations (HOAs) are commonplace, and more of them are requiring owners to pay up, according to a survey by Realtor.com. Realtor.com’s report found that 40.5% of listings in 2024 had some sort of HOA fee and these expenses became even more costly.

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New Construction Construction Mortgages Sales 397

Housing Wire

JANUARY 30, 2025

Pending home sales ended the year on a down note, according to data published on Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Compared to a month prior, contract signings fell 5.5% in December, with the Pending Home Sales Index coming in at a reading of 74.4. An index reading of 100 is equal to the level of contract signings in 2001. Annually, pending home sales were down 5.0% compared to a year prior in December.

Sales 429

Sales MLS Mortgages Marketing 429

Housing Wire

JANUARY 15, 2025

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) released an in-depth study this week in which they argue that decades of policy missteps have created a shortage of affordable housing across the U.S. and are pushing homeownership out of reach for millions of Americans. The full study , which was published in the January edition of The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, goes back 20 years to examine the origins of the current housing crisis.

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Lending New Construction Staging Construction 418

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Recent natural disasters such as the LA wildfires show that climate change risks can shift the real estate and mortgage industries on a dime. And these changes could be extremely costly. According to a new study, climate-induced shifts could significantly lower property values over time. But this could have a double-edged effect, depending on the market.

As-is 397

As-is Marketing Industrial Mortgages 397

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Agents