Mon.Mar 01, 2021

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FHFA doubles affordable housing disbursement to $1B

Housing Wire

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria announced on Monday that he has authorized the disbursement of $1.09 billion for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ‘s affordable housing allocations. This is the largest amount ever disbursed by the government sponsored enterprises, and more than double what was provided the prior year. Of the GSEs’ provided funds, $711 million will go to the U.S.

Finance 467
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What Are the Benefits of a 20% Down Payment?

Keeping Current Matters

If you’re thinking of buying a home this year, you may be wondering how much money you need to come up with for your down payment. Many people may think it’s 20% of the loan to secure a mortgage. While there are plenty of lower down payment options available for qualified buyers who don’t want to put 20% down, it’s important to understand how a larger down payment can have great benefits too.

Equity 243
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3 underrated mortgage products to consider

Housing Wire

The 30-year mortgage is easily the most popular and talked-about mortgage product out there. After all, in January 2021, 30-year loans accounted for a whopping three-quarters of all mortgage originations in the country. But make no mistake: They’re not your only option when buying or refinancing a home. In fact, they could actually cost you more (often significantly more) if used incorrectly.

Mortgages 420
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Watch Sheep Stroll Through Prospect Park in a Rare Newsreel From the 1920s

Brownstoner

It is just a snippet of footage, but a rare bit of film gives a glimpse of something that once greeted generations of Brooklynites: a flock of sheep taking a spring-time stroll through Prospect Park. The shepherd and his collies that guide the bleating herd, including some scampering lambs, were captured… Read More > The post Watch Sheep Stroll Through Prospect Park in a Rare Newsreel From the 1920s appeared first on Brownstoner.

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3 Real Estate Office Hacks to Help Kickstart the Busy Season

Ready to better your Back Office? Dive into the secrets to a powerhouse back office with Brokermint expert, Jessica Souza. In this free download, she shares her 3 transformative hacks designed to clean house, get everyone on the same page, and set yourself up for success. From optimizing agent profiles to ensuring flawless transactions and boosting agent retention, these strategies are your ticket to a seamless operation.

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Compass losing money, gaining market share

Housing Wire

The numbers are in: Compass lost $270 million in 2020, and the residential real estate brokerage generated $3.7 billion in revenue. Those numbers are from a statement Compass filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday afternoon, in which the brokerage proposed offering $500 million in class “A” common stock. For residential real estate professionals, Compass’s “S-1” – the financial disclosure statement a U.S. company must provide before trading on a Wall Street exchange – has be

Marketing 411

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Expect purchase application data to be negative in 2H 2021

Housing Wire

Logan Mohtashami HousingWire Lead Analyst. When economic data that is typically sticky has a waterfall dive followed by a quick parabolic recovery, forecasting a trend can be tricky. The MBA purchase application data changed during our year of COVID-19. In a typical, non-pandemic year, the bulk of the volume of purchase applications occurs in the heat months for housing, those being the second week of January to the first week of May.

Marketing 498
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Inside Ikea’s First Tiny House—and a Few Huge Catches Under the Hood

Realtor.com

Josiah & Steph Photography Ikea has finally jumped aboard the tiny-house trend. This megaretailer of budget-friendly home decor has just unveiled its first tiny house, which measures a mere 187 square feet. Ikea’s first tiny house Josiah & Steph Photography. While Ikea created and designed this unit, it isn’t selling it quite yet, as this was just a one-off—a collaboration with Vox Creative and tiny-home builder Escape, meant to showcase how homeowners can create “a sma

Design 126
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RE/MAX makes big Florida investment

Housing Wire

RE/MAX has greatly expanded its foothold in northeast Florida, buying Jacksonville brokerage mainstay Magnolia Properties. Magnolia Properties’ 125 agents are now part of RE/MAX Leading Edge, a franchisee based in St. Augustine, Florida, according to a RE/MAX company announcement Monday. Before the deal, RE/MAX Leading Edge had 40 agents. The deal shakes up the distinctive real estate market of Jacksonville, the largest U.S. city by physical area.

Brokerage 420
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Tax Deductions on Home Equity Loans and HELOCs: What You Can (and Can’t) Write Off

Realtor.com

iStock Do you have a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC)? Homeowners often tap their home equity for some quick cash, using their property as collateral. But before doing so, you need to understand how this debt will be treated come tax season. With the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the rules of home equity debt changed dramatically.

Equity 119
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Need Curated Pre-foreclosure Lists to Generate New Real Estate Leads? Trellis Has the Data!

Trellis is a state trial court research and analytics platform that provides Real Estate Professionals (Buyers, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, etc.) with LEADS on Pre-Foreclosures, Lis Pendes, Distressed Assets and more — to help uncover **new** opportunities and grow their business. The process is quick and easy — and all in real time. Trellis will supply you with a link to the relevant dockets, a Leads sheet and access to its UI where applicable.

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U.S. Bank’s Fred Bolstad to speak at Spring Summit

Housing Wire

Fred Bolstad, executive vice president of retail lending at U.S. Bank Home Mortgage , will speak on a panel titled What Mortgage Tech is Solving Now at HousingWire’s Spring Summit on March 4. Bolstad will be joined on the panel by Dave Vermillion , founder and CEO of Mortgage Champions , and Lisa Patterson, chief originations officer at Homepoint. At U.S.

Banks 391
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Charming Castle on the Hudson River Requires a Royal Restoration

Realtor.com

Houlihan Lawrence A castle high on a hill overlooking the Hudson River awaits a royal restoration. Listed for $3.45 million, the stone castle on Old Stone Road in Garrison, NY, has never been on the market. “It’s a notable piece of architecture that the area is known for,” says the listing agent, Melissa Carlton. “When you think of the Hudson Valley, this picture comes up quite often.”.

Land 119
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A slowdown in exits pushes forbearance volume up

Housing Wire

After one month of steady declines, servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume rose one basis point last week to 5.23%, according to data released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group pointed to a slowdown in exits coupled with an uptick in requests for last week’s increase. Once again, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac boasted the smallest forbearance share with servicers’ portfolios remaining unchanged from the week prior at 2.97%.

Loans 446
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Canadian Taxpayers Paid Households Up To 3x Income Lost During The Pandemic

Better Dwelling

Canadian taxpayers more than made up for household income lost during the pandemic. A new study from Statistic Canada (Stat Can) shows the change of employment earnings in Q2 2020. On average, every demographic lost income. However, due to generous pandemic supports, some households received more than 3x the income lost. About Today’s Data Today […].

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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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Keller Williams, and brokerage’s diversity shortcomings

Housing Wire

Marc King’s latest Instagram post is a quote from Dr. Suess – “You have to be odd to be number one.”. But King’s elevation to Keller Williams president this week isn’t odd in one way – he’s a white man. King also replaces a white man, the abruptly departed Josh Team, and reports to another white man, Carl Liebert, the CEO of the brokerage’s holding company, KWx.

Brokerage 370
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First-time investor? 5 things to consider before starting

Realty Biz

After the huge social and economic upheavals of 2020, it’s understandable that many of us have started to look more closely at our financial health. With interest rates at historic lows, letting money sit in the bank no longer makes sense. It’s natural to consider more lucrative ways to make our cash reserves work for us. If you’re considering other ways to grow your money, the good news is that there have never been more options.

Investor 113
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Don’t sleep on non-QM products

Housing Wire

With low interest rates and a booming refinance market, it is natural that loan officers and brokers are focused on agency loans and also a thriving purchase market. However, with a futures rate curve that has recently been increasing, only so many loans qualify for refinancing, and this customer base will continually shrink as rates ascend. Getting experience now is the appropriate time for originators to consider expanding to non-QM products – not just to grow their business and diversity thei

Lending 391
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Add value to your homes basement by Waterproofing

Realty Biz

Are you looking for a space in your near vicinity to open an art studio or an art gallery while having a basement? My friend, why not use your basement to transform your dreams into reality? The majority of the people ignore their basement space because it is in such a bad condition where you cannot pursue your dreams, and this is the reason why they look for extra space outside of their home.

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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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What the forbearance extension means for homeowners

Housing Wire

In this HousingWire Daily episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath covers the recent COVID-19 forbearance extensions. In February, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it had extended COVID-19 foreclosure and forbearance moratoriums for FHA and USDA loans to June 30, 2021. For the episode, Greg McBride, senior vice president and chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com , joins the podcast to share his insights on what the COVID-19 forbearance and foreclosure relief prog

Finance 370
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Canadian Rate of Mortgages In Arrear Hits 1990 Low, But Climbs In Ontario and BC

Better Dwelling

Canada’s low mortgage arrears rate isn’t as easy to unpack as it usually is. The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) mortgage arrears rate dropped in November. That’s generally a good thing, but there’s a little more to it this time. Mortgages in arrears are rising in Ontario and B.C., but the rate is low due to […]. The post Canadian Rate of Mortgages In Arrear Hits 1990 Low, But Climbs In Ontario and BC appeared first on Better Dwelling.

Mortgages 112
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HousingWire Magazine: March 2021

Housing Wire

At this point, you’re probably used to seeing Kelsey Ramírez ’s name in this spot. As the HousingWire magazine editor, she not only profiled and covered the top leaders and stories in the housing industry, but she also spearheaded the redesign of this magazine, taking the content and creative to a whole new level. For that, she deserves all the kudos, and I have some big shoes to fill.

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Vaccine rollout to inspire more home buying, Zillow says

Realty Biz

The COVID-19 vaccine is likely to add more buyers and sellers to an already red hot real estate market. A new survey from Zillow finds a large majority (70%) of homeowners say they would be comfortable moving to a new home after widespread COVID-19 vaccine distribution, a meaningful bump from the 52% who currently feel that way. That amounts to homeowners in more than 14 million homes feeling newly comfortable moving after widespread vaccination.2.

Principal 109
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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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The mortgage workforce is back, but for how long?

Housing Wire

By late spring of 2020, the loan pipeline at Princeton Mortgage was full. And CEO Rich Weidel’s staff was absolutely slammed. He needed to scale up ­— and quickly ­— to manage record origination volume. Like most other lenders, Princeton, which operates in retail, wholesale and correspondent channels, fell back on the familiar strategy of hiring industry veterans to plug the gaps.

Mortgages 366
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Interior designers help clients find homes with potential

Realty Biz

Some picky home buyers have started bringing along an interior designer to view the homes they’re interested in, so they can get feedback on how the property might be renovated to better suit their design tastes. With home prices across the U.S. soaring, it’s though that some buyers are doing this so they can better consider more affordable homes that have the potential to be refitted to meet their needs, Forbes.com reported.

Design 109
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The great fintech acceleration

Housing Wire

We all have our own prominent COVID-19 memory from 2020. Mine was on Sunday, March 15. I sat at home that morning typing out an employee memo that effective immediately all team members would be expected to work from home and that the office would be closed to outside visitors until further notice. At the time, I thought this was a two-week precaution.

Closing 360
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Mortgage and refinance rates today, March 1, 2021

The Mortgage Report

Today’s mortgage and refinance rates Last Friday, average mortgage rates either held steady or edged lower, depending on your lender. That was a relief after a terrible couple of weeks […].

Mortgages 109
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5 Data Proven Ways Agents Can Do 18% More Business

Curious as to how you could do 18% more business? How about 14 more transaction sides per year? Check out this infographic with data from a RealTrends study to learn more.