Keeping Current Matters

OCTOBER 31, 2023

If you've been following the news recently, you might have seen articles about an increase in foreclosures and bankruptcies.

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Bankruptcy Marketing 355

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

A Kansas City jury has found the National Association of Realtors , HomeServices of America and Keller Williams guilty of colluding to inflate or maintain high commission rates through NAR’s Clear Cooperation Rule, in the Sitzer/Burnett buyer broker commission lawsuit. The defendants have been ordered to pay damages of $1.78 billion. The jury reached its verdict after a little over two weeks of testimony from the plaintiffs and defendants.

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Real Estate News

OCTOBER 31, 2023

After less than three hours of deliberation, the jury ruled for the plaintiffs in the landmark Sitzer/Burnett trial, awarding nearly $1.8 billion.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

We may be nearing the bottom in home sales even if mortgage rates don’t decline. As a result, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel in this crazy market cycle. At least, that’s what the data seems to suggest as inventory grows and new listings decline at a less aggressive rate than last year. To get the weekly picture of the housing market, watch the video above.

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Sales Staging Mortgages Marketing 511

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Real Estate News

OCTOBER 31, 2023

After the jury unanimously found for the plaintiffs in the Missouri case, the lead attorney announced he was filing a nationwide suit naming NAR, 7 brokerages.

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Brokerage 317

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — After 11 days of testimony , the eight-person jury here took just a little over two hours to decide its verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit trial. It found the National Association of Realtors , HomeServices of America and Keller Williams guilty of collusion to maintain high commission rates. Despite the guilty verdict, other than having to pay nearly $1.8 billion in damages, many questions still remain about what this means for the real estate industry, a

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Following July’s mini rally , home prices posted a 2.6% annual gain in August, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Month-over-month, the U.S. National Index posted a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.9%, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted a 1% increase each. The August level was the highest recorded since the index began in 1987.

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MLS Mortgages Sales Closing 497

Real Estate News

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The latest Case-Shiller Index found that home prices continued to rise for a seventh straight month despite high mortgage rates.

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Mortgages 278

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Though Chip Stella lives and works in Ipswich, Massachusetts, his focus is 1,500 miles away at a squat, windswept stone courthouse in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It’s at the Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse that the future of real estate agent commissions could potentially be decided. “I am pretty much obsessed with it,” the LandVest broker said of the trial, known as “Sitzer/Burnett” after the lead plaintiffs.

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Real Estate News

OCTOBER 31, 2023

With more trials over commission practices — and potentially hefty damage awards — looming, the settlement agreements could be a selling point.

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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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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The finances at nonbank mortgage companies will remain under pressure in 2024, despite some relief in mortgage rates , according to a new Fitch Ratings report. But the credit ratings agency has a “moderately deteriorating” outlook for the sector because earnings – along with origination volumes – “have likely reached trough levels.” In addition, companies should see modest improvement in operating results from reduced expense bases.

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Mortgages Finance Equity Sales 459

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Michael Ketchmark filed the new lawsuit just moments after a jury sided with his clients in the Sitzer | Burnett case.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

HousingWire recently spoke to Sandra Madigan, EVP of product strategy – servicing technology at ICE Mortgage Technology , about improving the home buying and ownership experience with technology and how the industry can do so thoughtfully. HousingWire: According to ICE Mortgage Technology’s 2023 Borrower Insights Survey, fewer than one in 10 borrowers want a fully digital experience (9%) despite many appreciating the convenience of digital processes and services.

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Technology Loan Officer Loans Banks 457

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Jurors on Tuesday shocked the real estate industry, awarding damages adding up to $5.36 billion to homesellers after deliberating for 2 hours and 28 minutes.

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The third week of the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit trial kicked off Monday with some final testimony from the defendants before making way for closing arguments from both parties. The final witness to testify on Monday morning was Jen Davis, the vice president of MAPS Coaching at defendant Keller Williams. Davis has served in this role since June 2022, which she disclosed during her cross examination by Michael Ketchmark, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

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Closing MLS Brokerage Agents 448

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

In a final push on Monday, attorneys for real estate franchisors and the National Association of Realtors argued that homesellers in the case failed to prove a conspiracy to inflate commissions.

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Closing MLS Brokerage Agents 195

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Real estate software development company Cedar announced this week that it has secured $3 million in seed funding to create a product that would help developers locate urban infill properties for potential development into housing. The company said it believes urban development complexities are pushing the construction of new housing further out of urban centers, contributing to an imbalance between supply and demand and, by extension, affordability challenges.

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Development Land Construction Investor 447

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The "401(k) for homeownership" helps first-time buyers achieve their goals on the way to homeownership with 4.51 percent APY high-yield savings accounts, as well as educational tools and matching opportunities with agents and lenders.

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Agents Technology Mortgages 195

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA), and the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) submitted a joint letter advocating for more mortgage financing options for manufactured homes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The letter, sent specifically to USDA’s Rural Housing Service (RHS), addresses a proposed rule aiming to expand financing options for manufactured home buyers and supports three key changes it would make.

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Loans Finance Construction Mortgages 435

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Classic TV-lover Sue “Pinky” Benson shares what she learned about being a real estate agent from Samantha, Darrin(s) and Tabitha Stephens, zany MIL Endora and nosey neighbor Gladys Kravitz.

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Agents 190

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The No. 1 reason a mortgage loan applicant is denied for a loan is a problem with their credit score. In good times when qualified mortgage borrowers are plentiful, most originators don’t give a suboptimal credit score a second glance. But when every loan matters, like the market we find themselves in today, it makes a lot of sense to take a closer look at the borrower’s credit score.

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Bankruptcy Loans Mortgages As-is 431

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

A trailer for the new season of the real estate reality TV series suggests that broker Jason Oppenheim feels his LA office's agents have slacked off during a sluggish market while "the agents in the OC work their asses off.

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Agents Marketing Brokerage 187

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Agents

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just made IRAR Trust Company (IRAR) its preferred provider for self-directed retirement plans, the trade organization announced on Tuesday. IRAR will provide “self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and solo 401(k) accounts to NAR members, their families, and association staff at the national, state and local levels,” according to a NAR press release. “Partnering with IRAR Trust Company underscores NAR’s dedication to delivering

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Agents 424

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

If you want to join the ranks of the top listing agents in your market, trainer and author Bernice Ross says that Cohen's proven strategies and tactics can help you become a top listing agent as well.

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Agents Marketing 183

Bigger Pockets

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Renting properties to tenants is a great way to earn passive income, but you must follow many laws and rules, including collecting security deposits. Before you begin renting to tenants, it’s important to understand the answer to what is a security deposit and all the factors that go into it.

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Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

The wrong social media post is like a vampire: It lives forever and sucks the lifeblood of your reputation. Trainer Rachael Hite offers three tips to repel bad juju online.

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Agents Marketing 183

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RIS Media

OCTOBER 31, 2023

KANSAS CITY—After four years working its way slowly through the federal judicial system and two weeks of contentious courtroom drama, the landmark Burnett class-action case delivered a massive blow to organized real estate today, with an eight-member jury deliberating for less than three hours before finding that real estate power players conspired to inflate commissions… The post Plaintiffs Triumph in Burnett Case as Jury Finds NAR, Brokerages Conspired to Fix Prices appeared first on RIS

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Brokerage Industrial Agents 134

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

While everyone waits and worries about the outcome of the current commission trial, there's already a perfectly simple solution to defining and communicating with buyers about your commission, writes broker-owner Teresa Boardman.

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Brokerage Agents Marketing 179

Bigger Pockets

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Mortgage demand continues to fall as rates break the 8% barrier. What comes next for the real estate market?

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Mortgages Marketing 134

Inman

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Available everywhere except New York, loanDepot's new "accessZERO" program provides a down payment of up to 5 percent in the form of a 10-year fully amortized second mortgage.

Mortgages 179

Mortgages 179

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