Wed.May 26, 2021

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Lenders pick up the pace in closing mortgages

Housing Wire

The average time to close on a mortgage has decreased for a fourth consecutive month to 51 days, according to a new study from ICE Mortgage Technology. The study, ICE’s Origination Insight Report, also found April to be the second consecutive month of slowdown in share of refinances among total originations, dropping to 56% from 63% in March. The percentage of purchase mortgages increased to 43% of total closed loans.

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Buying a Home Is Still Affordable

Keeping Current Matters

The last year has put emphasis on the importance of one’s home. As a result, some renters are making the jump into homeownership while some homeowners are re-evaluating their current house and considering a move to one that better fits their current lifestyle. Understanding how housing affordability works and the main market factors that impact it may help those who are ready to buy a home narrow down the optimal window of time in which to make a purchase.

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Mortgage applications decrease 4%

Housing Wire

After two straight weeks of increases , mortgage applications dropped 4.2% for the week ending May 21, 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association ‘s weekly mortgage applications survey. “Demand is robust throughout the country, but homebuyers continue to be held back by the lack of homes for sale and rapidly increasing home prices,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

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BMO Revises Worst-Case Forecast For Canadian Real Estate To A Much Larger Drop

Better Dwelling

Canadian real estate’s high flying prices are increasing the risk of a large correction. BMO Q2 2021 disclosures show the bank made big revisions to its risk forecast. In the best-case scenario, they see exuberance pushing prices more than twice as high as previously thought. In the worst case, they’ve more than doubled the size […].

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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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Freddie Mac taps Michael DeVito as next CEO

Housing Wire

Nearly six months after David Brickman stepped down, government-sponsored entity Freddie Mac has tapped ex- Wells Fargo mortgage executive Michael DeVito to assume the role of CEO. DeVito, who spent more than two decades at Wells Fargo before retiring last year , will take the helm of the GSE on June 1. “I am delighted to announce that, after an exhaustive search, the Board of Directors has chosen Michael DeVito as the next CEO of Freddie Mac,” said Sara Mathew, non-executive chair of Fred

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Ocwen to buy $48B MSR package from AmeriHome

Housing Wire

If you have any mortgage servicing rights you’re looking to offload, you may want to give Ocwen Financial a call. A few weeks after striking a deal to buy $14 billion of mortgage servicing rights from Texas Capital Bank , a subsidiary of Ocwen has agreed to buy $48.3 billion of conventional MSR from AmeriHome Mortgage. Ocwen’s subsidiary PHH Mortgage Corp. will acquire 178,000 loans sold to or securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , boosting its overall total servicing portfolio

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Median Age of Construction Workforce

Eye on Housing

NAHB analysis of the most recent 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data reveals that the median age of construction workers is 41, the same as a typical worker in the national labor force. While the residential construction has been adding jobs during the pandemic, access to skilled labor is still a business challenge in 2021. The median age of construction.

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NYC, LA and SF residents are moving to these cities

Housing Wire

Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Austin and Atlanta were the most popular destinations for Redfin.com users looking to move to a different area last month, with many of the potential homebuyers coming from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. The analysis, which found that nearly one-third of users looked to move to a different metro area in April, is based on a sample of more than two million Redfin.com users who searched for homes across 87 metro areas.

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Realogy’s Sherry Chris Shares Her Real Estate Marketing Insight

Realty Biz

If there is one thing in this world that remains certain, it’s the fact that legends are busy and difficult to catch up with. Fortunately, even in a worldwide pandemic and cataclysm, many times we find even the most famous and influential leaders are a lot more accessible than we think. Sherry Chris, the President, and CEO, Realogy Expansion Brands, is one of those people. .

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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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CRT protects GSEs, taxpayers from unexpected disasters

Housing Wire

After reading the recent report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency on the performance of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’ s credit risk transfer programs, anyone unfamiliar with the purposes of CRT might understandably conclude that the GSEs vastly overpaid capital market investors and insurance providers to transfer credit risk off their books. After all, the FHFA reported that since 2013, the GSEs had paid approximately $15 billion in interest and premiums for their CRT coverage while receivin

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5 Harsh Realities You’ll Face If You Renovate This Summer

Realtor.com

Getty Images One of the more tangible side effects of the coronavirus pandemic is that, with all the time we’ve clocked at home, many of us are itching to renovate our space—whether that’s with a kitchen remodel , new home office, half-bath , or even more ambitious projects. And as COVID-19 begins easing up in many areas, you might be wondering: Has the time finally arrived to hire contractors to turn your renovation dreams into reality?

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Domestic Sawmill Output Not Keeping Up with Construction

Eye on Housing

The historic climb for lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building materials, is a significant limiting factor for home building in 2021. Despite a historically low level of overall housing inventory and solid demand due to low mortgage interest rates and demographics, new construction has been unable to add additional needed supply to the market, resulting.

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NSDCC Frenzy Monitor

BubbleInfo

To help get a sense of the frenzy conditions, let’s monitor the number of active & pending listings per area. If the active (unsold) listings start to rise, we will know that pricing is becoming an issue. But so far, the demand for detached homes between Carlsbad and La Jolla is solid, and buyers are […].

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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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Don’t Believe the Headlines: Most Pandemic Buyers Happy With Their New Homes

Realtor.com

Getty Images The news seems to be filled these days with tearful tales of folks who bought homes for well over the asking price—some sight unseen—during the coronavirus pandemic. They lament that they bought these properties at the height of the real estate market, often spending more than they planned, and didn’t have the time to conduct more thorough inspections or determine whether the location was right for them.

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What is a good mortgage rate in today’s market?

The Mortgage Report

What is a good mortgage rate? That varies by borrower and lender. Here's how to find a good mortgage rate for your situation in today's market.

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White Families Have 10x Wealth of Black Families, According to New Research

Realty Biz

Household wealth in the U.S. is mostly concentrated in retirement accounts and home equity. Each accounts for roughly a third of all household wealth, according to an August 2020 U.S. Census report. However, this wealth is mostly concentrated among caucasian Americans. A new study by Clever confirms the extent of this racial wealth gap in the U.S. Household wealth.

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The Blueprint Sessions Episode #4: Atticus LeBlanc from PadSplit

GeekEstate

The Blueprint Sessions is a podcast for exceptional founders of exceptional startups that are disrupting the real estate industry. The goal is to provide a space for real estate startup founders to tell their stories to those who most need to hear them – potential investors, business partners, and forward-looking industry influencers. Besides the financials and the strategy, we’ll explore the human stories of the incredible entrepreneurs who are creating the future.

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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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We Asked Home Shoppers What They Want to Know About Homeowners Insurance—Here Are the Answers

Realtor.com

Here’s what’s on their minds, with answers from the experts at Allstate. Home is where the heart is … as well as a lot of other possessions. That’s why getting quality, reliable homeowners insurance is about so much more than checking an item off the to-do list when you’re buying a home. So we asked home shoppers what they want to know about homeowners insurance, and they delivered—with questions on everything from claims to coverage to what exactly escrow has to do with insurance.

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Start up creates online platform to make building homes easier

The American Genius for Real Estate

(HOMEOWNERSHIP) Atmos wants to help simplify the dream home building process by moving it online. Their platform will help you find builders, designers, and financing options. The post Start up creates online platform to make building homes easier appeared first on The American Genius Real Estate.

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Decluttering for Dummies: 6 Tips To Get Your Collection of Cleaning Supplies Under Control

Realtor.com

Getty Images One thing we all have too much of (especially postpandemic) are cleaning supplies. Whether you store yours under a kitchen sink, in the bathroom, in a closet—or all of the above—we’re here to help you get those unruly cleaning supplies in order. In this installment of “ Decluttering for Dummies ,” we’ve got all the details from the organizing experts on how to get your collection of cleaning supplies under control.

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Can the No. 1 Agent Business Challenge Be Solved for Free?

RIS Media

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports that 93% of homebuyers and sellers claim they are happy with their agent and would use them again. Less than 13% actually do. Why? Most experts agree that, as an industry, the No. 1 business challenge facing real estate professionals is improper or inadequate customer follow-up. But is this an anecdotal explanation, or is it based in reality?

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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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Florida Tax Holiday For Hurricane Supplies Begins This Week

Waterfront Properties

Starting this Friday, shoppers across the state of Florida can avoid certain sales tax on items in preparation with the start of the new hurricane season. Hurricane season begins in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1st and continues until November 30th. For a few short days, shoppers can save money by putting together and gathering your stockpiles to prepare in case of a storm.

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How to Monetize Your Real Estate Brokerage’s Value Proposition

RIS Media

Conveying Your Value Clearly Will Help Attract and Retain Agents. What is it about a real estate company that makes an agent want to join or stay with a company? Does your firm have a great value proposition? There are as many answers to that question as there are real estate agents. Every office or company in the real estate industry has its own pay structure, support systems, culture and other attributes that make it unique in its market.

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HomeLight Trade-In™ and HomeLight Cash Offer™ launch in Texas

HomeLight

We’ve all seen it: the past decade of innovation in real estate has focused entirely on making it easier to search for the home of your dreams. But that’s when reality hits: there’s been little, if any, innovation around the mechanics of actually buying or selling a property – the most complex and challenging part of the process. Millions of homeowners still face real estate’s largest catch-22: .

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A Scrap Dealer Makes It Big in Queen Anne Style on Highland Boulevard

Brownstoner

Editor’s note: This story is an update of one that ran in 2013. Read the original here. If you’ve ever seen the huge scrap yards near Lowe’s in Gowanus, you can imagine that there’s money to be made in scrap metals. A man named Andrew Watson knew this to be true,… Read More > The post A Scrap Dealer Makes It Big in Queen Anne Style on Highland Boulevard appeared first on Brownstoner.

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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.