Housing Wire
APRIL 5, 2025
Mortgage rates recently hit a year-to-date low, coinciding with ongoing market disruptions from tariffs. The more encouraging story, however, is that the spring season is shaping up positively for the housing market. Notably, purchase applications show growth both year-to-date and year-over-year. Additionally, our weekly pending contract data and new listings are trending positively compared to last year.
Inman
APRIL 22, 2025
State regulators are scrutinzing Realtor practices and mandating consumer-friendly, fiduciary-level professional behavior, Summer Goralik writes.
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Housing Wire
APRIL 9, 2025
Mortgage applications jumped 20.0% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications Survey for the week ending April 4, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 20% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increased 35% from the previous week as mortgage rates took a dip.
Housing Wire
APRIL 14, 2025
Over the weekend, fears rose that the 10-year yield would climb to 5%, leading to 8% mortgage rates. However, Monday morning arrived with a sense of calm. The 10-year yield is now nearing a more balanced position at 4.35%, reflecting what I believe it should have always been after the jobs report two Fridays ago. As I write this, the 10-year yield currently stands at 4.37%.
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Housing Wire
APRIL 7, 2025
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae has reportedly laid off as many as 700 employees, with 200 of the layoffs focused on members of the Telugu-speaking community over irregularities uncovered related to charitable donations. According to reports from outlets including TechStory , HRKatha and the Times of India ,700 U.S.-based employees were fired within the first few days of April, including 200 workers who speak the Telugu language, which is primarily spoken in the Indian states of
Housing Wire
APRIL 3, 2025
Mortgage rates have reached the lowest levels of the year today as the 10-year yield dropped significantly on tariff news. The stock market reacted negatively to the news regarding tariffs, resulting in significant selling and a shift towards the bond market. In this week’s Housing Market Tracker , I mentioned that the 10-year yield level was stubbornly resistant and that we needed bad news to break through it.
Residential Realty Today brings together the best content for real estate professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Housing Wire
APRIL 8, 2025
UWM’s Jason Bressler and Google’s Oliver Parker United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) , the top mortgage lender in America, on Tuesday announced a strategic AI agreement with Google Cloud that the companies say will bring modernization to the mortgage industry. The partnership will see UWM blend Google Clouds advanced AI and data analytics capabilities with the lender’s technical solutions to create a faster, more intuitive and streamlined mortgage process.
Housing Wire
APRIL 10, 2025
Volatility is becoming the new norm in today’s commercial real estate market. If it isn’t rising interest rates or shifting rental trends, then growing technology is the driving force that prompts investors to evolve. They also face significant pressure to become faster and more efficient. A change is needed. To help investors survive uncertain times, professionals must understand market trends and develop a game plan for success.
Housing Wire
APRIL 17, 2025
Bill Ackman, the billionaire founder of Pershing Square Capital Management , has an audacious plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval. The proposal involves the federal government forgiving hundreds of billions of dollars while also reducing capital requirements. As a result, Ackman claims the plan would boost the stock prices of both companies to the $30 range without putting upward pressure on mortgage rates.
Housing Wire
APRIL 28, 2025
Over a month after Rocket Companies announced its $1.75 billion deal to acquire digital real estate brokerage firm Redfin , industry observers are still trying to understand the future of one key asset: Bay Equity Home Loans. While the companies remain quiet on their plans, some Bay Equity employees arent waiting for answerstheyre already looking for new jobs.
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.
Housing Wire
APRIL 7, 2025
While the housing market seems like the least of our financial worries right now as stock markets are melting down around the globe, we track housing here at HousingWire, so it opens the question: how quickly could we see impact in the housing market and in which data would we see it first? We have two competing forces that will impact home buyer demand.
Housing Wire
APRIL 8, 2025
The past few days have been highly turbulent for the stock and bond markets, resulting in dramatic shifts in mortgage rate pricing. When chaos enters the marketplace, it quickly makes its presence felt. This is a critical moment for all of us to stay informed and navigate these challenges together. I’ve been concerned over the past few days, emphasizing that without the recent tariff news , we likely wouldnt have seen mortgage rates drop to a year-to-date low last week.
Housing Wire
APRIL 10, 2025
Since 2022, Ive focused on the relationship between labor and Fed policy. Theres a common belief that a decrease in the inflation growth rate would lead to mortgage rates dropping below 6% as the Fed would cut more aggressively. However, we havent seen that improvement. Todays soft Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) inflation report indicates progress. However, it also highlights that we are still adjusting to the pandemic-related inflation that arose when supply chains were disrupted and recovered.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2025
Marc Trachtenberg chairman and CEO of Silk Title Company has spent a career in mortgage and title insurance companies finding ways to break from the status quo, creating innovative, forward-thinking solutions along the way. He doesnt plan to stop any time soon. He actively searches for new and groundbreaking ways to improve his companies and inject innovation and creativity into the industry.
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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.
Housing Wire
APRIL 3, 2025
Two-thirds of U.S. homeowners saw their insurance rates increase in 2024, according to a recent survey by ValuePenguin. Amid escalating costs , many policyholders worry their homes could become uninsurable in the future, while some have already received nonrenewal notices from their insurers. The survey of nearly 2,000 consumers found that 67% experienced rate increases in 2024, down slightly from 72% in 2023.
Housing Wire
APRIL 21, 2025
A majority of agents believe 2025 is going to be a great year for the housing market, with 85% saying they have an optimistic outlook , and 70% believing the market will be more stable, according to a new survey from Clever Real Estate. Although agents are split on whether its going to be a buyers market or a sellers market, 87% of agents predict that demand will remain very strong over the next year.
Housing Wire
APRIL 15, 2025
Over the last month, home sales have definitely picked up, especially when compared to last years very low levels. Weekly pending home sales counts have been at or above the year-ago levels for four weeks in a row now. This week, there were 3.8% more weekly pending home sales than last year at this time. In total, there are now nearly 2% more homes in contract nationally than a year ago.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2025
Navigating the home buying process often begins with deciding between a new build or an existing homeand while new construction offers exciting possibilities, it also comes with unique challenges. With years of experience guiding clients through the process, weve seen firsthand the most common mistakes, misconceptions and pitfalls that can turn an exciting journey into a stressful one.
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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.
Housing Wire
APRIL 21, 2025
Homebuyers paid an average of $4,661 in closing costs on purchase mortgages last year, according to a new report from LodeStar Software Solutions. The company released its first-ever purchase mortgage closing cost report. The findings showed that, on average, closing costs represented 1.06% of home sale prices at the national level. The median percentage came in slightly lower at 0.88%.
Housing Wire
APRIL 25, 2025
Nonprofit housing organization Enterprise Community Partners announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reversed a decision to terminate nearly $10 million in technical assistance funding, reinstating two key federal agreements tied to affordable housing efforts. The restored Community Compass and Distressed Cities agreements allow the Cleveland -based nonprofit to resume work supporting communities facing economic hardship.
Housing Wire
APRIL 2, 2025
Liberation Day has finally arrived, and what a wild day its been! The bond market and stock futures rose when the initial discussions about the 10% tariffs hit the market. But the real game changer? Those anticipated reciprocal tariffs sent the 10-year yield plummeting from 4.23% to 4.11%, currently trading at 4.13%. Since we believe in the close relationship between the 10-year yield and mortgage rates , we expect mortgage rates to decrease tomorrow if bond yields continue to decline.
Housing Wire
APRIL 9, 2025
As homeowners continue to invest in upgrading their living spaces, a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) highlights home remodeling projects that offer the greatest personal satisfaction, and those most likely to recoup costs. The 2025 Remodeling Impact Report , released Tuesday, found that adding a primary bedroom suite, upgrading the kitchen, and installing a new roof were the projects that brought homeowners
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.
Housing Wire
APRIL 9, 2025
A new report from Anytime Estimate , a subsidiary of Clever , reveals that while the vast majority of American homesellers still plan to work with real estate agents in 2025, concerns about trust, commission fees , and agent value are reshaping expectations of those entering the housing market. The survey of 1,000 homeowners planning to sell within the next year found that 91% intend to use a real estate agent.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2025
Patrick Stone, the founder and chairman of Williston Financial Group (WFG), is celebrating 50 years in the real estate industry a milestone that coincides with the 15th anniversary of WFG, which he launched in the wake of the Great Recession. Its surreal, Stone said. I started in April of 1975. I never thought Id still be at it five decades later, but I love this business the people, the challenge, the evolution of it all.
Housing Wire
APRIL 1, 2025
Baby boomers have overtaken millennials as the largest share of homebuyers , making up 42% of all purchases in the past year, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Millennials, who previously led home-buying trends, now account for 29%, down from 38% the previous year. NARs 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report found that Generation X buyers remained steady at 24% of the market.
Housing Wire
APRIL 10, 2025
Reverse mortgage professionals have long sought financial advisors as referral sources, but might find that those professionals are not particularly willing to entertain the notion that the product would be right for their clients. But when confronted with volatility in the markets, advisors who are more concerned with the risk of loss might start to slowly open themselves up to more conversations.
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.
Housing Wire
APRIL 18, 2025
Nearly half of real estate transactions reviewed in the first quarter of 2025 showed signs of potential wire and title fraud, according to a report from FundingShield. The company analyzed a portfolio of residential , commercial and business-purpose loans totaling approximately $80 billion. It found that 46.8% of these transactions contained issues that could lead to fraud, with each problematic loan averaging 2.5 errors the highest number on record.
Housing Wire
APRIL 1, 2025
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) continues to make leadership changes at the board and executive levels of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Capital One multifamily finance executive Grace Huebscher, who served as Chair of the Risk Committee and a member of several other committees, resigned from Freddie Mac ‘s board on March 24, according to TipRanks.
Housing Wire
APRIL 21, 2025
Veteran mortgage executive Randell Gillespie has been named president of Kansas City -based mortgage shop LeaderOne. Gillespie joins LeaderOne following a long stint at Thrive Mortgage and Lower , which merged in early 2024. He most recently served as chief production officer at the combined company before his departure in February 2025. This company was built for these times with an incredibly strong capital base, a genuine care culture, and forward thinking creativity supported by proprietary
Housing Wire
APRIL 22, 2025
Spring marks the peak season for the U.S. housing market, with more listings hitting the market and warmer weather making it easier for buyers to tour homes and explore their options. Traditionally, this season brings a surge in purchase activityand in 2025, that trend is especially important for lenders to watch closely against the backdrop of a high-interest rate environment.
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