As American demographics shift, so do the priorities of homebuyers, and pets are playing an increased role in real estate decisions. “Did you know there are more households with pets than children?” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), wrote in a recent blog post. […]
More pets than kids: The increased role of animals in real estate Read More »
Baird & Warner has named Bill White Jr. as its new vice president of broker relations for mortgage and title services, marking his return to the firm after several years at Compass. In his new role, White will act as the primary liaison between real estate agents, attorneys and loan officers to support coordination across
Bill White Jr. returns to Baird & Warner as VP of broker relations Read More »
During a second straight day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is reviewing the Basel III rules (also known as the “Basel Endgame”), which would significantly increase bank capital requirements and could impact the mortgage industry, if implemented. Powell’s statement comes as the Fed prepares to vote
Powell: Fed is reviewing Basel III, supplemental leverage ratio rules Read More »
Beeline Title Holdings, a subsidiary of Beeline Holdings Inc., has closed what it says is one of the first residential real estate transactions funded through the sale of a cryptocurrency token backed by real property. The company described the deal as a milestone in merging decentralized finance with traditional title and escrow operations. Beeline executives
Beeline Title completes milestone crypto real estate deal Read More »
New home sales missed sales estimates significantly in Wednesday’s report and we have negative revisions to the previous months. The builders’ profit margins are dwindling, which means housing construction, which has been at early COVID-19 recession levels for some time, could worsen if mortgage rates stay elevated or head even higher. So, instead of focusing
US housing construction is dead with current mortgage rates Read More »
The average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate had already dipped to the lowest levels since May 1st at the start of the week. Two additional days of modest improvement brings us to the lowest levels since April 4th as of today. April 4th is probably a day that’s worth remembering. If rates take out
Lowest Rates in Over 2 Months Read More »
Housing regulator Bill Pulte has instructed the two government-sponsored enterprises he oversees, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to move toward recognizing crypto holdings without requiring conversion when assessing borrowers’ ability to repay, a move that could help bring digital currency further into the mainstream. He formally authorized this Wednesday and directed the GSEs to plan
Pulte pushes Fannie, Freddie to count crypto assets Read More »
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced plans to relocate from its longtime headquarters located in the nation’s capital to Alexandria, Virginia. Such a move had also been the subject of rumors since early in the second Trump administration, as its Department of Government Efficiency set out to target examples of what it classified
HUD announces move to new headquarters in Virginia Read More »
Mortgage rates rose slightly last week, but refinancing demand continued to drive a modest uptick in overall applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up 4 basis points last week to 6.88%, the MBA said. This was a bounce back from the week before when the
Uptick in refinancing leads to higher mortgage applications Read More »
Kevin Wall, co-president of First American Title Insurance Co., has abruptly exited his role from the largest individual underwriter in the nation, the company confirmed. His departure was first reported by Inside Mortgage Finance. Wall also headed up the company’s Agent/Lender Group, which consists of the Agency, Mortgage Solutions, Docutech, First American India, Servicemac and
First American Title co-president abruptly departs Read More »