Single-family homebuilding slows in the suburbs
Single-family construction growth slowed considerably in large suburban markets during the first quarter of 2022, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), published Tuesday. The index shows that the rate of year-over-year single-family construction growth slowed during the first three months of the year in small and large […]
Power buyer Ribbon sets up shop in Ohio
Power buyer Ribbon announced Tuesday it has launched services in Ohio, where it will partner with Coldwell Banker Heritage to offer homebuyers throughout the state access to all-cash offers. “Coldwell Banker Heritage was a natural fit as a partner because they funnel more than 50 years of industry knowledge down to each of their 525 […]
Ask a coach: Katie Lance on social media engagement
Katie Lance, CEO and founder of Katie Lance Consulting focuses on social media for real estate, believing it to be a significant opportunity for agents and brokers to communicate with potential prospects, market themselves and their listings and build their business. Social media puts everyone on a level playing field, she adds. Lance’s #GetSocialSmart handbook […]
Are home prices about to fall?
We are at the point of the economic cycle where I really just get two questions: Are we going into recession and are home prices about to fall? I am going to do my best to try to make sense of what is happening with the housing market right now, since the years 2020-2024 have […]
With landmark GSE equity plans, FHFA confronts legacy of redlining
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), under the leadership of Director Sandra Thompson, on Wednesday unveiled landmark equitable housing finance plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The plans establish a flexible framework for the government-sponsored enterprises to address barriers to sustainable housing and close the racial homeownership gap. The 2022 to 2024 plans will […]
Xactus targets lenders through active listing data
Verification solutions provider Xactus wants to court more lenders through its active listing data in a tight housing market. Xactus Wednesday announced its new active listing scan program, which will scan residential addresses for changes in listing status and the average number of days on market for a neighborhood. The monitoring program, covering all 50 […]
Ginnie Mae teases new enhancements to eNote program
Participants of Ginnie Mae’s digital collateral program want commingling of eNotes and paper notes, and the agency is not saying no. Currently, the program allows for digital only pools. But if the agency moves to allow commingling, then eNotes and paper notes can be bundled in the same pool. Lynne Chandler, director of the digital […]
United Wholesale Mortgage launches platform for brokers
Pontiac, Michigan-based lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) Wednesday launched a new platform for independent mortgage brokers to access purchase leads, past clients and real estate agents — a move to entice and retain loan officers in a shrinking mortgage market. UWM, the largest wholesale lender in the country, has been challenged by rising mortgage rates, decreasing refinancing volumes […]
GAO Says Unemployment Insurance System Is at ‘High Risk’ for Fraud and Abuse
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) yesterday added the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system to its list of programs at “high risk” for waste, fraud, and abuse. This designation should surprise absolutely no one, as the Department of Labor (DOL) Inspector General testified in March that the UI system paid out “at least” $163 billion in […]