21-04-2021
A sharp drop in mortgage interest rates sent homeowners and potential homebuyers to their lenders.Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/21/weekly-mortgage-demand-jumps-8point6percent-as-interest-rates-hit-2-month-low.html
Read more21-04-2021
After six consecutive weeks of dips, mortgage applications rose 8.6% in the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The jump in applications can be traced to mortgage rates falling to the lowest level in two months, prompting a small resurgence in refinance activity, said Joel Kan, MBA associate vice...
Read more20-04-2021
As lawmakers take up housing-related bills in Congress, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge laid out her priorities during an address at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s spring virtual conference. Fudge hailed the passage of the American Rescue Plan as a “landmark law,” and highlighted its $10 billion in mortgage...
Read more20-04-2021
Vacasa, which helps hosts not only list but manage their rental homes, is thinking about becoming a publicly traded stock, multiple sources told CNBC.Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/explosive-demand-for-vacation-rentals-has-made-property-managers-a-hot-commodity.html
Read more20-04-2021
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria said the controversial amendments made to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac‘s Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements in late January should be just the start. “I said in January when the PSPA were signed — there needs to be another set of amendments. January really is...
Read more20-04-2021
In the past year, among the many challenges and difficulties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate and mortgage industries enjoyed a wave of success with low interest rates, refinance opportunities and etc. More recently, the buzz surrounds bidding wars due to extremely low inventory, purchase over refinance...
Read more20-04-2021
The public response to the recent Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Request for Information on appraisal-related issues was significant, with 164 unique written comments. As one might expect, the comments revealed differing opinions. This general alignment matters a great deal as the FHFA, through their oversight of the GSEs, who have the vast majority of the market share, plays a key role in the conforming lending market being the de facto regulator. The...
Read more20-04-2021
In analyzing more than 7 million homes sold between 2013 and the beginning of 2021, Redfin found homes in Black neighborhoods are undervalued by an average of $46,000 compared to homes in primarily white neighborhoods, the company said. The report accounts for the fundamental factors contributing to a home’s value...
Read more20-04-2021
Appraisal-management tech provider AppraisalWorks is now available through the ICE Mortgage Technology Platform, the company announced Tuesday. ICE Mortgage Technology, formerly known as Ellie Mae, is a cloud-based loan origination platform provider for the mortgage industry. With this integration, lenders can now order, assign, monitor, and review real estate valuations...
Read more20-04-2021
Patrick, a 25-year old tech worker, had his heart set on buying a home in the Reading, Massachusetts area, where he grew up. He wasn’t looking for a fixer-upper. That turned out to be nearly impossible as home prices in the small town north of Boston accelerated. The first house he submitted...
Read more20-04-2021
In February, a top career official at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fired off a troubling letter to the Biden administration. The official, a 23-year veteran of the agency, wrote that he had serious concerns about the Federal Housing Agency’s pandemic response, the timing and effectiveness of a...
Read more19-04-2021
Plans initiated by the Biden administration in February to release billions of dollars in aid to Puerto Rico are now coming to fruition with a revised distribution of $8.2 billion, according to a Monday release from the Department of House and Urban Development. HUD’s latest allocation is a substantial jump...
Read more19-04-2021
Fintech company Knox Financial announced Monday a $10 million Series A funding round, led by G20 Ventures. That’s $14.7 million of total funding to-date for Knox. Other investors included Greycroft, Pillar VC, 2LVC, and Gaingels. Knox oversees a portfolio of more than $100 million in investment properties, and was named one...
Read more19-04-2021
Servicers’ total number of loans in forbearance dropped for the seventh week in a row, down another 16 basis points last week to 4.5% of portfolio volume, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Following the massive decline the week prior, the share of loans in forbearance has dropped a total...
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