The 10-year yield closed today above my key level of 4.25%: Does that mean mortgage rates will hit 8%? To understand what’s happening, here’s how I look at the bond market and mortgage rates in my forecast for 2023.In my 2023 forecast, the range on the 10-year yield was between 3.21%-4.25%, emphasiz

With the housing industry down across the board, upstart title insurance firms couldn’t maintain strong growth rates in 2023. Just three title insurance firms made the annual Inc. 5000 list, a growth-based ranking of U.S.-based privately held and independent companies. Nine title insurers made the l

With the housing industry down across the board, upstart title insurance firms couldn’t maintain strong growth rates in 2023. Just four title insurance firms made the annual Inc. 5000 list, a growth-based ranking of U.S.-based privately held and independent companies. Nine title insurers made the li

Bank of America (BofA) prevailed in a court case brought against it by Cook County, Illinois, which sued the bank alleging predatory mortgage loans to Black and Hispanic borrowers in the Chicago area. The news was first reported by Bloomberg Law.Cook County initially sued BofA and other banks in 201

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued orders against Freedom Mortgage Corporation and Realty Connect USA Long Island for illegal kickbacks on Thursday, the first enforcement action associated with the 1974 Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act in six years.According to the CFPB, Freed

A wide array of U.S. federal agencies are descending on the Hawaiian island of Maui as relief begins pouring in following a devastating set of wildfires that completely destroyed the popular coastal town of Lahaina, displaced thousands of local residents and killed at least 111 people, according to

Reflecting the housing industry’s headwinds, just 16 mortgage lenders and brokers made the annual list of Inc. Magazine‘s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for 2023. It’s a sharp decline from 2022, when nearly 70 mortgage lenders and brokers were named. The companies are U.S.-based

The property developer experienced net losses worth tens of billions of dollars in 2021 and 2022.

Independent mortgage banks (IMB) reported an average net loss of $534 on each loan originated from April to June, down from $1,972 per loan in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The average pre-tax production loss was 18 basis points in Q2. Including both

Mortgage rates continued to climb this week as U.S. bond yields hit their highest level since 2008. Despite the turbulence, some analysts said a debt crisis is not imminent. According to those analysts, investors in the bond market are reacting to the government issuing debt and expecting the Federa

Though the National Association of Realtors is not out of the legal woods yet, the trade group does have reason to celebrate. A federal court judge on Wednesday dismissed all antitrust allegations made by REX Real Estate against NAR and Zillow.The remaining claims in the case are all against Zillow,

The first thing we go through when I work with real estate brokerages — whether it’s in helping them to streamline their technology or to prepare for sale — is their financials. And, one thing that I always spot in these financials is excess spending. I’m not judging them on how much they’re spendin

Remodeling experts share insights on the demographics and financial factors impacting today's home improvement projects.

Silicon Valley tech execs who want to buy property in the Lake Tahoe area are changing it up.

Monterey Bay Properties is joining Compass, a move that will allow the brokerage giant to expand its Northern California operations, the company announced Wednesday.Founded in 1980, Santa Cruz-based Monterey Bay Properties includes around 40 agents. For Compass, the merger brings its total number of

Have homebuilders reached their limit on how much they can lower mortgage rates to boost demand? Today we got the housing starts data, which was a beat of estimates, but total housing activity isn’t booming here. I firmly believe that the builders can’t solve the housing inventory situation when it

A ban on residential building permits in parts of the Phoenix area is angering builders and agents, who feel it may curb the supply of affordable housing.“Our main concern on the implication of the model that was released is housing affordability,” Spencer Kamps, the vice president of legislative af

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) this week submitted a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in response to a recent request for input (FRI) on GSE single-family pricing framework. Its message? The trade group asked the regulator to “make no further changes for an extended

The U.S. Department of Justice’s appeal against a lower court’s ruling on its investigation into the National Association of Realtors’ commission and pocket listing policies is heating up.On Friday, attorneys for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division filed a brief claiming that the lower district court has m

Housing starts picked up significantly in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.452 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That was up 3.9% from June and up 5.9% from a year ago. Meanwhile, permits for future construction eked a 0.1% gain from June but were 13% lower from a year ago.