• The Impact of HousingWire’s Insiders Award

    The Impact of HousingWire’s Insiders Award,Lesley Collins

    Nominations for the 2024 HousingWire Insiders award are open throughout the month of June. This prestigious award recognizes the operational leaders who are driving the growth and success of their organizations behind the scenes. Over the years, Insiders have shared how this recognition has positive

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  • HUD to invest $469M in housing renovation, preservation and safety

    HUD to invest $469M in housing renovation, preservation and safety,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday announced $469 million in new funding that will go toward fixing up older homes, renovating existing stock with new safety features and preserving affordable housing.The funds will be allocated to state and local governments under

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  • Asian American homeownership is primed to rise: Freddie Mac

    Asian American homeownership is primed to rise: Freddie Mac,Jeff Andrews

    Homeownership rates among minority groups have always lagged behind that of whites, but one group — Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) — is closing that gap.Freddie Mac’s June 2024 outlook on the economic, housing and mortgage markets revealed that over the past 20 year

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  • Is mortgage demand really picking up?

    Is mortgage demand really picking up?,Logan Mohtashami

    Are we seeing the start of a market shift in mortgage demand? Notably, mortgage rates have been gradually declining, and we’ve observed back-to-back positive weeks in purchase application data for the first time since mid-March. While I typically prefer to see a sustained growth of 12-14 weeks befor

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  • Real estate mailers: The ultimate guide for 2024

    Real estate mailers: The ultimate guide for 2024,Trevor James

    Real estate mailers aren’t dead — far from it. With so many agents focused on digital marketing, mailers can help you stand out from the crowd to attract new leads, increase brand awareness, generate more referrals, and ultimately close more deals.To get you started on the path to dominating your fa

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  • FHFA grants conditional approval for Freddie Mac second mortgage pilot

    FHFA grants conditional approval for Freddie Mac second mortgage pilot,Neil Pierson

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Friday announced that it has given conditional approval for Freddie Mac to begin purchasing closed-end second mortgages through a pilot program.The pilot program includes several limitations to the types of loans the government-sponsored enterprise will b

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  • Why are home prices at all-time highs with more inventory?

    Why are home prices at all-time highs with more inventory?,Logan Mohtashami

    Both existing housing inventory and home prices have been rising together year over year, which might seem odd at first glance since existing home sales are trending near all-time lows. However, I can clear up any confusion on this topic. Let’s keep it simple: total active listings are still below 2

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  • HUD offers new disaster relief in Hawaii following Biden executive order

    HUD offers new disaster relief in Hawaii following Biden executive order,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday announced a new round of disaster relief in the state of Hawaii that is targeted for the island of Kauai following severe storms, flooding and landslides that took place there in April.On June 17, President Joe Biden issued an exec

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  • Montana aims to remind seniors about its ‘reverse annuity mortgage’

    Montana aims to remind seniors about its ‘reverse annuity mortgage’,Chris Clow

    The Montana Board of Housing is aiming to remind the state’s seniors about a government-administered program that is specifically designed to help older adults access their home’s equity — and it should be very familiar to members of the reverse mortgage industry.Recently, officials with the state’s

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  • Could aging in place be ‘a poor long-term decision?’

    Could aging in place be ‘a poor long-term decision?’,Chris Clow

    In survey after survey in which Americans are asked about their preferred living situations in retirement, recent data is clear — they want to age in place in their current homes and remain in the familiar environs of their house and community. But a closer look at aging in place by NextAvenue asser

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  • Right-to-list agreements now banned in 30 states

    Right-to-list agreements now banned in 30 states,Brooklee Han

    Since making headlines for the first time roughly 18 months ago, right-to-list agreements — also known as Non-Title Recorded Agreements for Personal Service (NTRAPS) — have been banned in 30 states, according to an announcement from the American Land Title Association (ALTA).The title industry trade

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  • Smaller metro areas are seeing sharp home-price increases: SmartAsset

    Smaller metro areas are seeing sharp home-price increases: SmartAsset,Neil Pierson

    While major cities are often the bellwethers when it comes to home-price trends, a SmartAsset analysis of Zillow data released Thursday shows that some secondary and tertiary U.S. metro areas are leading the way for home-price appreciation.SmartAsset, a personal finance and fintech website, ranked t

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  • HUD joins other federal agencies to update climate resiliency plans

    HUD joins other federal agencies to update climate resiliency plans,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Friday that it has joined more than 20 other federal agencies to update its climate adaptation plan in furtherance of the White House’s national climate resilience framework. As the nation’s resources are further strained by the

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  • Existing-home sales drop even as prices hit all-time high: NAR

    Existing-home sales drop even as prices hit all-time high: NAR,jeffandrews

    Low levels of for-sale inventory, high mortgage rates, and record-high home prices continue to hamper existing-home sales.According to the May 2024 existing-home sales report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales volume fell 2.8% year over year to an annualized rate of 4.11 million.

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  • Are housing permits showing recession risk?

    Are housing permits showing recession risk?,Logan Mohtashami

    On a recent HousingWire Daily podcast, I explored the question of whether construction labor was finally showing a recession risk. Today’s housing starts data has further solidified this trend, which we’ve been tracking for several months: construction labor is at risk, serving as a potent leading i

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  • Federal regulators approve final rule for AVM usage

    Federal regulators approve final rule for AVM usage,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    On Thursday, two U.S. regulators — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) — announced their approval of a final rule imposing quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by mortgage originators and secondary market

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  • Finance of America takes action in move to raise stock price

    Finance of America takes action in move to raise stock price,Chris Clow

    Finance of America (FOA), the leading U.S. reverse mortgage lender, has received shareholder approval upon recommendation of its board to perform a reverse stock split at a 10-to-1 ratio in a move designed to boost the company’s stock price. This is according to a company filing with the Securities

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  • Moratis commission lawsuit plaintiffs take aim at NAR settlement in latest filing

    Moratis commission lawsuit plaintiffs take aim at NAR settlement in latest filing,Brooklee Han

    The plaintiffs in the Moratis commission lawsuit (formerly known as the Spring Way suit) took issue with the nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement reached by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).On Wednesday, West Penn MLS, a defendant in the Moratis suit, filed a motion to stay t

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  • UWM’s Jason Bressler on finding the real ROI in AI

    UWM’s Jason Bressler on finding the real ROI in AI,Sarah Wheeler

    Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with UWM CTO Jason Bressler on the HousingWire Daily podcast to talk about technology and how UWM is leveraging AI specifically. This interview has been edited for length and clarity, but you can listen to the entire episode here. Sarah Wheeler: How is UWM leve

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  • VA interested in smart home tech to enable veterans to age in place

    VA interested in smart home tech to enable veterans to age in place,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking to provide more support to military veterans who want to age in place in their current homes. This includes exploration of the smart-home technology sector, according to reporting at the Federal News Network.Smart home tech, including wearable

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