• Ginnie Mae warns issuer partners about faster prepayments

    Ginnie Mae warns issuer partners about faster prepayments,Chris Clow

    Ginnie Mae this week issued a public notice to its issuer partners warning of an observation of higher prepayments in some of its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) programs, reminding issuers that a violation of its requirements could result in punitive action.In a prior All Participants Memorandum (

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  • The labor report gives the Fed a clear pathway to land the plane

    The labor report gives the Fed a clear pathway to land the plane,Logan Mohtashami

    Today’s jobs report beat estimates, but the internals show the labor market is softening, as the Federal Reserve wants. The data shows that wage growth is cooling down and the job opening quits rate is below pre-COVID-19 levels. This bodes well for those hoping to see a soft landing, and for those h

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  • Face-to-face reverse mortgage counseling is back in Massachusetts (for now)

    Face-to-face reverse mortgage counseling is back in Massachusetts (for now),Chris Clow

    Reverse mortgage professionals in Massachusetts will be reliant on their borrowers’ ability to complete their required counseling sessions under the state’s face-to-face mandate following the expiration of a provision temporarily relaxing the standard that expired on April 1.This is according to pri

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  • Fairway’s Sciandra joins NRMLA board

    Fairway’s Sciandra joins NRMLA board,Chris Clow

    The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) announced this week that Peter Sciandra, EVP of reverse lending and secondary marketing at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, has joined its board of directors for the remainder of the 2023-2024 term.Reverse mortgage division leaders a

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  • HomeServices: It is too soon for a ruling in Sitzer/Burnett

    HomeServices: It is too soon for a ruling in Sitzer/Burnett,Brooklee Han

    In a filing earlier this week, HomeServices of America asked Judge Stephen Bough, who is overseeing the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit, to deny the plaintiffs motion for entry of judgement.In their mid-March filing, the Sitzer/Burnett plaintiffs asked the court to order HomeServices of America, t

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  • Half of American households are struggling to cover rising housing costs

    Half of American households are struggling to cover rising housing costs,Sarah Marx

    Since the spring of last year, a typical family with a median income has not been able to afford a median-priced home, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Housing Affordability Index.Half of U.S. homeowners and renters (49.9%) sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to afford t

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  • Republicans look to codify tri-merge credit model into law

    Republicans look to codify tri-merge credit model into law,Chris Clow

    Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) has introduced a bill to the U.S. House of Representatives that would codify the “tri-merge” credit model into law, a rebuke to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s recent efforts to transition to a “bi-merge” model that would require only two credit reports to

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  • The Bay Area is the country’s 4th-hottest housing market

    The Bay Area is the country’s 4th-hottest housing market,Brooklee Han

    As of March 29, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metropolitan area was the fourth-hottest housing market in the country. The Bay Area metro had a 90-day average Market Action Index score of 61.19, according to data from Altos Research. In comparison, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, the top-ranked metro ar

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  • Appeals court to allow DOJ to reopen its investigation into NAR

    Appeals court to allow DOJ to reopen its investigation into NAR,Brooklee Han

    A three-judge panel for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C., has ruled that the Department of Justice can reopen its investigation into the National Association of Realtors. In an opinion filed on Friday, Circuit Court judges Florence Pan and Karen Henderson ruled that the settlement agreement

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  • HUD issues $13.5M in affordable housing grants

    HUD issues $13.5M in affordable housing grants,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday announced a new series of affordable housing grants totaling $13.5 million, which will go to support the creation of homes for low-income, first-time homebuyers as part of HUD’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP).

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  • Judge allows bulk of Texas Capital case against Ginnie Mae to proceed

    Judge allows bulk of Texas Capital case against Ginnie Mae to proceed,Chris Clow

    The federal judge overseeing a case brought by Texas Capital Bank (TCB) against Ginnie Mae has dismissed a portion of the bank’s complaint against the government-owned company but will allow the majority of the case to progress, according to court filings reviewed by RMD.Presiding Judge Matthew Kacs

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  • U.S. property taxes increased twice as fast in 2023 compared to prior year

    U.S. property taxes increased twice as fast in 2023 compared to prior year,Chris Clow

    U.S. property taxes on single-family homes rose twice as fast in 2023 as they did in 2022, with a total of $363.3 billion levied compared to $339.8 billion one year earlier. This is according to an analysis conducted by Attom, based on property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nat

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  • The month in reverse mortgage rates: April 2024

    The month in reverse mortgage rates: April 2024,Dan Hultquist

    In the March rate update, we discussed why Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-sponsored Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) utilize two interest rates. The “expected rate” is unique to reverse mortgages and is calculated by adding the lender’s margin to the weekly average 10-year constant mat

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  • Newly launched LUXE Realty brings on sales leaders

    Newly launched LUXE Realty brings on sales leaders,Sarah Marx

    Arizona-based brokerage LUXE Realty welcomed Jack Luciano and Raul Siqueiros as director of estates division and director of new development, respectively, the company announced on Thursday.The two real estate agents were formerly associated with The Agency Scottsdale. They are bringing several top-

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  • Mosaik CEO Sheila Reddy on tackling fragmented technology

    Mosaik CEO Sheila Reddy on tackling fragmented technology,Sarah Wheeler

    HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Sheila Reddy, CEO at Mosaik, to talk about how the company is leveraging their experience building technology solutions for healthcare to benefit real estate agents and homebuyers. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Sarah Whe

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  • Milestones VP of Marketing Shannon Baldwin on her mission as a marketer

    Milestones VP of Marketing Shannon Baldwin on her mission as a marketer,Lesley Collins

    The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals and organizations that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s 2024 Marketing Leaders are open until April 30, 2024. Click here to nominate someone from your organization today.While they

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  • Federal agency members voice support for new CRA rules 

    Federal agency members voice support for new CRA rules ,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    This week in Washington, D.C., representatives at federal agencies reinforced their support for the new rules that would modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a few days after a federal judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction to banking associations that seek to halt its implementa

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  • Ryan Serhant launches broad-based sales training tool 

    Ryan Serhant launches broad-based sales training tool ,Sarah Marx

    Ryan Serhant — the acclaimed real estate broker, media personality and serial entrepreneur — is moving beyond his career in real estate to delve into the broader arena of sales. Serhant has teamed up with former NBC News producer Kyle Scott to unveil Sell It, a sales training platform tailored for a

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  • Houston must return $45M in unused affordable housing funds

    Houston must return $45M in unused affordable housing funds,Chris Clow

    Despite recent data indicating a poor affordable housing situation in Texas, the city of Houston must return $45 million in unused affordable housing funds to the state after failing to use them for construction of new homes. This is according to local reporting by a Houston ABC News affiliate.Prima

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  • Zillow names this year's best markets for first-time home buyers

    Zillow names this year's best markets for first-time home buyers,