The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the housing market like no event since the 2008 financial crisis, but some of the trends induced by the pandemic are starting to reverse. That’s evident in the annual profile of home buyers and sellers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which provides data on dozens of real estate trends.When the pandemic began in the spring of 2020, wealthy residents of urban centers like New York City and San Francisco packed their bags for rural areas and small towns to escape strict lockdowns and find more space for things like home offices. This gave rise to the narrative that city dwellers wouldn’t return and urban centers were dying.Turns out, they weren’t. Between 2017 and 2021, rural areas and small towns had remarkably consistent shares of the home purchase market at about 13% and 22%, respectively. But in 2022, the share of homes bought in rural areas (19%) and small towns (29%) jumped considerably.These purchases came primarily at the expense of the suburbs, where the share of home purchases dropped from a consistent 50% level prior to the pandemic to 39% in 2022. Urban areas also took a hit, falling from 13% to 10%.But in 2024, this trend has largely reversed. The share of home purchases in the suburbs has moved up to 45% while the 16% share in urban centers has actually moved ahead of where it was pre-pandemic.Conversely, the share of purchases in rural areas (14%) and small towns (23%) have largely returned to their pre-pandemic levels.When bad things happen in New York, pundits often say it’s the end of the city. But a lot of the post-pandemic migration among New Yorkers was intracity, meaning that falling rent and home prices in Manhattan were the result of people moving to Brooklyn.While New York is operating much as it was before the pandemic, San Francisco has taken longer to recover because the population is heavily concentrated among tech workers. These companies have been more likely to adopt permanent work-from-home policies.But many major tech companies are now calling workers back to the office, which has led to improved office market conditions in both New York and the Bay Area. Other data in NAR’s report also reflects a return to density. Prior to the pandemic, the median distance that homebuyers migrated from their old house to their new house was consistent at 15 miles. That number popped up to 50 miles in 2022 but has since fallen back to 20 miles. The age of homes purchased is also telling. Between 2009 and 2021, the typical home purchased was built in the early 1990s. In 2022 and 2023, however, the typical home purchased was built in the mid-1980s. This is largely due to a delay in homebuilding caused by supply-line disruptions and shortages of construction materials. Appliances were hard to come by for builders as delays in computer chip deliveries ran rampant and lumber shortages caused prices to skyrocket.Homebuilders are starting to catch up. Today, the typical purchase is for a home built in 1994, or roughly where it was pre-pandemic.

Among voters who cast their ballots by Nov. 1, 38% said that the issue of housing affordability impacted their choice in the presidential contest, according to new survey data released this week by Redfin.The survey was conducted by Ipsos within an extremely narrow time frame of 24 hours on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The respondent pool was a nationally representative sample of 1,002 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. Both major party candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, have discussed their housing plans with varying levels of detail during the election cycle. But the survey results suggest that at least on the core issue of affordability, one candidate has the edge.“Kamala Harris voters were much more likely than Donald Trump voters to say housing affordability factored into their decision: 43% of respondents who already voted for Harris say affordability impacted their pick, compared to 29% of respondents who already voted for Trump,” according to Redfin. Generally, people who have already voted — regardless of their choice of candidate — “were less likely to factor housing affordability into their presidential decision than most other issues we asked about,” the survey explained. “Eleven of the 14 issues listed in the survey were more likely than housing affordability to impact votes.”Voter perceptions of how mortgage rates would be impacted by the election were also tabulated. Roughly one-third of respondents believe that rates will fall under a Trump presidency, compared to about one-quarter of those who think the same under a Harris administration. A larger share of respondents also believe rates will rise under Harris (32%) versus Trump (28%).The campaigns’ general focus on other, more widely discussed national issues like the economy or reproductive rights seemed to hold more sway over voters, the survey results noted.The leading concerns for early voters were the economy (63%), inflation (59%) and protections for democracy (56%).Other leading issues included immigration (55%), health care (52%), crime and safety (47%), abortion access (45%), U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts (41%) freedom of speech (41%), gun violence (40%) and the standing of the U.S. in the global community (38%).Issues suggested to have less of an impact on candidate choice than housing affordability include climate change (36%) and gender-affirming care access (19%).Still, the noise surrounding a national election is often distracting, and housing affordability could play a larger role in local elections, according to the survey results.“Two in five (40%) U.S. residents who have already voted say housing affordability factored into their pick for local races,” Redfin explained. “Crime and safety was the most important consideration, with 50% of early voters saying it impacted their decision on who to vote for. It’s followed by the economy (46%) and inflation (41%), then housing affordability.”Issues regarding housing affordability and facilitating new construction are largely made at the local level. These include policies that impact rental costs and zoning requirements that dictate where and when certain types of homes can be built.

When it comes to what a possible Kamala Harris or Donald Trump victory in the presidential election means for the future of antitrust enforcement in the real estate space, lawyer and industry analyst Rob Hahn may have said it best.“Nobody knows anything,” Hahn wrote in the Nov. 1 edition of his Notorious ROB email newsletter. “Neither Trump nor Harris have made antitrust a big issue in their campaigns. None of the people running have any kind of a real background in antitrust, and only Trump has any kind of a track record.”Although the war between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been going on for decades, the most recent round of battles began under the Trump administration in 2018. That’s when Congressmen Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) sent a letter to the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking them to “examine competition-related issues in the real estate brokerage industry.” The investigation eventually led to a lawsuit, which was settled in 2020. But NAR did not finalize the settlement until after Joe Biden took office in 2021. And under the Biden administration, the DOJ decided to withdraw from the settlement, leading to the most recent round of lawsuits and appeals.Additionally, an article published by the New York Law Journal found that the FTC’s and DOJ’s antitrust divisions have roughly doubled the average number of complaints seeking to enjoin transactions filed each year under Biden, compared to filings with the agency under the Trump administration.Trump’s track record shows that he has generally been more pro-business than other administrations. This has led to speculation that under a second Trump term, many of the real estate industry’s antitrust concerns would go away, while a Harris presidency would result in a continuation of the status quo. But industry analysts and attorneys are not so sure.While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) does not deal with antitrust issues, former CFPB deputy enforcement director Jeff Ehrlich believes that, generally speaking, a second Trump administration will be more aggressive in enforcement than many expect.“In 2020, the last full year of the previous Trump Administration, the Bureau brought 48 enforcement actions; so far this year, it has brought only 21,” Ehrlich wrote in an email. He went on to note that during the Trump administration, the bureau “brought some pretty aggressive cases, including in the housing space.“ It filed suit against nonbank lender Townstone Financial for alleged violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) through discrimination against prospective borrowers. It also settled a mortgage servicing case against Mr. Cooper for $73 million in redress and a $1.5 million penalty. ”If history is any guide, a second Trump Administration might not be as friendly to the industry as many expect,” Erlich wrote.For Hahn, it was Trump’s selection of Sen. JD Vance as his running mate which has made things a bit murkier.Vance has voiced his support for FTC Chair Lina Khan, stating at a policy conference in February that he looks “at Lina Kahn as one of the few people in the Biden administration that I actually think is doing a pretty good job and that sort of sets me apart from most of my Republican colleagues.”Vance added that one of the things he most appreciates about Khan’s approach is that “she recognized there has to be sort of a broader understanding of how we think about competition in the marketplace.”And Hahn isn’t the only who believes Vance’s selection has thrown off expectations. The New York Law Journal wrote that “Vance has seemingly positioned himself to play a significant role in antitrust enforcement and to pick up where Trump’s previous administration left off.”“At a minimum, a second Trump presidency would likely continue the pro-enforcement stance from his first four years. If Trump entrusts Vance with significant control over competition policy, their administration may look surprisingly similar to the current, potentially including the appointment of someone with a similar populist agenda to Khan to the helm of the FTC,” the article states.Marx Sterbcow, the managing attorney at Sterbcow Law Group, also doesn’t buy into the narrative that a Trump victory would mean a “return to normal” for the real estate industry.“In the past, when the Trump administration entered into the settlement with NAR, things had kind of cooled down,” Sterbcow said. “You didn’t have things like active antitrust litigation going on, or the jury verdict in Missouri, so there was a lot more normalcy in the industry and everything for the most part was very stable and static. “Obviously, that has changed dramatically. The industry right now is fakakta because you effectively have a hodgepodge of confusion for consumers across the United States, and it is only facilitating a lot more antitrust issues for companies and consumers.”While Sterbcow acknowledges Trump’s pro-business track record, he does not believe a second Trump administration will stand by if consumers are blatantly being harmed or taken advantage of.“It is not like consumer protection is going to go away,” Sterbcow said. “We saw in the previous Trump administration where they went after things that harm consumers. I think in the case of the commission rules, they will let it play out and allow market forces to take control, which could create another set of issues.”Sterbcow is anticipating that the industry will undergo further significant changes in the next 24 months. But he also feels that if these changes are making things worse for consumers, the DOJ’s antitrust division will take further action.Hahn shares a similar view, supported by what he feels is Trump’s focus on decreasing the cost of living, which he believes will translate into a focus on housing. Hahn said if the Trump administration homes in on housing, antitrust pressure on the industry could continue if things like agent commissions are perceived as inflated or a potential roadblock to homeownership.In the same way industry experts believe a second Trump administration won’t be completely lax on enforcement and antitrust regulations, they are also skeptical that a Harris presidency would mean a continuation of the path set forward by the Biden administration. Fueling some of this skepticism is that the vice president’s stance on antitrust is unclear.Harris has previously announced her intentions, if elected, to pass a federal ban on price gouging. She has aims to take on Big Pharma and corporate landlords, which some believe are indications that she well may continue the Biden administration’s antitrust agenda. Some have noted that a Harris victory may wipe the slate clean when it comes to antitrust, but there does not appear to be any evidence to suggest she will completely change course from what the Biden administration has pursued.Sterbcow, for one, not only sees a continuation but a ramping up of antitrust enforcement.“I think there could be a lot more,” Sterbcow said. “I think you’ll see a lot more fair lending and fair housing enforcement, especially on the price of real estate commissions, and that is something no one in the industry wants because we have no data on how things will play out with the current policy changes in place.”

Elevated mortgage rates, sky-high home prices, tight credit and stagnant wages have all contributed to homebuyers getting older. Newly released data from the annual profile of home buyers and sellers by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows just how dramatically this trend has manifested since the financial crisis of 2008.The median age of homebuyers has hit a new all-time high, with first-time buyers at 38 years old and repeat buyers at a whopping 61 years old. Together, the median age of all homebuyers sits at 56.“The U.S. housing market is split into two groups: first-time buyers struggling to enter the market and current homeowners buying with cash,” Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement accompanying the report.“First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers. Meanwhile, current homeowners can more easily make housing trades using built-up housing equity for cash purchases or large down payments on dream homes.”The trendline is startling. In 2002 — around the same time that the underlying causes of the 2008 financial crisis took root — there was significantly less separation in median age between first-time buyers (31) and repeat buyers (41).While the median age of buyers gradually increased over the course of two decades, the COVID-19 pandemic sped it up. Since 2020, the median age of buyers rose by 11 years, including a spike of 5 years among repeat buyers, who now make up 76% of the market — also an all-time high.The data is part of NAR’s sprawling annual report that includes a wealth of data on buyers, sellers and real estate agents across a wide range of demographics.While single women have bought a higher percentage of homes than single men since NAR began tracking the data in 1981, that gap has widened in the past two years. The share of homes bought by single women jumped from 17% to 20% and the share bought by single men fell from 10% to 6%.This movement is more dramatic among first-time buyers, with the share of homes bought by single women rising from 19% in 2022 to 24% now, while the share bought by single men dropped from 18% to 12%.Homebuyers are increasingly childless. In 2012, 59% of homebuyers had no children under the age of 18. That number now sits at 73%. The median income of homebuyers has also shot up, with first-time buyers earning a median of $97,000 while repeat buyers are making $114,300.

Reverse mortgage industry performance metrics have been trading gains and losses for several months now, but a more favorable interest rate environment and optimism about the possible trajectory of business in 2025 have arrived alongside some generally positive news for October.Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements increased by 11.1% from September to October, with 2,392 loans endorsed last month, according to data compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI).Meanwhile, HECM-backed Securities (HMBS) issuance posted its largest figure since September 2023, increasing by $98 million during the month for a total of $598 million in October. There were 78 pools issued, one fewer than in September. This is according to Ginnie Mae data and private sources compiled by New View Advisors.Endorsement volumeWhen asked about the primary source for the spike, Jon McCue — RMI’s director of client relations — pointed to a previously predicted rise in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) case number assignments.“As always, we turn to case number assignments to answer this question,” he said. “We predicted a rise in endorsements given the sharp comeback in case numbers shown between June to July, and with another increase in August, we should most likely see another increase next month if this holds true.”Geographically, volume gains took place across the 10 tracked regions. But the gains were not as pronounced as they might have been if all else were equal, McCue explained.“Given that all the regions were up, as you’d expect with a nice increase month over month in endorsements, [geographic activity is] not [telling us] much,” he said. “There is one exception to this rule, though, and that is the Southeast/Caribbean region was the only region that was down on the month. “The only big difference there came from the hurricanes, so you would have to suspect that those storms had a major impact on volumes, but otherwise we saw fairly strong gains across the board.”Once again in October, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage outperformed Finance of America, with the former overtaking the latter atop the rankings for year-to-date totals. When asked whether this is a sign that Mutual of Omaha is overtaking FOA, McCue said he wasn’t totally sure.“These are both strong companies that have their own strengths,” he said. “It is tough to say that one is taking over another for a top spot with the numbers so close. It is looking like a neck-and-neck race going into the finish line of 2024, though. I would say that we as an industry are lucky to have two strong companies like this leading the way for others, and hopefully their momentum continues into and through 2025.”Many analysts are predicting that the Federal Reserve will move to modestly cut rates again on Thursday. When asked if this could have a beneficial impact on the reverse industry, McCue pointed to rates rising again after the previous Fed rate cut. A bigger impact could come from another major event taking place this week.“It didn’t have the impact that so many people thought it would,” McCue said of the rate cut. “However, one thing that is potentially bigger for rates is what happens in the election. That may have more of an impact than any rate cuts by the Fed. It truly is a waiting game, and election years are always interesting.”HMBS issuanceHMBS issuance saw a larger bounce in October when compared to other recent months, but that has not changed the overall calculus. Issuance is still at historically low levels, and the final tally for 2024 is likely to be significantly lower compared to the past few years.“HMBS issuance set a record in 2022, with nearly $14 billion issued,” New View said in its commentary accompanying the data. “Total issuance for 2023 was approximately $6.5 billion. 2024 total issuance through October totals $4.9 billion — $579 million lower than at this time last year and $7.6 billion lower than at this time in 2022.”But in terms of what has moved the proverbial needle, Mutual of Omaha’s total issuance jumped strikingly — from $75 million in September to $161 million in October.The biggest issuers for the month remained relatively stable. FOA stayed in the top spot with $170 million (versus $151 million in September), followed by Mutual of Omaha, Longbridge Financial ($126 million, up from $105 million) and PHH Mortgage Corp. ($88 million, down from $108 million). “Issuer 42,” the designation given to the former portfolio held by Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF), again issued no pools.Not only did last month’s gain push Mutual of Omaha to No. 1 in the year-to-date-totals, but its additional activity was given as a key reason for the industry’s overall monthly gain.“The uptick in October HMBS issuance volume is primarily attributed to Mutual of Omaha’s $88 million in tail pool issuance,” said Michael McCully, partner at New View Advisors.Tails are not from new loans, New View said, but do represent new amounts lent and consistent of “subsequent participations.” But overall, tail issuance is “burning out,” McCully said.“Average monthly tail issuance in 2017 was $235 million; 2024 year to date is $174 million,” he said.One potential spot to keep an eye on remains Ginnie Mae’s planned HMBS 2.0 program.“If HMBS 2.0 is implemented, expect 2025 HMBS volume to increase over 2024, as many loans will be securitized twice,” McCully explained.

In a week expected to mark the close of a divided race for the U.S. presidency, mortgage loan officers are standing by the motto of, “Let’s control what we can control.“As they navigate the anxieties of homebuyers and market shifts, they told HousingWire they’re encouraging clients to move forward with their applications rather than waiting on campaign promises.With the election nearly behind them, they are hopeful for less uncertainty ahead, especially after an uptick in mortgage rates that runs contradictory to the Federal Reserve‘s rate cut in September. Most expect that as the political dust settles, rates could stabilize or trend downward, regardless of who occupies the White House — Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. “The mood amongst our loan officers is a cautious excitement to get the election behind us finally,” said Todd Bitter, chief sales officer at UMortgage, which has about 300 sponsored loan officers across 39 active branches. “Most seem to think that, regardless of the winner, business will return to normal since the general homebuying public seems on edge.”Bitter said this election reminds him of Y2K, in reference to a computer programming shortcut that was expected to cause issues when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. Bitter said that, “Wednesday, we will all wake up with little difference in our lives. Of course, depending on your views, it matters who wins, but little will change overall. The divisiveness that politics have become has created something from nothing.”The political toxicity, however, has added some volatility to mortgage rates. After the Fed slashed 50 basis points to its benchmark rate in September, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate went down to 6.25%, according to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center. But as the race advanced, rates picked up, reaching 6.86% on Monday. (The Fed is meeting again this week and is widely expected to announce a cut of 25 bps.)“We’ve seen an uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield that has been as low as 3.6%, and now we’re up to 4.25%. The speculation is that at least some of the drivers here are market participants thinking that the odds of a Trump administration, and particularly the odds of a red wave, have increased quite considerably, and that would potentially be putting upward pressure on rates,” Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), said last week during a conference in Denver.The explanation is that there would be larger deficits under a Trump administration based on estimates from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which compared Trump’s and Harris’s economic proposals. Per the MBA, the 30-year fixed rate is projected to decline from an average of 6.3% in 2024 to 5.9% in 2025. “I do believe that we are in a downward trend for rates,” said Kevin Leibowitz, CEO of New York-based broker shop Grayton Mortgage. “I do believe in the invisible hand — either party can say what they want, put policies into place or remove regulations, and the market will do what the market will do.”Leibowitz’s general advice to his clients is to “lock a mortgage rate and move on,” since “timing any financial market is difficult.”All in all, mortgage professionals don’t think Trump or Harris have offered a “panacea” for the housing market’s main struggle — the lack of supply.“My advice is business as usual,” Bitter said. “The $25,000 Kamala is offering will never get through Congress, so waiting is going to cost more in house appreciation.”Shannon Hoff, a senior mortgage adviser at American Pacific Mortgage — a lender with 1,685 sponsored LOs and 426 active branches — said that polls show both candidates “neck and neck,” so it’s unclear whether the election results will be known on Tuesday or Wednesday.“I know that many articles are saying that under Trump, rates will be higher, but businesses will be healthier. Under Harris, they say the opposite will happen. However, a big problem homeowners have is financial and economic noise,” Hoff said.“There is a bunch of noise, so some people are deciding to do nothing. As an LO, it is my job to educate my clients so that paralysis is not the issue. Homeownership has many more benefits than renting. It is just finding the individual ‘why’ for each potential client.” 

Global credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS last week assigned a “good” rating to reverse mortgage industry leader Finance of America (FOA), confirming the ranking the company was assigned this past summer ahead of its earnings call this week.The rating is officially classified as “MOR RVO2” by Morningstar. The agency once more noted the recent business history of FOA — including the abandonment of its forward mortgage business and its acquisition of American Advisors Group (AAG). In its previous assessment, Morningstar mentioned the relative stability of FOA’s senior leadership team as a partial justification for the rating.“Morningstar DBRS previously confirmed its MOR RVO2 residential reverse mortgage originator ranking for FAR,” the company said. “The trend on the ranking remains stable.”The company also mentioned the distribution channels for its reverse mortgage products, including Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) as well as its proprietary HomeSafe loans.“FAR is licensed to operate in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico,” the analysis said. “In 2023, the company originated more than 8,700 reverse mortgages totaling more than $1.6 billion, and, as of March 31, 2024, FAR originated approximately 1,600 reverse mortgages, totaling more than $348 million.”Prior to the August 2024 ranking, FOA last received the MOR RVO2 ranking from DBRS Morningstar in mid-August 2023.FOA is preparing to reveal its Q3 2024 earnings to investors in a conference call on Wednesday with its executive leadership team. In the company’s second-quarter earnings report, FOA remained in the red but with reduced losses alongside growth in loan volume.The company is preparing for Q3 earnings following an announcement last week of changes to the HomeSafe Second product, which is now available in four additional states (for a total of 10) to borrowers ages 55 and older.The company also reduced the interest rate on the product from 9.99% to 9.49%. Interest rates on second-lien loans tend to be higher when compared to first liens, reflecting the higher amount of risk to the lender.

As candidates in the upcoming presidential election offer strategies to address a national housing crisis, there is an urgent need for new solutions for the housing shortage in rural America. The current set of federal policies often takes a “one size fits all” approach based on urban and suburban market economics. Consequently, one in four rural households cannot afford the home they live in, let alone a move up the ladder of the American dream.There are plenty of examples where federal housing policy is stacked against rural homeowners and renters. The most egregious is also the nation’s largest federal housing support, the home mortgage interest deduction. Last year, the US spent $35 billion on this subsidy to help homeowners to pay less in taxes.   Few rural families qualify for the deduction, not because they make too much money or their home values are rising, but perversely because their incomes and home prices are too low to qualify. Worse yet, the nation spent more last year on mortgage deduction than it did on nearly all other federal housing programs combined – including public housing, rural rentals, Section 8 vouchers and others designed to assist families with lower incomes. By limiting rural homeowners’ access to the mortgage deduction and other programs, we are making it harder for them to maintain and improve their property. This has worsened the “value gap” for rural residents, which occurs when the home’s appraised value is less than what it takes to make the property habitable and is a frequent obstacle to homeownership for rural renters. The misalignment extends to the rental market, too. In rural America, multifamily rental properties are often smaller and have many fewer units than urban and suburban projects. However, most federal multifamily financing programs favor scale and volume. There are steps that federal policymakers can take to address the misalignment, including:1. Craft tax policy that accounts for the economics of rural America’s housing marketsWith the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 set to expire at the end of 2025, the next Administration and Congress have an opportunity to better address rural America’s housing needs as part of the next major tax overhaul. Specifically, policymakers should: Designate rural and Tribal areas as Difficult to Develop Areas (DDAs). Doing so will increase the allowable equity cap for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LITHC) projects in DDAs, in turn helping to ensure that the smaller developments common in rural America are able to cash flow.Pass the bipartisan Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) to establish a federal tax credit to finance the construction and/or preservation of affordable, owner-occupied housing in select underserved markets, including rural communities, and help to close the “value gap.”2. Empower the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to more forcefully shape the next generation of housing policyThough the USDA already administers multibillion dollar programs vital to affordably housing rural Americans, the agency is largely ignored in the housing platforms that have been put forth by the leading presidential candidates. To strengthen and expand these crucial programs, policymakers should:Meaningfully invest in the Section 515 multifamily rental program, which is losing thousands of units each year and has not seen new construction in well over a decade. Scale the Section 502 direct home loan program, which has provided loans to over 2 million low-income rural borrowers since inception. The program not only promotes affordable homeownership and bolsters local real estate markets, it also costs the government less per household than an equivalent rent subsidy. Ensure that new funds to encourage housing supply target rural communities. The Biden-Harris Administration and the Harris-Walz campaign have proposed a multibillion-dollar Housing Innovation Fund to incentivize communities to expand housing supply, to be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  USDA should co-administer any such program with the responsibility to ensure that one quarter of the funding reaches rural communities in proportion to rural America’s share of the nation’s housing stock.3. Streamline federal housing programs and grow rural communities’ capacity to use themBroadly speaking, rural communities have smaller governments, fewer well-resourced organizations, and less philanthropic investment. As a result, most rural communities simply have less capacity to successfully navigate the nuanced and complicated maze of federal housing policy, in turn making it harder for them to fully capitalize on these crucial programs. To address this, policymakers should:Streamline the administration of federal housing programs, mindful that every additional layer of financing, application process, and cash match requirement reduces the likelihood that a rural community will be able to fully benefit from the program.Enact a multibillion-dollar Rural Partnership and Prosperity Program, modeled on the bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate, to invest directly in the capacity of the mission-driven organizations that are doing the hard work of creating and preserving affordable housing in rural communities nationwide.Despite popular narratives that imply otherwise, rural communities are vibrant, innovative, and worthy of investment. But they are also underserved by most federal housing policies. For these communities to reach their full potential, policymakers must take the tools, policies and infrastructure we already have and refine them so that they can do justice to the millions of people who call them home. David Lipsetz is the President and CEO of the Housing Assistance Council.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com

The 2024 general election in the United States is on Tuesday, and will decide the balance of power between the two major political parties in our system of government. At the top of the ballot, the presidential race between Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump pits two very different governance philosophies against each other, with their own implications for housing in America.But control over both the House of Representatives and the Senate will also be decided, and depending on who wins the White House, those races will also determine the legislative path forward for all of the policy priorities of both parties, including housing.With only 24 hours remaining until the election, here are some of the essential details HousingWire has reported on related to the upcoming election.The presidential raceAt the beginning of the year, housing broke out into a major issue of the campaign when President Joe Biden detailed a housing policy agenda in his State of the Union address. The president’s annual speech to a joint session of Congress is a highly visible policy proposal with a national television and online audience, and ongoing discontent from voters regarding the high cost of housing bubbled over into the mainstream political arena from that point forward.Vice President Kamala Harris takes her official portrait Thursday, March 4, 2021, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)" data-image-caption="Kamala Harris" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg?w=240" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg?w=819" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg?w=819" alt="Vice President Kamala Harris takes her official portrait Thursday, March 4, 2021, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)" class="wp-image-434944" style="width:200px" srcset="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg 819w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg?resize=120,150 120w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_245b9622-9a84-4478-b2d0-a1b022714ed8.jpg?resize=768,960 768w" sizes="(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" />Kamala HarrisLawmakers would follow the president’s lead over the next several months, outlining their own proposed bills seeking to address high housing costs for both prospective homebuyers and renters, and the ongoing costs associated with insurance. Democrats sought to build on some of what the president brought attention to in his speech, while Republicans aimed to offer counterpoints. Housing came up briefly in the first presidential debate of the year, but that would prove to be a turning point in the election cycle for a whole other reason the next month.Following what was often characterized as a “disastrous” debate performance in June, President Biden announced in July that he was dropping out of the race and threw his support behind Vice President Harris.Harris then kicked off her presidential campaign under a crunched timeline prior to the Democratic National Convention, consolidating support from the majority of the party’s delegates to secure the presidential nomination, selecting Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.) as her running mate, and hitting the campaign trail.Harris came right out of the gate talking about housing, and has gone on to present a detailed housing policy proposal, beginning with a focus on housing supply and a need to spur construction of additional homes.Gov. Tim Walz. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons." data-image-caption="Tim Walz" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg?w=246" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg?w=839" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg?w=839" alt="Gov. Tim Walz. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons." class="wp-image-484682" style="width:200px" srcset="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg 839w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg?resize=123,150 123w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg?resize=246,300 246w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_2994e957-e5e5-40ca-8b44-63dc96ff6cd3.jpg?resize=768,937 768w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" />Tim Walz“As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the housing we need, both to rent and to buy,” Harris said at a campaign event in August. “We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels.“Her plan calls for the construction of 3 million new homes, an expansion of the low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) program, and a series of favorable tax programs for homebuilders that construct affordable homes. She also unveiled a plan that would offer $25,000 in downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and publicly stated that “some” corporate landlords are responsible for rent increases that are exacerbating affordability issues.On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump has most consistently aimed to tie the issue of housing shortages and lack of affordability to immigration. Trump contends that an influx of undocumented immigrants serves to drive demand — and prices — higher, creating challenges for citizens in securing an affordable place to live.Former Trump White House officials and industry trade groups have also said they expect he would attempt to sharply reduce the regulatory costs in mortgage and real estate, and many expect him to try to remove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship.Different perspectivesOne of the more substantive housing debates to emerge this election cycle was between the vice presidential candidates from their only debate in October. Walz and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) each emphasized the different elements of their running mates’ housing plans, with Walz speaking a lot about a housing shortage and the need to view housing as less of an outright commodity, while Vance echoed Trump’s key talking point.Official Senate portrait of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio)." data-image-caption="JD Vance" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg?w=240" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg?w=819" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg?w=819" alt="Official Senate portrait of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio)." class="wp-image-484685" style="width:200px" srcset="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg 819w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg?resize=120,150 120w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_df0f6292-74d2-43cd-ae91-67d6bd8ffdf0.jpg?resize=768,960 768w" sizes="(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" />JD Vance“25 million illegal aliens competing with Americans for scarce homes is one of the most significant drivers of home prices in the country,” Vance said during the debate. “It’s why we have massive increases in home prices that have happened right alongside massive increases in illegal alien populations under Kamala Harris’s leadership.”It’s difficult to determine how much of a motivator housing will be in getting voters to the polls. Most scientific polls characterize the presidential race as a dead heat, with leads between the two candidates often falling within margins of error. There are signs that housing is an issue on the minds of Gen Z voters, particularly as it relates to affordability.Vance has spoken a lot in the past about issues he sees with the housing situation in the U.S., with some of his populist-driven rhetoric drawing comparisons to the way Democrats typically talk about institutional activity in housing from policy experts. Trump has also signaled certain intentions that could impact U.S. housing, including a desire to have more influence at the Federal Reserve and a repeated intention to privatize the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).The conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation also published a potential policy playbook for a second Trump administration called “Project 2025,” which featured a series of specific housing proposals bylined by former Trump-era HUD Secretary Ben Carson, but the campaign and candidate have distanced themselves from it and insisted that it will not have bearing on sought policy priorities.The official portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump." data-image-caption="Donald Trump" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_767e420f-e239-4000-856b-aab3647084b1.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_767e420f-e239-4000-856b-aab3647084b1.jpg?w=620" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_767e420f-e239-4000-856b-aab3647084b1.jpg?w=620" alt="The official portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump." class="wp-image-433698" style="width:200px" srcset="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_767e420f-e239-4000-856b-aab3647084b1.jpg 620w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_767e420f-e239-4000-856b-aab3647084b1.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241105/16/original_767e420f-e239-4000-856b-aab3647084b1.jpg?resize=300,300 300w" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" />Donald TrumpDemocrats disagree, and have seized on the proposals to cast Republican policy priorities broadly as “extreme” when compared to the desires of most voters.There has been surprisingly little movement in the polls for the presidential race since Harris entered the fray, despite gaffes from either side, an assassination attempt on Trump and other controversies. Each candidate has different strengths according to voters, with Trump generally having an advantage on the issues of immigration and the economy while Harris is seen as the better choice on reproductive health and defending democracy.When it comes to housing, however, a recent Bloomberg poll indicated that Americans see Harris as potentially more beneficial in addressing housing costs. Real estate and mortgage pros, however, seem to favor Trump.CongressIn the races for the legislative branch — in which all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are up for grabs — housing has a part in the conversation but to a lesser degree than the presidential race.Among Democrats, members of the House and Senate have introduced several potential bills for debate in either chamber aimed at spurring construction and expanding affordability. Republicans have been more focused on lowering regulatory burdens, in September introducing a bill that would expand the oversight of federal housing programs, make changes to loan officer compensation for the origination of small-dollar mortgages, and create additional counseling requirements for homebuyers.Around the same time, House and Senate Democrats introduced an ambitious $30 billion housing bill that would construct and preserve affordable housing, and would seek to create a new national housing development authority to provide an “alternative to a market dominated by corporations and investors with deep pockets.”It would also repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which imposed limitations on the number of affordable housing units the government could build. It has prevented any net increase in public housing stock from the number of units maintained by the government as of Oct. 1, 1999, requiring public housing agencies to either remove units or consolidate existing ones to limit the number of units the government has on its books.It’s unclear how voters will break on these issues in the congressional races. Pollsters and political operatives seem to agree that Democrats will have a harder time maintaining a majority in the Senate due to high-profile retirements and endangered incumbents, but the House is harder to predict due to the extremely narrow divisions in that chamber.But at least on the housing front, there is more agreement between the political parties on these issues than some others driving forward the election debate.In California, rent control is on the ballot yet again. If passed, Proposition 33 would repeal a state law that prevents local governments from enacting rent increase limits on most single-family homes and on housing built after 1995. Supporters say the legislation will give municipal leaders a way to help reduce extreme housing costs. Opponents say it would discourage new construction, exacerbating existing issues.

The hardest position to take in analyzing the housing market is one that is contrarian and bullish. When everyone knows that the housing market is sluggish and weak, but the data shows surprising strength. That’s where we are right now. Home sales are significantly better than they were last year at this time. No one else is reporting it yet, because the traditional data takes so long to reach the headlines. This week, we count 14% more homes in the contract pending stage now than a year ago. These are homes that will generally close in November and December. Another tricky part of communicating this news is that home sales aren’t suddenly great. This isn’t a strong market; it’s just better than last year. Last year was weak as mortgage rates were hitting 8%. But they’re back up to 7% now, so maybe this strength is fleeting and will evaporate as we close out the year. Meanwhile, national home price signals had another positive week this week. Inventory is past peak for the year, so the momentum looks to keep the trends in a positive direction for now. Let’s take a look at the data as we’re already in November 2024.Inventory drops againThere are 736,000 single-family homes unsold on the market in the U.S. That’s a couple thousand fewer than last week, and down again from the peak two weeks ago. The unsold supply of homes on the market has now passed its peak for 2024. The inventory peak came a month earlier than in 2023. There are 29.8% more homes on the market than last year. Remember in September we were at 40% more homes on the market and now we’re under 30%. That’s because in the fourth quarter 2023, the market was grinding to a halt. Mortgage rates were super high and inventory was building. The market is different now. The market peaked with almost 740,000 single-family homes unsold a few weeks ago. That was about 6% more than we had anticipated earlier in the year. We’d modeled that the peak would be more like 700k. That difference can be attributed to mortgage rates staying higher for longer through September. Higher rates create more inventory. One reason inventory can’t drop quickly this year is because so much of the country, like the midwest and northeast, don’t have many homes on the market. Places like Chicago have barely more homes unsold than during the pandemic. It’s hard for inventory in Chicago to fall for the holidays where there are already no homes on the market. It remains to be seen if this recent spike in the cost of money is going to reverse the supply trend. For whatever reason, the trend seems to be holding now. New listings riseThere were just under 61,000 new listings unsold this week. That’s just a touch more than last week, but 17% more than a year ago. When you include the 9,400 immediate sales, the total is 13% more sellers than a year ago. Last year at this time, the market was in deep retrenchment — both buyers and sellers were walking away. So, the new listings volume last year was low and dropping. The market feels marginally healthier now.While it’s late in the year, you could say that the weekly new listings are in the “old normal” range now. Many years of the last decade there would be 60,000 to70,000 new listings in a week in November. We’ll see if this trend continues, because consistently more sellers would signal a transition to new market dynamics.Maybe this year’s strong showing is just a reflection of the country finally getting some mellow weather. It’s really just one week. Sellers could dip again next week. But maybe it’s an early sign that we’re witnessing the slow erosion of the mortgage lock-in effect? Are home owners tired of waiting on the sidelines for conditions to improve? Home sales show a jumpOn the demand side, the market showed a jump in new transactions just as it did a jump in new listings this week. We counted 63,000 new contracts started for single-family homes this week. This may be evidence that the activity is a bit of noise, with some fluctuations caused by hurricanes. People had deals to do, but they got delayed for a few weeks. The key with the newly pending home sales data is that we always keep our eyes open for conditions where sellers are climbing but buyers are not. This week, both sellers and buyers both accelerated. There are now 354,000 single-family homes in the contract pending stage.One thing that I find fascinating is that even though mortgage rates have jumped back up close to 7%, we haven’t yet seen a slowdown in the sales volume. As rates rise and home prices stay elevated, mortgage payments for a typical buyer have inched back up close to the highs from a year ago. Affordability is getting worse right now, but we haven’t yet seen a correlated slow down in buyers. I don’t have a great explanation for why that is. Maybe buyers are just slow to respond to fast changes in mortgage markets.Here’s another data point that emerges when we examine the pending home sales. In August the withdrawal rate — the listings that never got offers, are not pending, and are no longer for sale — was higher than previous years. It was one reason that inventory didn’t grow more quickly. If a seller is not happy with the market conditions and chooses not to sell, inventory goes down. In August, we saw more withdrawals, but It no longer appears to be that way. Withdrawals were climbing in the fourth quarter 2022 and 2023, but they’re not climbing now. Home prices are resilientI’ve shared recently how the median price of homes in the U.S. are staying resilient right now. That surprised me given the obviously weak first three quarters of the year. The chart below is the median price of the newly pending contracts for single-family homes, and you can see that resiliency. That price is $389,900 again this week. That’s unchanged from a week ago and is running 5% to 6% above home prices a year ago. Home price strength has been the most surprising development in the housing market this year. We’re looking at the national average, of course. There are some regions where home prices are down. There are local markets where home prices have declined for the last two years and haven’t found a bottom yet. Some of these markets I’ve looked for signals of price upturns and don’t find them.  Price cuts dipPrice cuts dipped again this week. Fewer home sellers found the need to reduce their asking prices. The market is almost at the lowest level in two years in November. Some 39.4% of the homes on he market have taken a price cut from their original list price. Next week, we could have fewer price cuts than either of the last two years. We use price reductions as a leading indicator for future home sales. I see a market that stayed frozen for much more of 2024 than anyone expected. Buyers waited on the side lines for cheaper money. That mortgage rate dip finally emerged in September. That was enough to motivate some homebuyers. We didn’t see that motivation when rates were at 6.5%, but we did when rates fell closer to 6%. Rolling into 2025, we’re currently positioned for weakness to start the year. What if we start 2025 with mortgage rates over 7%? I think that’s the key. It’s wild how quickly the sentiment can change. As of now, 2024 looks like home prices are holding firm nationally and inventory is peaked for the year, but what if economic news or the election drives mortgage rates back over 7%? Mike Simonsen is the founder of Altos Research.

The Real Brokerage‘s expansion trend has continued with another major affiliation. The digital brokerage platform announced on Monday the addition of Amerivest Realty, a Florida-based brokerage, adding 400 agents across Florida, Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin to Real’s platform. The move broadens Real’s service capabilities and aligns the brokerage with industry consolidation trends.Amerivest brings experienced agents and a suite of technology and education tools — covering marketing, business management, customer relationship management (CRM) and document management solutions — that will integrate into Real’s platform. The affiliation is designed to better position Real as a leader in the digital brokerage space.Real said that Amerivest founder and president Joe Ballarino is a key factor in the move, praising his industry expertise and tech-forward approach.“Joe’s commitment to technology and education equips agents with the tools to elevate client service,” Real President Sharran Srivatsaa said in a statement. “This aligns seamlessly with Real’s mission of innovation and excellence, and we are excited to support Joe and his team as they continue to push boundaries in the industry.”Ballarino began his career in 1994 with Winfield Associates, Amerivest’s predecessor, taking ownership of Amerivest in 2016. He has held multiple leadership roles with the Florida Association of Realtors. He helped to launch Amerivest’s transaction management platform, Form Simplicity, as well as a cloud-based CRM for Florida Realtors.The move to Real marks a new chapter for Ballarino. “Amerivest was built on the foundation of empowering agents with the tools and technology to succeed,” he said. “Joining Real allows us to take our platform even further, providing agents with unparalleled resources while tapping into Real’s collaborative culture.”The affiliation is part of Real’s strategic expansion efforts, following the additions of the Grant Johnson Group in Minneapolis and other firms in recent months. Agent support and retention are also key parts of Real’s strategy. At the RISE conference on Oct. 22, Real unveiled three new products — Leo CoPilot, Leo for Clients and Real Wallet — to highlight its commitment to innovation and growth. It has further expansion plans for 2025.

The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals and organizations that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s 2025 Tech100 Award are open now through December 16, 2024. Click here to nominate a tech organization.As technology continues to rapidly reshape nearly every aspect of real estate and mortgage, HousingWire’s Tech100 award has become an industry staple, spotlighting the companies driving this transformation each year. To catch up on the latest in housing tech, we reached out to leaders from some of HousingWire’s 2024 Tech100 winning organizations to learn more about the projects they’ve been working on since earning their place on the prestigious list. Take a look below to see the latest from last year’s winning organizations who answered the question: What new products or projects has your company taken on since its last TECH100 win? “Kiavi launched a new construction financing product. This product leverages Kiavi’s technology and data platform to offer competitively priced, transparent, and reliable capital to real estate developers looking to rebuild outdated houses or build new homes on vacant lots. As far as we know, Kiavi is now the only major, fully digitized, end-to-end platform for real estate investors to finance new construction projects.” — Arvind Mohan is CEO of Kiavi“In October, we introduced Floify Verify, a native VOIE service that allows lenders and brokers to verify borrower data without having to manage additional vendors or leave the point of sale workflow. The solution covers 90% of the U.S. workforce and reduces verification costs by 60%-80% over legacy methods. And, because it’s powered by Argyle, reports are eligible for GSE representations and warranties relief.” — Sofia Rossato, President and General Manager of Floify“We’ve doubled down on our AI technology. In real estate, helping people build wealth starts with data and analysis. We’ve developed innovative technology that uses computer vision to analyze property conditions, providing valuable insights to homeowners nationwide. Whether they choose to leverage Revive’s services or not, our mission is to empower better real estate decisions through data.” — Dalip Jaggi, Co-founder and COO, Revive Real Estate“We’ve continued incorporating AI into our tools and growing our existing AI-specific tool specifically for real estate agents. We leaned in this year on not just adding AI for the sake of adding AI, but leveraging what we’ve learned and how quickly this space has changed from a technological perspective. We are adding enhancements to tools where they make sense, make an impact, and ultimately remove friction from our agents’ day-to-day.”— Alisande Heriyanto, VP of Product and Tech Support at The Corcoran Group“Winnow has increased its regulatory coverage by an astounding 33%, taking our total number of individual requirements from 60,000 to 80,000. We also announced Winnow AI, our groundbreaking AI-powered search assistant that provides lightning-fast answers to common legal questions. In addition, we’ve focused on several improvements to our core product, with enhancements to survey export, dashboard, and defined terms. In coming releases, Winnow will see improvements to notifications, the addition of bill language, and the ability to build surveys based on a past date.” — Chris Hilliard , CEO of Winnow SolutionsNominate your organization for HousingWire’s 2025 Tech100 award before nominations close December 16th, 2024.

Home prices have remained firm over the last two months, even with higher mortgage rates and inventory data. Our weekly tracker data is created to look ahead of the traditional monthly reports such as Case Shiller and the NAR existing home sales report, and what I have seen over the past few weeks has shocked me. I want to show you how the data changed with mortgage rates heading toward 6% so the next time this happens, we have a better idea of what to expect in the housing market. Deviation In the dataI aim to determine what level of mortgage rates we need to change the demand curve, which can also change the pricing curve in housing data. I have long believed that it’s rare in the U.S. after 1996 to have existing home sales trend below 4 million. We have had a few months in which we have gotten below this level, but nothing too drastic. Back on Nov. 9, 2022, I showed how housing dynamics shifted by tracking forward-looking data. This podcast video is a tutorial on how to track this and why the 2023 housing price-crash people got it wrong because they have no working models. To this date, these principles still apply. Let’s take a look at what looks different today versus the past two years.Pending contracts First, we must realize that we are working with the third calendar year of the lowest home sales ever recorded, once you adjust that number to the workforce. It’s not like we have underwater mortgages or credit being tight either — this was the biggest crash ever and sales are still low. This means we have a low bar of sales to work from because mortgage rates have been trending between 6%-8% for two years with rising prices, and we aren’t crashing in sales lower from these levels. So, when we look at the contract data, mortgage rates heading down toward 6% firmed the data up and the data is still showing a deviation from the levels we see from 2022 and 2023. This means the bottom-end sales are finding a firm base to work from. What I take from this is that we need 6% mortgage rates to grow sales with some sustainability. It won’t be spectacular, but we can grow and sustain higher sales rates at that level. We don’t need 3%, 4%, or even 5% mortgage rates, but just heading toward 6% and staying there can work. If you want to see sales growth with some kick, you need sub-6% mortgage rates with duration, but since I can’t even forecast those levels yet, I am not going in that direction until the labor market breaks or the spreads get much better. I recently talked about this on CNBC. This is something to consider in the future. Every year, wages grow, more households are formed and if mortgage rates fall, it should create another positive demand curve data line of over 12 weeks. However, if mortgage rates can stay between 5.75%-6.25% for 12 months, it can sustain a higher sales level from the data we have seen since the end of 2022.Purchase application dataLast week, purchase application data had a positive 5% week-to-week print and was up 10% year over year. However, remember that October had a shallow bar, so take the entire month showing positive year-over-year growth with some context. If I took the whole month of October, which was positive every week on a year-over-year basis, we averaged about 7.4% growth from last year.Let’s look at how this data line has acted so far this year.When mortgage rates were running higher earlier in the year (between 6.75%-7.50%), this is what the purchase application data looked like:14 negative prints2 flat prints2 positive printsSince mortgage rates started falling in mid-June, here’s what purchase applications looked like:12 positive prints 5 negative prints1 flat print3 straight positive year-over-year growth printsWith mortgage rates up again, here is where we are:2 negative prints1 positive weekly printHere we can see a clear positive, forward-looking data line with mortgage rates heading toward 6%, and now this makes two times since late 2022 this has happened where demand gets better for over 12 weeks. I talked about the recent data being different in the HousingWire Daily podcast last week. But it isn’t just demand but also pricing. Pricing dataRegarding price-cut data, many fake housing experts took information from other sources and didn’t know how to explain it correctly. This has been one of the most entertaining things to watch in 2024, by the way. They misread the price cut percentage and rising inventory data to mean that national home prices had to fall a lot this year. But we never had a proper deep negative pricing curve data line this year, and it’s November now. However, this year, mortgage rates heading toward 6% facilitated the price cut percentage data to go lower earlier this year than in 2022 and 2023 data. Nothing is too dramatic here, but as you can see with the pending contact data, we have a rate variable that can change the data line even with rising housing inventory. There were many years of housing data in the early to mid-1980s and mid to late 1990s, and even from 2000 to 2005, where we have seen rising inventory and sales. You can have rising inventory, increasing sales and rising prices. The price-cut percentage data is crucial if you know how to read it properly, and as you can see below, the price cut percentage data has slowed down recently.What is shocking is that our weekly new pending price median data has firmed up even in a seasonally soft pricing period, especially now with higher inventory data. As you can see below, there is an apparent deviation from the 2022 and 2023 data. This is why my forecast for 2024 at 2.33% and home-price growth is at risk. If mortgage rates stayed near 6%, you wouldn’t have to be a rocket scientist to guess what the data line shows.Weekly data linesI am focusing on the deviation data in this weekend’s tracker, which is different than what we usually do; this is a quick look at the traditional data we show.The weekly housing inventory did decline slightly. This is a back-to-back week of a minor decline in inventory. We have seen good growth in active listings data this year, so for those who said inventory can’t ever grow with higher rates, 2024 hopefully changed your mind. Inventory fell from 736,014 to 735,718.New listings data had a slight increase this week from 60,066 to 60,819.The positive story for 2024 so far is that inventory has grown. I wanted this to happen in 2023, but it happened too late to make a material change. However, for 2024, we’ve seen inventory growth and no new severe listing data from the new listings data in 2024. To give you some perspective on what stressed new listings look like, compare the 60,819 new listings data this week versus the data we saw this week during these years:2009: 280,4002010: 353,4572011: 352,030As I often say, we had different credit markets back then, so stop dancing with a ghost.10-year yield and mortgage ratesMy 2024 forecast included:A range for mortgage rates between 7.25%-5.75%A range for the 10-year yield between 4.25%-3.21%I will keep this as simple as possible. I have talked about this 4.40% line in the sand on the 10-year yield for some time now. If this level breaks higher, we have broken the downtrend in the 10-year yield that started on Oct. 16, 2023, when it was at 5%. We have a lot happening this week, so let’s watch this. If you’re confused about the bond market action on Jobs Friday, this article goes into my take on that. Mortgage spreadsMortgage spreads had a good day on Friday, preventing pricing from worsening. However, the bigger story has been that the spreads getting better this year have been a positive for housing. If we had no improvement this year, rates could not only be higher today but all year. The spreads have gotten worse recently but are still better than last year.The week ahead: All bets are off Between the election and the Fed meetings this week, all bets are off the table on anything being normal. I will be on the HousingWire Daily podcast three times this week to explain what is happening. Monday’s podcast will try to explain what is going on with the 10-year yield and mortgage rates. For this week, the 4.40% level for bond yields is key; closing above that level and getting follow-through bond selling can be problematic for housing. However, try to ignore the intraday moves—they can be wild near critical technical levels. Good luck to everyone this week.

Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.Whether you’re looking to start a career in real estate, already have one or are involved in real estate transactions, you may find yourself wondering about industry terminology and job titles. The industry acronyms alone look like alphabet soup. So, let’s start with the basics: What is a real estate broker vs. an agent? To answer that, we’ll take a deep dive into the differences between the many types of real estate professionals, including a real estate agent and a real estate broker. Real estate agents and real estate brokers are both licensed real estate professionals who can assist buyers and sellers, but you should be aware of some key differences and state-specific distinctions. Let’s dive in!SummaryWhat is a real estate agent?What does a real estate agent do?How do real estate agents get paid?Types of real estate agentsHow to become a real estate agentWhat is a real estate broker?What does a real estate broker do?Why become a real estate broker?Types of real estate brokersHow to become a real estate brokerThe full picture: Real estate broker vs. agentFAQsWhat is a real estate agent?A real estate agent is a licensed professional who represents buyers or sellers in real estate transactions. Though most commonly thought of for residential deals, real estate agents can also help people buy, sell or rent commercial properties, land and more.There are multiple types of agents — more on that below — but the common thread is that to become an agent, each professional must fulfill licensing requirements in accordance with their state. Much like lawyers needing to take a separate bar exam in each state they wish to practice in, real estate agents’ training and licensing requirements vary by state.PRO TIPYou may see the terms “real estate agent” and “Realtor” used interchangeably. While a Realtor is indeed an agent, the term doesn’t work both ways. To be a Realtor, an agent must be a member of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). To become a NAR member, licensed real estate agents must join a local NAR association and pay annual dues.What does a real estate agent do?A real estate agent’s tasks will vary depending on which side of the transaction they are on. This section gives you a broad overview of their most common roles.Arguably, one of the most important functions of a real estate agent is to guide and be a subject matter expert to clients through the buying and selling processes. Put simply, a good agent is a sherpa who knows every step of the journey and expertly leads their client up the path. That can include being a housing market expert and advising clients on the best times to list or buy a home; having referrals handy for inspections, repairs, staging and photography; understanding the mortgage origination process; and more.Real estate agents are also intermediaries between buyers and sellers, ensuring that their clients are well-represented in negotiations and that any concerns that arise during the transaction are addressed. Direct communication between buyer and seller is rare, and in many cases, can backfire. Agents serve as a safe middleman to keep things moving forward in a professional manner.Also top of the list, agents are marketers. A top-notch real estate agent knows exactly how to market a home listing to get the right eyes on it. This includes — but is not limited to — posting to the MLS, hosting open houses and getting creative with social media.Last but not least, real estate agents prepare documents such as closing documents, purchase agreements, and leases while ensuring that the transaction is in compliance with local laws and their client’s terms are met. An agent may also be present at closings to review closing documents and help guide their client through the final steps.This is far from an exhaustive list of all that agents do, but the common thread is this: Agents serve as experts and guides in real estate transactions to get their clients the best possible outcomes.How do real estate agents get paid?The simple answer is that real estate agents are paid on commission, typically a percentage of the property’s sale price. In the average residential transaction, commissions are usually split between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent, with the seller typically paying both commissions.However, if you’ve been paying attention to the news over the past few months, you know this question has been top of mind across the industry. The NAR Settlement, which resulted from a class action lawsuit, brought real estate commissions into the spotlight.Unfortunately, it also resulted in the circulation of misinformation about commissions. While several changes went into effect in August following the settlement, commissions remained negotiable, as they always have been.Types of real estate agentsAs you’ve likely gathered, there are multiple types of real estate agents. An agent can play many roles but typically stick to one role in a single transaction to avoid conflict of interest. For example, it would be rare for an agent to be both the listing agent and buyer’s agent for the same transaction (what’s called dual agency). However, it does happen, and we cover that below, as well as the various types of brokers. Here are brief descriptions of each type of real estate agent:Listing agent: The listing agent represents the seller. Their responsibilities include listing the property on the MLS, marketing the property and negotiating offers with potential buyers.Buyer’s agent: The buyer’s agent represents the buyer. They assist buyers throughout the home search, negotiate the purchase price and guide them through the closing process.Dual or transactional agent: As mentioned above, these situations are rare, but a dual or transactional agent represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. This can create conflicts of interest, and real estate agents generally shy away from this.Referral agent: A referral agent is a real estate agent who refers clients to other agents in exchange for a referral fee. This is a common practice in the real estate industry, especially for agents who specialize in certain types of properties or markets.Commercial real estate agent: Commercial real estate agents specialize in transactions involving commercial properties, such as office buildings, retail stores, and industrial warehouses.How to become a real estate agentThe path to becoming a real estate agent varies by state, so your natural first step is to research your state’s requirements. Factors like minimum age, education, and background checks differ by state. Generally, you need to be a U.S. citizen or legal resident and be 18 years of age or older. No matter where you’re looking to work, to become a real estate agent, you must complete a prelicensing course from an accredited real estate licensing school prior to sitting (and passing!) your state’s real estate license exam.Enroll in and complete a prelicensing course approved by your state’s real estate commission. This course covers real estate law, contracts, finance and ethics. The required number of hours varies by state. Find our state-specific guides here to learn how many hours of education you need to complete to become licensed in your state. We highly recommend The CE Shop. With training courses for all 50 states and easily accessible online courses, The CE Shop is a value-packed resource for agents nationwide. To learn more and find a list of other helpful accredited real estate schools, check out the links, below.Check out The CE ShopRelated articles The CE Shop Review: Features, pricing and pros & cons The best online real estate school for every learning style & budget The next official step is to take the exam, but don’t forget to complete some practice exams first! After you pass your state licensing exam, real estate agent hopefuls submit an application for a license to their state’s real estate regulatory organization. This application will require several documents and a fee, which again, varies by state. Once your application is approved, the state then mails the real estate license to you.Now, it’s time to join a brokerage. Depending on the brokerage, agents may pay anywhere from $25-$500 per month to be a part of the brokerage. With that in mind, it’s a good practice to interview multiple brokerages before deciding where to land.Top real estate broker Ashley Harwood included some great questions to ask potential brokerages in her article about working part-time as an agent here. After agents have partnered with a brokerage, it’s time to get to work. But keep in mind that licenses will need to be renewed. For license renewal courses and continuing education, read Best real estate continuing education schools for quick and easy license renewal.Related articles Free real estate practice exam + 7 study hacks to ace the real estate exam The best real estate companies to work for in 2024 (+ beyond) What is a real estate broker?Unlike real estate agents, real estate brokers are licensed to work independently and run their own real estate businesses. With this additional licensing, they can employ agents to work for them and receive a portion of the commissions that those agents earn.Apart from that, their job function is almost identical. They can help people buy and sell properties, and guide clients through the real estate process. If you’ve ever been on the consumer side of a real estate transaction, you may have worked with a broker instead of an agent and never known it.PRO TIPIn some states, such as North Carolina and Washington, the first level of real estate licensing is called “broker.” These states are called “broker-only” states, meaning the entry-level license is a broker license. The next level of licensing is usually managing broker.What does a real estate broker do?In addition to all of the typical tasks of an agent, real estate brokers will often supervise other agents and they will often oversee their own firm or brokerage. Like agents, there are multiple types of brokers, and their responsibilities will vary based on their job titles.For example, a designated broker is someone who owns a real estate firm and oversees business activities, such as hiring and managing other brokers, agents and office staff.We’ll dive into the types of brokers and their responsibilities below, but the main takeaway is that brokers can perform all of the functions of a real estate agent with the added element of managing or employing other agents. Why become a real estate broker?The answer to this question depends on your motivations, but for many, there are two main reasons: Financial opportunities and the entrepreneurial aspect.Brokers receive a cut of the commissions their agents bring in, in addition to a greater portion — if not the entirety — of the commissions from their own transactions. There are several ways that brokers can structure commissions with agents.Straight commission splits are the most typical, and as the name implies, involve the agent splitting a portion of the commission with their broker. These splits are entirely up to the broker and could be anything from 90/10 to 60/40 and so on. Brokers may take into account the seniority of the agent and the hands-on help required when structuring the split. Top-producing agents who join a brokerage often have the advantage here, and will often get a 90/10 split.Apart from the financial aspect, agents may opt to become brokers out of a desire to be their own boss and mentor others. For those with an entrepreneurial drive, owning a firm may seem enticing. As with any business, though, the more you oversee, the more you’re responsible for. Brokers are often legally liable for the actions of agents working under them.Related articles Aceable Agent Review: features, pricing, pros & cons Real estate exam prep: The ultimate guide to acing your state’s real estate exam Types of real estate brokersLike real estate agents, brokers can specialize in different areas. We’ve outlined the main types below. Keep in mind that licensing for these roles may vary by state. Designated broker: The highest level of broker, a designated broker, is responsible for the actions of all licensed agents working under them. They oversee all real estate activities and ensure compliance with state laws and regulations. They can still interact with individual clients but often focus on managing the overall business. Managing broker: Think of this role as a mid-level manager. A managing broker reports directly to the designated broker and manages various aspects of the real estate firm, such as working with clients, training new agents and managing work schedules.Associate broker: An associate broker works under the supervision of a designated or managing broker. They can perform all the duties of a real estate agent, but they may also have additional supervisory responsibilities within the brokerage.Broker-in-charge or Principal broker: These roles most closely align with designated brokers. The two terms are often used interchangeably and refer to the licensed broker responsible for the overall operation of a real estate brokerage. You’ll more commonly see the title “broker-in-charge” in broker-only states.How to become a real estate brokerThe first step is to become and work as a real estate agent. As with obtaining a real estate license, the requirements for brokers vary by state. To help build skillsets and heighten their reputation, broker hopefuls can earn certifications in addition to the required real estate license.After gaining experience as a real estate agent, it’s time to take the state-approved real estate broker course. This course is more detailed than the real estate agent course, particularly on topics of contracts, ethics, insurance and taxes. Upon completion of the course and passing the exam, real estate agents are ready to be licensed as brokers. Much like an agent, brokers must actively continue their education and renew their licenses to stay current. For a list of the best real estate schools to complete your broker licensing course, check out our article here.We highly recommend The CE Shop for the convenience and speed of their broker licensing courses. The CE Shop offers real estate broker licensing courses in all 50 states, plus Washington DC, and boasts excellent value and course content, plus the convenience of online studies to level up your career. Check out The CE ShopRelated articles California real estate license renewal: How to get it done fast Best real estate continuing education schools for quick and easy license renewal in 2024 The full picture: Real estate broker vs. agentGoing back to the original question, “What is the difference between real estate agents vs. brokers?” The simple answer is that brokers have the ability to do everything a real estate agent does while also managing or employing agents to work under them. Put simply, think of real estate agents as individual contributors and brokers as managers/owners.Both roles have pros and cons. For brokers, the obvious pro is increased financial gain from additional streams of commission. However, with that comes the increased risk, as the broker assumes liability for any legal issues that may arise with agents working under them. The inverse is true for agents. Real estate agents get the benefit of guidance and mentorship under a brokerage, but it comes at the cost of a portion of their commission.Related articles How to get listings in real estate — 11 proven strategies for 2024 How to be a successful real estate agent (without going broke) FAQsWhat is the income difference between a broker vs. agent?There’s no simple answer to this, as neither position is typically salaried, and commission splits vary.According to NAR, the average annual income for a real estate agent in the United States is $46,014 (as of January 2024), but the range typically falls between $44,951 and $58,528.Brokers’ income varies depending on whether they still sell. According to NAR, the median income for a selling broker is $105,900, and for a broker who does not engage in sales, it is $91,900.How long does it take to become an agent vs. a broker?Many real estate training sites estimate about a four to six month average on the road to becoming a real estate agent. However, with a structured training course and ample time dedication, agent-hopefuls could cut this time down to just a few weeks.For those who are already licensed agents, it can take up to three years to become a broker. Most states require that brokers have two years of experience as a practicing real estate agent. Add this to the time it takes to complete training hours and pass the exam.Can real estate agents work independently?The short answer is no. Real estate agents must partner with a brokerage and work under a licensed real estate broker.Related articles 5 best online real estate schools in Texas for 2024 Image two" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_df5a0d0a-6241-4467-a354-2626457d1cf8.png?w=300" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_df5a0d0a-6241-4467-a354-2626457d1cf8.png?w=1024" tabindex="0" role="button" /> 7 best online real estate schools in Florida (FL) for 2024 Los Angeles California skyline at night" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_de22c397-a8eb-42fc-9ee1-36a1fb13190c.png?w=300" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_de22c397-a8eb-42fc-9ee1-36a1fb13190c.png?w=1024" tabindex="0" role="button" /> 5 best online real estate schools in California for 2024 jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $('.vetted-accordion-header').click(function() { var content = $(this).next('.vetted-accordion-content'); if (content.hasClass('active')) { // Collapse the section if it's already active content.removeClass('active').css('max-height', '0'); $(this).removeClass('open-toggle'); // Remove class from header } else { // Expand the clicked section content.addClass('active').css('max-height', content.prop('scrollHeight') + 'px'); $(this).addClass('open-toggle'); // Add class to header } });});

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Friday announced that it is seeking a settlement with Chicago-based Townstone Financial that would resolve a case over what the bureau calls “discriminatory lending practices and redlining African American neighborhoods in Chicago.”The proposed order would prohibit Townstone from taking any action that would violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and require Townstone to pay a penalty of $105,000 into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.Townstone characterized the settlement as “favorable” in a statement submitted to HousingWire after this story was originally published. It detailed that one element of the settlement is that “Barry Sturner, Townstone’s president and CEO, was dismissed from the case, and Townstone neither admits nor denies liability for the actions alleged in the complaint.”“My family and I are relieved to finally put this nightmare behind us,” said Sturner in a statement. “The last six years have taken a toll on all of us.”Steve Simpson, senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) who is representing Townstone in this matter, said the case should never have been brought.“Unfortunately, the federal government possesses vast resources and the power to destroy lives and livelihoods, so settling is often the best approach for anyone facing a lawsuit of this kind,” Simpson said.The PLF will “continue to fight overreach by CFPB and other federal agencies,” the organization said.The move toward this resolution follows a lengthy court battle, along with a July decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that reaffirmed the Bureau’s authority to prohibit discrimination against credit applicants and from discouraging prospective applicants for credit under the ECOA.“The CFPB’s lawsuit against Townstone Financial included a major appellate court victory that makes clear that people are protected from illegal redlining even before they submit their application,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The CFPB will continue to prosecute those who engage in modern-day redlining.”In the summer of 2020, the CFPB filed suit against Townstone, alleging that it violated Regulation B of the ECOA by drawing “almost no applications for properties in majority-African-American neighborhoods” and ”few applications from African Americans” in the Chicago metro area.This amounted to discrimination, the CFPB alleged. In October 2020, Townstone moved to have the case dismissed. A federal judge in Illinois ruled in favor of Townstone in February 2023, but the CFPB vowed to appeal, which ultimately resulted in its authority under ECOA being reaffirmed by a three-judge panel.The settlement agreement will need to be entered by the court, which has yet to take place.Editor’s note: This story has been updated with perspective from Townstone, its founder and CEO and a senior Pacific Legal Foundation attorney representing the company.

In this week’s episode of the Power House podcast, host Diego Sanchez sits down with FirstTeam Real Estate CEO Michele Harrington for a provocative conversation about female empowerment, leadership in the real estate industry and recruitment strategies.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The duo start the conversation by exploring Harrington’s path into the CEO’s role at FirstTeam.Michele Harrington: After entering real estate sales right out of the Marine Corps, I built my own brokerage. Six years ago, my whole company came over to FirstTeam. Over time, I became chief operating officer. And then, Cameron Merage thought I could really lead the company into the next generation. Sanchez: When you look at the industry, only 26% of leadership positions in real estate are held by women, even though over 60% of real estate agents are women. Why is that? Harrington: For women, we want the flexibility of having a great career, a family and other things in our lives. When you look at the leadership track, it’s a little bit more structured. We do a disservice to our industry when women don’t step up and lead. I chose to step up and lead because I love our industry and I felt like I had something to offer it. Sanchez: You’re also pretty out front right now with recruiting. FirstTeam is on track to surpass $1 billion in recruited teams this year. How are you doing that in this crazy housing market? Harrington: We have a unique way of recruiting. We’ve always been a new-agent company. Our licensing school brings in brand-new agents, whom we train and develop to help them become superstars. If you take the top 10 agents in Orange County right now, eight of them started at FirstTeam. Most brand-new agents fail. In doing research, when we put brand-new agents on a team, they succeed. These teams are hugely growth-minded teams and they want to recruit. So, we figured out a way to get seasoned agents that have or want to grow these teams, and their production is growing by 20%, 30% or 40% a year. We bring over these teams and then we recruit for the team. So, that’s why they’re attracted to us, and that’s why they grow with us. Sanchez: Are you thinking at all about expanding FirstTeam beyond California? Harrington: We think it’s best to keep our fortress really strong and still grow. So, organic growth by spreading into adjacent territory is ideal, as opposed to skipping over and going to a big city somewhere else in the country. Sanchez: We’re seeing some green shoots in the housing market. How is 2025 looking for your business?Harrington: I think 2025 is going to be a good year, and this year really turned around for us. We sold the corporate office, which cut out a lot of overhead. We ended an expensive partnership and we also recruited a lot. Now that we have this upward trajectory going into 2025 — and I expect the market to improve as well — I think 2025 is going to be a good year for us.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), a subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has been developing a series of uniform technology standards that will ideally allow for the somewhat siloed reverse mortgage industry to more easily collaborate with others in the mortgage finance ecosystem.Jonathan Kearns, vice president of technology at MISMO, sat down with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) at the MBA Annual Convention & Expo in Denver this week to discuss the work of the group.Chris Clow/RMD: What can you tell me about the work that is progressing in terms of the scope of the reverse development work group, and what does it potentially mean for MISMO?Jonathan Kearns: Today, the reverse mortgage is a very cocooned, proprietary dataset in how it’s done. Lenders are very specialized in that space. So, the goal here is to open up and create standardized datasets for reverse mortgages, but also to base it on traditional mortgage data.That way, when a loan officer is looking at a solution for a customer, they can look at both a traditional mortgage and a reverse mortgage together. Today, that’s not possible unless systems are integrated, but usually, it’s two distinct, separate systems. Integrating the data between the two can’t happen today because reverse mortgage data is completely proprietary and non-standardized.Clow: What exactly has this entailed from a technology perspective?Kearns: The first step was to create the data points and information needed that’s not in the MISMO model today. There are probably about 100 data points collected in reverse mortgages that aren’t collected in traditional mortgages, so we added those. Now, they’re looking at creating a dataset based on what’s called iLAD, or the industry loan application dataset.They’re defining certain use cases for reverse mortgages, as there are many different platforms or use cases within traditional mortgages as well. The key goal is to create a standardized dataset using the MISMO model, which would also give it the ability to be combined with a traditional mortgage.Clow: You said that reverse mortgages have often been siloed. Does that present any unique challenges compared to some of the other work MISMO has done, just because reverse mortgages often have their own platforms and terminology?Kearns: Yeah, I think the biggest challenge is getting the stakeholders together in a room because they’re used to working in silos. MISMO, as an organization, does a great job of bringing together people who typically don’t work on standardization and getting it done — but adoption is key. Everyone has to see the value, especially the platforms.The good news is that two of the largest platforms in the reverse mortgage space had the idea to come to MISMO and work on this because they saw the need for it in the industry. Reverse mortgages are a small percentage of the industry today, and they do have a bit of a stigma because of those commercials back in the day with Robert Wagner and so on.Clow: Does that crystallize the reputational challenges that reverse mortgages have in the work of MISMO?Kearns: People don’t always think of them in the same way as a traditional mortgage, but if you really look at them, they provide a unique opportunity for our aging population to tap into their equity.I think the key is going to be adoption — getting people in the traditional mortgage space to consider reverse mortgages as another product. We’re seeing this already with Movement Mortgage, which has gotten into the space and is doing a lot with reverse mortgages because it’s a great product, especially with interest rates where they are today. A refi or cash-out refi isn’t always the best option.Clow: In terms of bringing reverse mortgage professionals into the fold, what has the collaborative process been like as the group’s work progresses? There could be some misunderstandings between forward and reverse professionals. What’s it like finding that middle ground?Kearns: We’re just now starting on the education and adoption piece. What we’ve done so far is to bring reverse mortgage platforms into the group and communicate with the iLAD group about the uniform residential loan application dataset, or URLA, with the GSEs and lenders involved, so they’re aware of what’s going on.In addition, we’ve partnered with the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), which is also part of the group. They’ve done a lot to promote the initiative within their industry. So once we have a dataset — right now, we’ve just finished getting it into the model — then our next step will be working with lenders, attending loan production committee meetings, and starting to educate and evangelize about it.Clow: The most recent timeline mentioned had a milestone date scheduled for January. Is that still on track or could it change?Kearns: Right now, they’re hoping to finish one of the use case datasets by the end of this year. After that, it’ll go through the approval process and similar steps, which takes about another 90 days. So, by that point, they should be complete and ready for the approval process.

In the newest episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast, host Sarah Wheeler sits down with Freddie Mac’s Sonu Mittal — the agency’s senior vice president and head of single-family acquisitions — to explore its recently announced alternative to loan repurchases, as well as appraisal waivers and how they address lender pain points in 2024.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The conversation kicks off with a deep dive into Freddie Mac’s new option to reduce loan buybacks.Sarah Wheeler: First, let’s talk about the expansion that you did when it comes to buybacks, which has been a pain point for lenders over the last 18 months. Sonu Mittal: Our goal was determining how to continue having the right focus on loan quality while reducing friction when a repurchase happens for performing loans. We’re excited to share that the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) pilot is expanded to all sellers who do business with Freddie Mac.Over the next few months, sellers will have the opportunity to opt in for the full year 2025. The program is designed to be based on the UPB (unpaid principal balance), or the loan deliveries we receive in a specific quarter from the lenders, and the corresponding NAQ rate, which is the non-acceptable quality rate.We want to continue to see the right level of engagement from the industry when it comes to the loan quality. We also have to make sure it’s continuing to work within the rep and warranty framework, which is outlined for us from FHFA. Wheeler and Mittal also discuss how Freddie’s fee-based repurchase alternative and appraisal-related initiatives address lender concerns.Wheeler: How do both of these things answer some of the pain points that lenders had in 2024?Mittal: We would like more consistency and predictability on what is expected from them. But also, when you think about lenders, especially the nonbanks or IMBs, they don’t really have a balance sheet. This allows room for alternatives — which may be more financially viable if the loan quality remains positive — and more lender efficiency, giving them more time to meet the needs of their borrowers or customers.Our appraisal waivers were limited to purchase transactions with an 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Now, purchase appraisal waivers will be increasing to 90% loan to value, and appraisal waivers plus property data reports will be expanding to 97% LTV. We will be sharing the exact date of the deployment with the lenders over the next 30 to 45 days, and we expect it to be available by the end of Q1 2025. This is also another step that will assist first-time homebuyers.Wheeler: How much money do you think homebuyers will save?Mittal: We’ve already saved $1.6 billion with our appraisal processes. With this initiative, a borrower is saving anywhere between $4,000 and $5,000 on average on appraisal costs. Even with a property data report, they’re still saving $200 to $300. We’re expecting borrowers to save on full appraisal costs for a 50% reduction in the overall appraisal cost. After exploring other Freddie Mac initiatives, including automated underwriting system (AUS) enhancements, the conversation closes with Mittal sharing his outlook into the 2025 housing market.Mittal: Going into 2025, we will continue to make the right enhancements as we are serving all different aspects of the market. I don’t expect any drastic changes in our approach. Our focus is to make sure we close out 2024 in a great way. 

Rep. Barbara Lee (D), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives who serves California’s 12th Congressional district in the Oakland area, has signaled that she is interested in the role of secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) if Vice President Kamala Harris is victorious in next week’s presidential election.Lee, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, signaled her interest in leading HUD in an interview with Politico.Official portrait of U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, 115th Congress" data-image-caption="Rep. Barbara Lee" data-medium-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?w=226" data-large-file="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?w=771" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?w=771" alt="Official portrait of U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, 115th Congress" class="wp-image-490522" style="width:200px" srcset="https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg 813w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=113,150 113w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=226,300 226w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=768,1020 768w, https://img.chime.me/image/fs/chimeblog/20241102/16/original_705a004a-ed79-4197-aa11-12f3af0404ac.jpg?resize=771,1024 771w" sizes="(max-width: 813px) 100vw, 813px" />Rep. Barbara Lee“I’ve talked with organizations, and individuals, just about getting their feedback on these proposals — and people have been very excited,” Lee, 78, told the outlet. “People are very pleased that [Harris] has put forth this housing agenda; people have input and ideas.”She tempered the discussion somewhat by saying she remains focused on helping Harris secure the presidency.“Let’s get past Nov. 5 first,” Lee said. “I’m excited about what she’s doing, I think that I know these issues — and naturally, I would be interested in working with her administration on these issues.”Lee and Harris have a long history together as both hail from the Bay Area in California. Lee was also the first member of Congress to endorse Harris for president — in 2019, when Harris first sought the Democratic nomination before ultimately being named Joe Biden’s running mate.Lee served as co-chair of Harris’ first run for the presidency, and both served in the Congressional Black Caucus while Harris was a senator. Lee added that Harris could find “new, creative ways” to boost housing supply across the country when compared to the efforts of the Biden administration.Rep. Adam Schiff (D), who ultimately won the U.S. Senate Democratic primary and will seek to succeed Feinstein, said that Lee would be “an excellent choice in the Cabinet” since she has “the experience needed to serve on day one,” he told Politico.Lee has a reputation for being able to navigate bipartisan relationships without alienating more conservative colleagues with progressive politics, according to Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.).Politico sought comment from Harris’ transition team, but they did not reply to the overture.Should Harris be victorious next week, she will have some unique choices to make when building her cabinet. While some continuity with the Biden administration would be expected, that may not extend to personnel in some positions.Adrianne Todman is currently serving as acting secretary of HUD and could be nominated for full Senate confirmation, but Harris could also aim to signal a cleaner break with the current administration.When asked about potential Cabinet picks, Harris typically demurs, advising reporters and the public to wait until the election results are tabulated to see if these will be decisions she has to make.

Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Optimal Blue CEO Joe Tyrrell to talk about how the company decides where to deploy generative AI and why return on investment (ROI) for customers is paramount. Before arriving at Optimal Blue this year, Tyrrell served as president at ICE Mortgage Technology and as chief operating officer at Ellie Mae. This interview has been condensed for length and clarity. Sarah Wheeler: What differentiates your technology?Joe Tyrrell: There are three things that guide all our tech decisions. Most important, is it improving the ROI of our customers? We have these incredible solutions, in some cases with hundreds of capabilities that the customer has access to. If they are only using 12 or 13 of those, we are not maximizing their ROI. How do we help the lender get the highest rate of return on their dollars? We want to become more than just a vendor; we want to become a partner in their business.Secondly, we never want to automate a bad process. We want to solve a problem, not just automate. Third, making sure that any use of gen AI makes things better, not worse. We see lenders making major investments in gen AI, but when we ask what problems they’re solving, they don’t have a clear answer. As a former chief credit and risk officer, I understand the consequences of introducing unintended bias and how a mistake continues for the life of loan. So, even if a lender thinks an AI use case is cool, if the compliance team or operational staff has any concerns, everything stops. With gen AI, we can articulate the very particular problems we’re solving.Wheeler: How does your background in lending — and lending tech — inform what you are doing now?Tyrrell: I was a loan originator. I ran production, operations. I was an underwriter. I ran a lock desk. I’ve done all aspects of the roles our technology supports. I know what a lot of loan officers do — they know two or three programs really well, and they are going to use those and then stop. But what if loan program No. 21 provides a better rate or payments? We can provide a gen AI assistant there to partner with originators, to serve up all the qualifying programs and tell them, on this program, if borrowers improve by 10 points, here’s a lower payment — on one screen. You can’t ever build technology in a vacuum. At Optimal Blue, we will never use the product that we built, so we talk to the people who will and get them involved early in our process.Wheeler: What else are you doing with gen AI?Tyrrell: A lot! We’re the only true platform in the secondary market that has PPE on the front end, compliance, and then hedging and trading — no one else has all three. So, we look at all of these personas. If you look at the back end, hedging and trading, that’s how lenders get all of their revenue. They are no longer charging 2 or 3 points to consumers, so this is where the money is made — it’s made in the secondary market.So, how does Optimal Blue help them increase their profitability? We started with a profitability assistant. Every day you have execs in capital markets look at, what did I lose or gain on sales? To do that, they might have to pull up four spreadsheets and get data out of their system. Some execs can do it in 20 minutes, for others it takes two hours. This is a perfect use case for generative AI and it’s already available.The profitability assistant sees all the data, knows all the data and calculates the gain or loss. Then you can ask it a question about the data: how it compares to yesterday or three months ago, and it can show you instantly — and then remember what you asked for and include it the next day automatically.  We just saved you 20 minutes, or three or four hours, at the very start of your day, so you can take action and make impact.Originators are on the other end of the spectrum, but gen AI can show them the 15 loan programs, show where they do or don’t qualify for better rates, and what it would take to get there. This is being piloted and we have more AI assistants we’ll be releasing at our February user conference.Wheeler: What is the ultimate goal?Tyrrell: Our goal is to give lenders the ability to say yes to sell profitable loans. There’s a ton you have to unpack to do that, and then it has to be competitively priced, which is dependent on what each company’s costs are, what the pull-through rate is. We’re the only one that from the very first time an originator wants to price a loan, we can tell that company in real time with the borrower your LO is engaged with, what the likelihood that loan will pull through. We have all this data. It could be based on DTI, location, age, whether they are a first-time homebuyer, etc.And if you know going into it that the pull-through of that loan is more likely than average, you could real-time price that loan differently. Instead of a standard rate sheet, if you think there’s a higher propensity to close, you might want to price a little lower so they don’t shop around. If you did that and locked them, you could start planning to sell that loan 60 days before. Most companies are operating at the point of close; we’re operating at the point of thought to capital market execution.Our AIa tools are focused on the back end and front end, because if you get the front end and back end comfortable with AI, it’s much easier from a trust and adoption perspective. Then you get buy-in from the company and you can just be solving problems all the way through the loan.Wheeler: What are some of the changes you’ve seen in tech over the past 18 months?Tyrrell: This time last year, I was CEO of a company called Medallia, and we were working with big global companies taking advantage of technology for customer experience platforms. I learned so much in that year and a half, including that you have to understand who the key stakeholders were. In the mortgage industry, if you solve problems for the front end and the back end, they will become the mavens inside the corporation.The other thing that changed is the evolution of large language models (LLMs). When gen AI first came out, some companies were scared to death to use it. Am I training public models for my competitors? Now LLMs have advanced so much and lenders have so many options.Another thing with technology is that lenders are coming off a period where it’s been really hard, where anything they do introduces new cost. Optimal Blue is taking the opposite approach. All the gen AI, machine learning, all the automation — it’s at no incremental cost. If we truly want customers to grow ROI, we have to commit to giving more value to them at no cost. This is one advantage we have because we’re backed by a company that doesn’t do earnings calls. This allows us to invest and deliver value and we’re not worried about a monetization strategy. Our monetization strategy is retention, delivering value for our customers.