• Refinance demand is up, but most borrowers lack incentive

    Refinance demand is up, but most borrowers lack incentive,Connie Kim

    Mortgage rates have declined for six straight weeks, pushing loan application volume up 1.4% during the week ending Sept. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The MBA’s survey — which covers 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the U.S. — found that the seasonally

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  • Harris touches on housing topics in presidential debate

    Harris touches on housing topics in presidential debate,Chris Clow

    Tuesday night’s presidential debate — which could be the only one of this election cycle between the Democratic and Republican nominees for the highest office in the land this November — featured a spate of fiery moments between the two candidates. Housing, which has become an issue of focus in the

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  • 8 best website builders for real estate agents, brokers and brokerages

    8 best website builders for real estate agents, brokers and brokerages,Megan DeMatteo, Emile L'Eplattenier

    Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.Want a killer real estate website? Today’s real estate website builder offers a turnkey, easy-to-use solution to help build your brand, market your business

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  • Mortgage rates move lower, but where are the homebuyers?

    Mortgage rates move lower, but where are the homebuyers?,Neil Pierson

    In a little more than a week, Federal Reserve policymakers are poised to lower benchmark interest rates for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of that decision, mortgage rates continued to decline, although a surge of borrowers has yet to appear.At HousingWire‘s Mortgage

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  • The month in reverse mortgage rates: September 2024

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

    In the August rate update, I explained why over 99% of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) are variable interest rate loans and the advantages of this over the fixed-rate counterpart. Some of those advantages improve over time, like the organic line-of-credit growth. So, would it make sense to

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  • 54% of baby boomers say they’ll never sell their homes

    54% of baby boomers say they’ll never sell their homes,Chris Clow

    In a traditional sense, the term “silver tsunami” refers to pent-up housing stock that older homeowners will eventually choose to sell, which would have the effect of flooding the market with new inventory. But if prior suppositions about this trend being overblown failed to convince people, new dat

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  • Rocket Mortgage plans to double its purchase market share by 2027

    Rocket Mortgage plans to double its purchase market share by 2027,Connie Kim

    Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, has set ambitious goals to increase market share by 2027 using its multichannel reach, its origination and servicing flywheel, and its advanced technology platform.Rocket aims to double its current market share in purchase mortgages from 4% to 8% and

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  • ‘Common sense has prevailed’ as Basel Endgame proposal will be revised

    ‘Common sense has prevailed’ as Basel Endgame proposal will be revised,Chris Clow

    Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve‘s vice chair for supervision, on Tuesday spoke at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., about the 2023 Basel III Endgame proposal, which would modify risk-based capital requirements for large banks.Following an extensive review process that included stakeho

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  • AI takes the lead: Why mortgage and real estate tech leaders are betting big on AI

    AI takes the lead: Why mortgage and real estate tech leaders are betting big on AI,Lesley Collins

    HousingWire asked past Tech Trendsetter honorees about the biggest tech transformations they’ve witnessed and where companies in mortgage and real estate should focus their energy in 2024. Their unanimous answer: artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how the industry works, from boosting p

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  • HUD establishes key LIHTC parameters for 2025

    HUD establishes key LIHTC parameters for 2025,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week established Difficult Development Areas (DDAs) and Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program in 2025. These parameters are set by HUD for specific locations within each state and can impact the am

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  • CFPB director open to changing mortgage regs to fix refi process

    CFPB director open to changing mortgage regs to fix refi process,James Kleimann

    The mortgage industry has complained loudly and often that government regulation and investor requirements are contributing to spiraling costs that get passed on to consumers. And Rohit Chopra, the hard-charging director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who is often the target of such co

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  • Guild’s Jim Cory on the company’s ambitious reverse mortgage rebrand

    Guild’s Jim Cory on the company’s ambitious reverse mortgage rebrand,Chris Clow

    Last week, Guild Mortgage announced a suite of products under the name “Flex Payment Mortgage.” The brand includes Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgage products alongside refinances, proprietary jumbo options and HECM for Purchase (H4P) loans.After acquiring the robust reverse mor

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  • Better rolls out FHA streamline refi product

    Better rolls out FHA streamline refi product,Connie Kim

    Better Home & Finance Holding Co., the parent of digital lender Better.com, rolled out its Federal Housing Administration (FHA) streamline refinance program on Monday.The product is available for qualified borrowers with an existing FHA loan who are looking to lower their monthly mortgage payment, r

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  • CHLA urges ‘balancing’ of consumer, servicer needs in loss-mitigation proposal

    CHLA urges ‘balancing’ of consumer, servicer needs in loss-mitigation proposal,Chris Clow

    The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Monday submitted a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, urging the agency to balance the time frame and processes of loss mitigation in its revisions to Regulation X proposed in July.The proposals require mortgag

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  • Revive makes property valuation tool available to consumers

    Revive makes property valuation tool available to consumers,Brooklee Han

    Presale renovation firm Revive has made its artificial intelligence-powered property valuation tool available to everyone, according to an announcement on Thursday.Previously, the Revive Vision AI platform was only available to registered real estate agents.“Making Revive Vision AI available to anyo

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  • More home sellers are withdrawing listings

    More home sellers are withdrawing listings,Mike Simonsen

    While inventory of unsold homes in the housing market in each of the last two years headed higher during September and October due to mortgage rate spikes, we’re seeing a more normal seasonal pattern now with inventory beginning to decline. We’re also seeing more home sellers withdrawing their listi

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  • The agents dominating Miami’s real estate market

    The agents dominating Miami’s real estate market,HW Media Content Studio

    Miami stands as one of the most dynamic and valuable real estate markets in the United States. While not yet reaching the trillion-dollar mark, Miami‘s total real estate value, including both residential and commercial properties, was estimated at approximately $650 billion as of 2023, according to

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  • Louisiana homeowners insurance costs lead more seniors to reverse mortgages

    Louisiana homeowners insurance costs lead more seniors to reverse mortgages,Chris Clow

    Homeowners insurance costs are higher now than they have typically been, which has the potential to hit those living on a fixed income particularly hard. This could be one reason why a local NBC-TV affiliate in New Orleans is reporting that more of the community’s seniors are turning to reverse mort

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  • reAlpha gets into the mortgage brokerage biz, acquires Be My Neighbor

    reAlpha gets into the mortgage brokerage biz, acquires Be My Neighbor,Connie Kim

    Publicly traded real estate software firm reAlpha Tech Corp. added mortgage lending under its umbrella by acquiring mortgage brokerage company Be My Neighbor on Monday.reAlpha agreed to pay Be My Neighbor an aggregate purchase price of up to $6 million. This consists of $1.5 million in cash paid on

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  • The cost of homeowners insurance skyrockets in Upper Midwest states

    The cost of homeowners insurance skyrockets in Upper Midwest states,Chris Clow

    Why is homeowners insurance so expensive in the Upper Midwest? The growing prevalence of extreme weather events and the high cost of construction are pushing property insurers to significantly raise their prices, even in places you might not expect. This is according to an article published by the F

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