• Former academy resumes role as Funding Longevity Task Force

    Former academy resumes role as Funding Longevity Task Force,Chris Clow

    The Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning housed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) will return to being known as the Funding Longevity Task Force, and it will “mobilize as needed if there are any regulatory changes or major changes within the reverse mortgage industry,” a

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  • U.S. Treasury’s financial crimes network warns of elder exploitation

    U.S. Treasury’s financial crimes network warns of elder exploitation,Chris Clow

    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is sounding the alarm over challenges faced by elder financial exploitation (EFE).In a newly released trends report, FinCEN highlighted more than $27 billion worth of “suspicious activity” across mo

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  • Floify integrates with verifications platform Truv 

    Floify integrates with verifications platform Truv ,Sarah Marx

    Digital mortgage automation solutions provider Floify is partnering with Truv, a consumer-permissioned data platform, the company announced on Wednesday. The integration allows mortgage lenders to verify income and employment seamlessly as borrowers apply for a loan.Procuring verification of income

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  • Major homebuilder objects to proposed NAR settlement

    Major homebuilder objects to proposed NAR settlement,Chris Clow

    Atlanta-based PulteGroup Inc., one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., has filed an objection in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit following settlements with Anywhere, RE/MAX and Keller Williams.PulteGroup says that the company does not have enough information to adequately determine the am

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  • How AI will transform the mortgage and appraisal industries

    How AI will transform the mortgage and appraisal industries,Gareth Borcherds

    Every business is on the brink of significant transformation driven by the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and workflow automation, and the mortgage industry is no exception. With AI’s capacity to perform complex reasoning and manage autonomous operations, it is critical to explore how thi

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  • First Federal Bank to acquire Watson Mortgage Corp.

    First Federal Bank to acquire Watson Mortgage Corp.,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    Florida-based First Federal Bank announced on Thursday that it struck a deal to acquire Watson Mortgage Corp., expanding its mortgage retail lending footprint in the communities in which it operates. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. First Federal Bank has 25 branches in the Sout

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  • Elevated mortgage rates, home prices harm affordability: Redfin

    Elevated mortgage rates, home prices harm affordability: Redfin,Sarah Marx

    The median monthly housing payment for U.S. homebuyers rose to a record $2,775 during the four-week period ending April 14, up 11% year over year, according to a Redfin report. The recent hotter-than-expected inflation reading sent mortgage rates upward. On Thursday, HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Cen

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  • FHFA annual report highlights GSE actions on affordable housing

    FHFA annual report highlights GSE actions on affordable housing,Chris Clow

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) this week released its annual Housing Mission Report, offering insights into the actions the agency took in 2023 on a host of issues.These include oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage purchases designe

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  • Real Estate Lead Generation and Marketing

    Real Estate Lead Generation and Marketing,Meghan Thibault

    Real Estate Lead Generation 6 best places to buy real estate leads in 2024  Mar 18, 2024By Megan DeMatteo, Meghan Thibault and Megan DeMatteo, Meghan Thibault We recommend the best places to buy real estate leads to give you a shortcut to the closing table. The 9 top real estate lead generation comp

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  • Former Ginnie Mae president reacts to lawmaker’s reverse mortgage securities letter

    Former Ginnie Mae president reacts to lawmaker’s reverse mortgage securities letter,Chris Clow

    Following the submission of a letter by Indiana Sen. Mike Braun (R) to Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo about concerns related to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program, McCargo’s predecessor, Ted Tozer, hopes the senator will dive deeper into the program’s me

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  • Financial planner: Reverse mortgages can help retirees with high property taxes

    Financial planner: Reverse mortgages can help retirees with high property taxes,Chris Clow

    A retired public school teacher living in the Pacific Northwest told MarketWatch that he is feeling stressed by high property taxes on a fixed income and asks if he would be a good candidate for a financial adviser. One planner solicited for input thinks that a reverse mortgage could be a worthy con

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  • MBA issues support for real estate finance bills debated by Congress

    MBA issues support for real estate finance bills debated by Congress,Chris Clow

    The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced on Wednesday a series of legislative recommendations, which it sent to the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee as the body considers the markup of proposed bills centered on real estate financ

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  • Supreme Court denies HomeServices’ petition in commission suit

    Supreme Court denies HomeServices’ petition in commission suit,Brooklee Han

    The U.S. Supreme Court has denied HomeServices of America’s request to hear its argument that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals wrongly rejected arbitration agreements with unnamed class members in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit, according to a court docket entry on Monday.In a writ of cert

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  • Home prices kept climbing at a brisk pace in March: First American

    Home prices kept climbing at a brisk pace in March: First American,Sarah Marx

    U.S. home prices grew by 0.9% from February to March, according to First American Data & Analytics’ national house price index released Tuesday. This growth trajectory follows a revised upward figure of 1% price growth from January to February, and prices are now 52% higher than pre-pandemic levels

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  • California home sales sink in March

    California home sales sink in March,Neil Pierson

    The spring home-buying season got off to a slow start in California, where sales of single-family homes declined from February to March, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Association of Realtors (CAR).The organization reported that the state’s seasonally adjusted annualized

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  • Proposal would allow Freddie Mac to acquire closed-end second mortgages

    Proposal would allow Freddie Mac to acquire closed-end second mortgages,Chris Clow

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) this week announced a new product proposal for government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac that would allow the agency to purchase certain single-family, closed-end second mortgages. This would offer borrowers an alternative way to access their home eq

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  • Capital Fundings partners with Privy

    Capital Fundings partners with Privy,Sarah Marx

    Capital Fundings, a Florida-based private mortgage lender, has partnered with real estate investment platform Privy, the companies announced on Tuesday. The collaboration will allow Capital Fundings’ borrowers to receive personalized investor insights.“Capital Fundings is thrilled to embark on this

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  • April Demo Day: Boost by Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies

    April Demo Day: Boost by Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies,HW Media Content Studio

    BoostBoost by Lone Wolf is the simple way to market your real estate business online. Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness, draw in more engagement for listings, or take your client experience to the next level through digital advertising, Boost is here to help agents and brokers alike.Pr

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  • Powell makes it clear: No rate cuts anytime soon

    Powell makes it clear: No rate cuts anytime soon,Logan Mohtashami

    Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made statements at the Washington Forum that indicate there will be no rate cuts anytime soon because the economy and the labor market are too strong with sticky inflation. This is a change from previous statements where the Fed talked about the rate cut

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  • Demand stalled in March for new-home purchases: MBA

    Demand stalled in March for new-home purchases: MBA,Sarah Marx

    Mortgage applications for new homes stalled in March as buyers felt the brunt of sustained home price growth.Compared to February 2024, mortgage applications for new-home purchases rose 1% in March. Applications were up 6.2% from March 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Buil

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