National News
NAR and RPR push forward with Upstream initiative The National Association of Realtors and Realtors Property Resource have made an agreement with UpstreamRE LLC to develop a cross-industry platform for real estate data entry, collection and distribution for real
What does the typical homebuyer look like in 2015? Earlier this week, we reported on first-time homebuyers, and how they are now at their lowest market share since 1987. That information came courtesy of the 2015 Profile of Home Buyers
Mortgage markets have improved, but the inequities are still pronounced Black mortgage applicants in the Miami area are denied at a substantially higher rate than all applicants, according to new research from Zillow. In 2014, 30.3 percent of black mortgage applicants in Miami were
First-time homebuyers continue to lose market share in today’s housing market First-time homebuyer share has dropped to its lowest level in 27 years, with just 32 percent of all existing-home sales going to first-time buyers in 2015. That was one
October was more of the same for the U.S. job market, but was it enough to sway Fed policy? The U.S. economy added 271,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate held firm at 5.0 percent, according to the
According to the new Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications decreased 0.8 percent from the week prior. Refinancing activity decreased by 1 percent, while purchase mortgages rose by 20 percent. Refinancing comprised 59.5 percent of all
It’s been more than a month since the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) guidelines came into effect, and so far, the industry hasn’t devolved into total chaos. But that doesn’t mean lenders still aren’t worried. Financial services company Wolters Kluwer
There’s been a lot of political posturing as of late, with partisan pundits and presidential candidates butting heads over everything from tax strategies to affordable housing, but one issue that, surprisingly, has remained largely left out of the conversation is
Fannie Mae opts to use database for those without credit score Fannie Mae will no longer require physical pay stubs and tax data to verify a borrowers’ ability to handle a loan, according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead, Fannie
The Federal Housing Finance Agency and Freddie Mac are ready to uphold their pledge from last year to extend lending to borrowers who do not qualify for traditional loans. Freddie even hinted that more low down-payment loan programs could possibly
Housing continues to slow in 2015 Pending home sales were down 2.3 percent from August to September, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors. Closing out the month at 106.8, the Pending Home Sales Index
Single-family home starts are far below the long-term median – why? Builder confidence has posted repeated year-over-year gains in recent months, but the amount of single-family housing starts is not rising to match their confidence, according to a report by The Wall
The FHA’s reduction in insurance premiums may have led to a surge in demand The Federal Housing Administration’s effort to provide relief for homeowners through lower insurance premiums may have backfired, according to a MarketWatch report. The change, which went into effect
According to the BiggerPockets Real Estate Investment Market Index, Miami is third on the list of best cities to invest in real estate. For the index, BiggerPockets ranked the most profitable areas in the country for investors, analyzing such metrics as
Do these economic trends pose problems for housing’s future? America’s housing market is at a crossroads. In addition to the usual real estate entities that impact its progress – Realtor associations, homebuilders, lending institutions – housing is also privy to the wider
New home sales were down last month, but what about 2015 overall? Autumn has been a lackluster season thus far for new home sales, which rose 2.0 percent month-to-month but fell 11.5 percent year-over-year in September, ending the month at a seasonally adjusted
