National News

Clients Concerned About Zombie Attacks? Show Them These Homes

By Stephanie Sims With zombies trending lately, in pop culture and several times in the news scarily enough, perhaps your clients have wondered aloud whether or not they should buy a property that would defend against any future apocalyptic

Wells Fargo Shutting Down Wholesale Lending

Wells Fargo is shutting down its wholesale lending business as part of a broad settlement with the Justice Department for a discriminatory lending lawsuit. The San Francisco-based bank will also pay borrowers $125 million to settle claims and commit $50 million

Don’t Want an iPad? Microsoft Has a New Tablet

By Ian McKendry Real estate agents around the country are finding more and more utility from computer tablets that are incredibly mobile and have large displays, making them easy on the eyes. To date, Apple’s line of iPads has dominated

NAHB Improving Markets Index Expanded to 84 Cities

The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) expanded yet again last month, with the NAHB adding 11 more metros to the index, which now totals 84. A measure of improving economic conditions, the IMI now

5 Things to Consider About NAR’s Top-Level Domain Gambit

It was seven years ago that ICANN, the nonprofit that oversees top-level domain names, announced it would allow new domain names in addition to .com, .net and .org, and this summer, it was revealed that the National Association of

CFPB Unleashes Proposed Mortgage Disclosure Form, with Comments from Mortgage Banker Association President and CEO David Stevens

After a few months of relative silence, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) made considerable waves on Monday with its released of a 1,099-page rule detailing its new standards for mortgage disclosure forms. Intended to simplify the process for

4 Essential Steps For Agents Entering the Short Sale Process

By Peter Ricci Short sales have become increasingly common in the post-bubble economy, and indeed, the list of agents who have successfully adapted their businesses to short sales is long and varied. Though some have found quite a bit

Optimism Key Ingredient in Obama, Fannie Housing Reports

By Peter Ricci Maybe it’s the patriotic Fourth of July fervor, but two new government reports on housing are quite optimistic, with both President Obama’s Housing Scorecard and Fannie Mae’s latest National Housing Survey finding quite a bit to

Is Housing’s Foundation Getting Stronger?

Chief Economist for Fannie Mae Doug Duncan released a statement today that said housing market activity is on a steady incline toward improvement, “well ahead of last year’s pace.” Duncan’s statement coincides with Fannie Mae’s recent findings in their

Miami Surpasses Chicago in Construction of High-Rise Buildings

Is the 305 passing the 312? New construction data from McGraw-Hill Dodge on high-rises in the U.S. contained an interesting nugget of information – from 2000 to 2011, there were more projects for buildings of 20 or more stories

Rents Average Over $1000 A Month

Real estate data firm Reis, Inc. is reporting that average rent costs have reached a record increase in 74 out of 82 markets that it is tracking in the second quarter, including cities like Chicago, Miami, Seattle, San Diego

3 Reasons the FHFA’s REO Pilot Program is a Good Thing

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has selected the winner bidders for its pilot initiative, putting the agency one step closer to closing out what many have anticipated as its most helpful program yet for the U.S. housing market.

$500 Marketing Budget – What Would You Do?

ActiveRain, the popular online real estate network, has an intriguing question for agents – what would you buy if you were on a marketing budget of $500 per month? That question is at the heart of a new competition

Gains for Home Prices in CoreLogic Index Make it 3 Months in a Row

Home prices in CoreLogic’s May home price index rose for the third consecutive month, posting both monthly and yearly gains. From April to May, national home prices were up 1.8 percent, CoreLogic reported, and price rose year-over-year by 2

Construction Spending in May 2012 Up 7.0 Percent

Construction spending continued its strong performance in May, rising 7.0 percent from last year and 0.9 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $830.0 billion. For the first five months of 2012, spending is $310.5 billion,

4 Explanations for Why Housing Inventory Is So Low

Housing inventories have been on a roll lately, but not the kind many of us had expected – it just keeps going, and going, and going down! In May, the most recent month we have data for, Realtor.com’s for-sale

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