When asked whether loan buybacks were a more significant issue last year than now, Freddie Mac executive Sonu Mittal says emphatically, “It depends on who you ask.”Freddie Mac has seen a nearly 55% reduction in repurchase requests from its peak in the first quarter of 2023 and a decline of 20% in ac

Vice President Kamala Harris is the favored presidential candidate when it comes to addressing the lack of affordability in U.S. housing, while former President Donald Trump is seen as more favorable for stock market and cryptocurrency investors. This is according to the results of a recent survey c

Lower mortgage rates in September had a measurable impact on home sales.According to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales in September jumped 7.4% compared to August and 2.6% year over year. NAR’s index reading of 75.8 is the highest number since

In the latest episode of the RealTrending podcast, Amy Stockberger — broker-owner of Amy Stockberger Real Estate — joins Tracey Velt for a tantalizing conversation that covers her teamerage’s unique “Lifetime Home Support” model and other ways that agents can provide value to home buyers and sellers

Former House Speaker John Boehner, pictured on the big screen, shares his perspectives on the 2024 election during the MBA Annual event in Denver on Tuesday. (Photo by Chris Clow)If the U.S. presidential election were held today — one week prior to Election Day — then Donald Trump would retake the W

There’s less than a month until the final approval hearing for the commission lawsuit settlement agreements reached by the National Association of Realtors, HomeServices of America, and other brokerages and non-Realtor-affiliated MLSs that opted in to NAR’s settlement. Ahead of that date, the object

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles that will explore the effects of the landmark Sitzer/Burnett case, which was decided on Oct. 31, 2023, and has since reshaped the business practices for real estate brokerages and agents across the country.It is no secret that many first-time

Employment data for October is set to be released Friday, and it will go a long way in determining the path for mortgage rates, which have surged upward in the past month.At HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center on Tuesday, the average rate for 30-year conforming loans was 6.72%. That’s up 10 basis po

Earlier this year, Lewisville, Texas-based property services company MCS announced that it acquired Five Brothers Asset Management Solutions, a deal that brought MCS into the reverse mortgage industry for the first time. Soon after, CEO Craig Torrance offered an early look at what he hoped to achiev

Is home-price growth finally cooling? That’s a question raised by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index for August, which showed deceleration on a year-over-year basis and a slight dip relative to July.On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the national home price index posted a 4.2% gain year over year

If you didn’t know it before, you’re likely to be reminded every day between now and Nov. 5 that this is a close election for the balance of power in Washington, D.C.This theme persisted through the first full day at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Annual Convention and Expo in Denver this

Industry-leading reverse mortgage lender Finance of America (FOA) announced this week that nearly all of the holders of outstanding senior notes that were set to mature in 2025 will participate in a new bond exchange offer that was first announced in June and amended last month.Under the amended off

While we can’t share their names, we can share their stories.  It’s the same one, over and over again. An individual, often for the first time, is engaging in one of the most important transactions of their lifetime: homeownership. Already intimidated by the multitude of financial requirements that

Douglas Elliman continues to shake up its leadership team. In a document filed on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm announced the termination of Douglas Elliman Realty CEO Scott Durkin, as first reported by The New York Times.According to the filing, Durkin was “term

Mortgage technology company Gateless is offering its flagship automated underwriting platform to a new lender. The Loan Store — a wholesale lender based in Arizona — will now use the Gateless Smart Underwrite platform, according to a recent announcement.The artificial intelligence-based platform, th

After previously taking issue with some of the forms generated as a result of the terms of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement, University of Buffalo law professor Tanya Monestier is now objecting to NAR’s settlement.In a document filed on M

We track inventory and home sales very closely, so the biggest surprise this year has been the resiliency of home prices. Given the unrelenting mortgage costs, generally weak homebuyer demand, and the year’s rising supply of unsold homes, I’ve been expecting home prices to recede a bit in the second

On Monday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that all approved lenders will have access to a fee-based alternative to repurchase Freddie Mac’s performing loans with defects, expanding a pilot program launched earlier this year.In addition, the FHFA announced that government-sponsor

In a significant move designed to expand homeownership access, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) announced the adoption of an alternative credit scoring model to boost mortgage credit availability.The wholesale bank will now allow members to pledge mortgage collateral using the Vantage

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has expanded the eligibility for alternative appraisal methods on purchase loans by increasing the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) requirement. The announcement was made on Monday during the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Annual Convention & Expo in Denver, Colorad