The Federal Reserve did something this week it hadn’t done in more than four years when it lowered the federal funds rate by half a percentage point. But for mortgage industry professionals hampered by fewer sales opportunities since the Fed’s streak of rate hikes began in March 2022, will this be t

A top luxury agent in New York City has left Official Partners. Compass announced the hiring of Jared Schwadron this week, poaching him from the troubled brokerage founded by Tal and Oren Alexander.Schwadron has more than $1 billion in sales over a 15-year career that includes stops in New York City

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), the reverse mortgage industry’s leading trade association, is preparing to host its 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo on Sept. 24-26 in San Diego.The event is typically the largest, most expansive meeting for a wide variety of reverse mortgage pr

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Julia Gordon thinks that more U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counselors should be trained to work with Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) borrowers, according to perspectives she shared this week during an

After years of declines, home-flipping profits are coming back. That’s according to a report released this week by Attom, which showed that the typical profit on a flip in the second quarter of 2024 was 30.4%, the fourth time in five quarters that margins rose.Attom said that flippers have struggled

In a new episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast, host Sarah Wheeler chats with Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The pair discuss the latest happenings for independent mortgage banks (IMBs) during the election season, updates to the Federal Housing Adminis

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act of 2024, a U.S. Senate bill introduced this past December that targets mortgage trigger leads, has been incorporated into the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This is a bill that Congress must pass each year, since it refers to laws th

Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Joshua Ernst, CEO of Backflip, to talk about the challenges of flipping real estate in today’s market and how the right technology can unlock opportunities in a country full of older homes. Sarah Wheeler: How did your background lead you to start Backflip?

The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals and organizations that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s 2024 Tech Trendsetters award are open now through Monday, Sept. 30. Click here to nominate someone.If we learned anything fr

The nation’s largest brokerage by transaction sides is increasing its footprint. On Thursday, eXp Realty announced the affiliation of independent brokerage Grand Lux Realty.Founded in 2006 by Michael Levy, Grand Lux Realty is based in Westchester County, New York, and has more than 200 agents. The f

Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to convert unrepresented sellers into listings and sales with our proven FSBO scripts. These scripts come from ou

Real estate agents have white-knuckled their way through more than two years of suffocatingly high mortgage rates that have stymied sales, choked off inventory and pushed home prices to new all-time highs.So what was the reaction from agents when the Federal Reserve surprised everyone by cutting rat

Like the traditional forward space, the reverse mortgage industry has been operating in an elevated interest rate environment for some time.While news of the Federal Reserve lowering its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) to a range of 4.75% to 5% will have wider economic ramifications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly common tool for consumers and businesses, primarily in reference to chatbots that can dynamically mimic human conversation and gather information. It could also have applications for aging in place, according to the leader of a senior care com

Heartland Bank, the leading reverse mortgage lender in Australia and New Zealand, will rebrand its dedicated reverse mortgage division from “Heartland Finance” to “Heartland Bank” following a recent acquisition and a repositioning of its offerings.“We are excited to deliver the Heartland Bank brand

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that they have secured a $15 million conciliation agreement with New Jersey-based OceanFirst Bank to settle allegations of discriminatory redlining in certain neighborhoods with ma

The Federal Reserve cut rates on Wednesday and mortgage rates went up! What happened? The answer lies in the bond market.The 10-year yield and 30-year mortgage rates have been in a slow dance since 1971 and trended together. The bond market isn’t old and slow like the Fed — it moves very quickly, an

The overall critical defect rate for mortgages increased in the first quarter of 2024, ending five consecutive quarters of decline. But the increase itself was relatively modest and the share of loans with defects now stands at 1.58%, according to a report released Thursday by ACES Quality Managemen

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut on Wednesday, which was larger than some people expected, couldn’t have come at a better time for the housing market.After a modest monthly uptick in July, existing-home sales fell 2.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million, according

The Alabama Association of Realtors (AAR) is asking the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to provide greater flexibility by allowing members to decide which levels of Realtor associations they would like to join. AAR made the request in a letter sent Monday to NAR CEO Nykia Wright. AAR CEO Jere