Lower’s Craig Montgomery talks growth goals for mortgage originator mentorships

On a recent episode of the Power House podcast, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins chatted with Craig Montgomery, chief strategy officer at Lower and former chief production officer at CrossCountry Mortgage. Collins and Montgomery discussed Lower’s plans for growth, its strategic partnerships and how i
Read MoreMRI Software throws its hat in the ring to purchase REcolorado

It appears the sun may not have completely set on the proposed sale of the shares of REcolorado owned by the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) and the South Metro Denver Realtor Association (SMDRA) to MAZL LLC.On Wednesday, MRI Software — the parent company of CTM eContracts, which serves
Read MoreA $1 million starter home? It's the norm in 237 cities

New home sales struggling to grow with higher rates

Will the Federal Reserve pivot in time to save construction workers? We have discussed this topic for some time now because, for the first time in a while, single-family permits are falling and 5-unit permits are already in recession. This is key because, traditionally, residential construction work
Read MoreState officials push back against FHFA’s title waiver pilot program

Attorneys general in 14 states have joined together to send a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Sandra Thompson that urges the termination of the agency’s title waiver pilot program.The letter, which was sent on Monday, was spearheaded by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Sk
Read MoreNew tech startup Finaya adds insurance quote comparison tool to offerings

A freshly minted tech startup based in Palo Alto, California, and Seattle believes it has a solution for homeowners looking for insurance.Finaya is adding a marketplace for assessing and comparing home insurance offerings. The company will deliver a network of insurance providers for homeowners look
Read MoreReverse mortgage veteran appointed chair of MISMO working group

Reverse mortgage industry veteran George Morales has been appointed as the new chairperson of the dedicated reverse mortgage development workgroup (DWG) inside the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. MISMO is a subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which signaled it
Read MoreCentury 21 welcomes two new affiliates

Century 21 is welcoming new affiliates on both coastsOn Tuesday, the company announced it was welcoming Staten Island, New York-based Herman & Co. Real Estate to the brand. The firm is now doing business as Century 21 Standard Real Estate.The brokerage was founded in 2004 by broker-owner Herman Herr
Read MoreThe most effective aging-in-place renovations, according to experts and retirees

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: older Americans overwhelmingly support aging in place in their own homes, with some recent survey data indicating at or over 90% of seniors supporting retirement living in their own homes.But sometimes the cost of renovations can exceed the
Read MoreThe share of ‘stagnant’ listings is rising: Redfin

Sales of both new homes and existing ones have declined, and it’s affecting how long homes stay on the market.A new report from Redfin shows that 64.7% of listed homes in June stayed on the market for more than 30 days, which is up from 59.6% a year ago. It’s the largest year-over-year increase for
Read MoreCleveland-area team brings 25 agents to fast-growing Real

The Real Brokerage has poached a high-performing Realtor team in Cleveland.Kaim Team is bringing its 25-members to the company, becoming the largest team operating in Ohio that’s affiliated with Real. Real hopes the team can provide more juice to a market that’s part of a trend of booming cities in
Read MoreDouble whammy: Florida condo market grapples with rising insurance costs, milestone inspections

While there is no doubt that the Florida housing market has slowed since the height of the post-pandemic homebuying boom, the state’s condominium market has been especially hard hit, according to local agents.“It has definitely slowed,” said Cyndee Haydon, a Seminole-based agent for Future Home Real
Read MoreIndiana markets are indicative of the Midwest regional housing boom

Prospective buyers from out of state often come to Indiana for its growing job market, low taxes and relatively affordable housing.Indianapolis-area Realtor Annie Caruso, a founding member of Circle Real Estate, had a buyer coming from the Chicago area for just these reasons. But their price point w
Read MoreExisting home sales market now close to balance with supply

Today’s existing home sales report shows that the existing home market is now almost balanced. That might sound strange, but like most things I do, I have a model for it. We are very close to getting this balance nationally and in some markets we’re already there. I have often discussed four months
Read MoreAn eye-opening experience: Housing pros react to the global tech outage

Mortgage and real estate executives attending HousingWire‘s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit in Dallas on Tuesday have already begun to collect some lessons learned from Friday’s global tech outage as the world is still dealing with its consequences. Different companies were impacted to different
Read MoreHow Pennymac is preparing for the forthcoming refi wave

Pennymac Financial Services earned a profit of $98.3 million in second-quarter 2024, more than double the $39.3 million it raked in during the prior quarter. And the company is getting its ducks in a row to seize on opportunities when interest rates fall, relying on its scale and servicing portfolio
Read MoreTexas Capital objects to government request to change court venue

Texas Capital Bank, after being granted an extension to respond to the federal government’s request to change the venue of the trial between the bank and Ginnie Mae, has filed an objection to the request saying that a “forum selection clause” cited by government attorneys is not enforceable.“Having
Read MoreAARP reveals proposals for national plan on aging

AARP, the interest group advocating for the wellbeing of older Americans, revealed in a policy paper this month its priorities for a national plan on aging that sufficiently recognizes the changing demographics of the U.S. population, and the trend that will see 20% of all Americans become at least
Read MoreDunmor promotes two operations leaders

Real estate lending shop Dunmor has promoted two employees to senior leadership positions. Andy Thienkosol, a veteran in business-purpose lending (BPL), has been named chief operating officer of the California-based lender. Melissa Perez, a former director of operations at First Republic Bank, has j
Read MoreALTA official tackles title insurance alternatives and market share

In a recent episode of “Ten Minute Talks,” HousingWire president Diego Sanchez spoke with Chris Morton of the American Land Title Association (ALTA) to shed light on the future of title insurance, alternative options, regulations, market competition and coverage costs.Morton, who serves as ALTA’s se
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