The Appraisal Foundation, a private organization that is the de facto regulator of appraisers, has settled with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over allegations that its qualification program violated the Fair Housing Act. HUD opened an investigation in December 2

A wide-ranging and multigenerational survey about retirement confidence in the U.S. found that while general confidence has risen over the past year, most Americans remain concerned that their savings will not be able to keep up with their needs in retirement.The Read on Retirement survey, conducted

Fintech firms Rocktop Technologies and LiquidFi on Thursday announced a milestone in their business partnership that was formed earlier this year.Rocktop — a solutions-as-a-service company that works to improve yields for institutional investors, asset managers and other participants in the fixed-in

Not many people in any profession enjoy making cold calls to potential clients, but a venture capital-backed technology startup hopes to make it a little easier for real estate agents.Atllas is launching a new artificial intelligence tool, Cold Call AI, that the company said is designed to streamlin

Despite concerns from housing and mortgage industry trade groups, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Thursday announced the release of VantageScore 4.0 historic credit data, a step that is designed to ease the transition to new credit reporting requirements by the end of next year.The data

Mortgage rates are falling today as the CPI inflation data came in lighter than anticipated. The shelter side of the equation was a big help in today’s report. The financial markets’ dynamism was evident in the immediate reaction to the 10-year yield, which had a waterfall dive to a key critical lev

RE/MAX is expanding its footprint in Salt Lake City with the acquisition of a 60-agent team.Stratus Real Estate Solutions is rebranding as RE/MAX Stratus. Owner Ernad Mehinovic believes that the support of RE/MAX will help his team boost its business.“RE/MAX has the tools and systems and resources t

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, I’ll share close to two decades of experience as a licensed agent and small brokerage owner in Boston to help you compete and win listings w

Homebot and Newzip are teaming up in hopes of converting engagement into more transactions.The two companies announced the partnership on Wednesday, and it allows customers who are using both Homebot and Newzip to offer consumers up to 2% off their transaction costs. The companies believe this will

While Northwest Ohio’s housing market has remained fairly strong in recent months, local real estate agents say things become a bit more complicated when you segment the market by price point.“Things under $300,000 are still moving fairly quickly, especially if the home is priced correctly,” said Ja

Credit rating agency Fitch announced this week that its long-term issuer default rating (IDR) for Finance of America, the reverse mortgage industry’s leading lender, has been downgraded from “CCC+” to “C” following the announcement of a debt exchange plan that staves off maturity risk beyond 2025.FO

In a difficult housing market for Realtors, experience matters — a lot.That’s the conclusion of the 2024 Member Profile poll from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which shows a sharp divergence in income when comparing more experienced agents to their less experienced colleagues.The media

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have a lot of potential for aging in place, as evidenced by their growing popularity and statements from private companies and public officials alike that emphasize their utility for housing seniors. In one recent instance highlighted by the Los Angeles Times, one fam

With the release of the CoreLogic 2024 Q1 Equity Insights report, which Logan discussed last week, and now the FHFA National Mortgage Database Aggregate Statistics, we have a lot of visibility into the financial position of the American homeowner. The important message in the mortgage data is that e

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday posted an updated draft of its proposed defect taxonomy for servicing Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan reviews.The revised policy will “provide clear guidance to mortgage servicers regarding FHA’s servicing loan review

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Wednesday announced a newly proposed rule that would amend Regulation X and require mortgage servicers to emphasize borrower assistance and loss-mitigation options over foreclosure when a borrower struggles to make their required mortgage payments.“

Brokerages know that the recruitment of real estate agents and teams is always competitive, and some have found it even more so in the wake of the National Association of Realtors’ settlement that’s prompted agents to reevaluate their businesses.But SERHANT. has shot its brand to the top of every ag

As expected, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not set a timeline for lowering interest rates during his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress on Tuesday morning when participants complained about the effects of a tightening monetary policy in the housing market. Powell indicated th

In the May 2024 reverse mortgage rates report, we discussed how reverse mortgage borrowers might benefit from higher interest rates over the life of the loan. While this is counterintuitive, one must often think about reverse mortgages in…well, reverse.Of course, the reason for this is because the u