• Building stronger communities: A blueprint for a community-centric business

    Building stronger communities: A blueprint for a community-centric business,Brittany White

    In an era where businesses are increasingly expected to contribute to the well-being of their communities, finding the sweet spot between local engagement and national growth can feel like an impossible challenge. However, tailoring your business model to resonate with the communities you serve buil

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  • South River president on 2024 reverse mortgage industry’s competitive landscape

    South River president on 2024 reverse mortgage industry’s competitive landscape,Chris Clow

    Top 10 reverse mortgage industry lender South River Mortgage is aiming to focus on its strengths. In addition to offering a proprietary reverse mortgage product option and transitioning last year from a broker to a direct lender, the company is focusing on its core business while staying engaged wit

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  • Seattle documents renovation programs, tax relief for aging in place

    Seattle documents renovation programs, tax relief for aging in place,Chris Clow

    The Seattle area is a hot housing market. According to Zillow, the average home price in the Emerald City is currently $884,828, up 4.3% year over year. As home values have risen sharply, this has made the conundrum facing the area’s seniors more difficult to navigate: If they need to downsize, they

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  • Mortgage rates aren’t deterring every buyer: Bright MLS

    Mortgage rates aren’t deterring every buyer: Bright MLS,Jeff Andrews

    Mortgage rates continue to hover around 7%, as they have since the latter half of 2023 when the Federal Reserve stopped raising benchmark rates. While the conventional wisdom is that high rates are choking the housing market, a new survey suggests it’s not as all-encompassing as one might think.Brig

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  • Inventory growth is slowing. Are sellers backing off?

    Inventory growth is slowing. Are sellers backing off?,Mike Simonsen

    Inventory grew by almost 14,000 homes this week. That’s a pretty solid number, but actually fewer than our model had predicted for the week.Available inventory of unsold homes continues to grow but that growth in seems a bit less intense than it could be. The sales rate — the demand side — is slower

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  • REsides opts out of NAR commission lawsuit settlement

    REsides opts out of NAR commission lawsuit settlement,Brooklee Han

    Hilton Head, South Carolina-based “borderless” MLS REsides is joining firms like MLS Property Information Network and Northwest MLS by not opting into the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement.The non-Realtor-owned MLS announced its decision to op

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  • Former Rocket employee alleges workplace discrimination in new lawsuit

    Former Rocket employee alleges workplace discrimination in new lawsuit,Chris Clow

    An executive refinance banker formerly employed by Rocket Mortgage is suing the company for treating her unfairly in the workplace. She alleges that the company refused a transfer request, cut her salary and demoted her when similarly situated white male employees were not given similar treatment, a

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  • The Impact of HousingWire’s Insiders Award

    The Impact of HousingWire’s Insiders Award,Lesley Collins

    Nominations for the 2024 HousingWire Insiders award are open throughout the month of June. This prestigious award recognizes the operational leaders who are driving the growth and success of their organizations behind the scenes. Over the years, Insiders have shared how this recognition has positive

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  • HUD to invest $469M in housing renovation, preservation and safety

    HUD to invest $469M in housing renovation, preservation and safety,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday announced $469 million in new funding that will go toward fixing up older homes, renovating existing stock with new safety features and preserving affordable housing.The funds will be allocated to state and local governments under

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  • Asian American homeownership is primed to rise: Freddie Mac

    Asian American homeownership is primed to rise: Freddie Mac,Jeff Andrews

    Homeownership rates among minority groups have always lagged behind that of whites, but one group — Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) — is closing that gap.Freddie Mac’s June 2024 outlook on the economic, housing and mortgage markets revealed that over the past 20 year

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  • Is mortgage demand really picking up?

    Is mortgage demand really picking up?,Logan Mohtashami

    Are we seeing the start of a market shift in mortgage demand? Notably, mortgage rates have been gradually declining, and we’ve observed back-to-back positive weeks in purchase application data for the first time since mid-March. While I typically prefer to see a sustained growth of 12-14 weeks befor

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  • Real estate mailers: The ultimate guide for 2024

    Real estate mailers: The ultimate guide for 2024,Trevor James

    Real estate mailers aren’t dead — far from it. With so many agents focused on digital marketing, mailers can help you stand out from the crowd to attract new leads, increase brand awareness, generate more referrals, and ultimately close more deals.To get you started on the path to dominating your fa

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  • FHFA grants conditional approval for Freddie Mac second mortgage pilot

    FHFA grants conditional approval for Freddie Mac second mortgage pilot,Neil Pierson

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Friday announced that it has given conditional approval for Freddie Mac to begin purchasing closed-end second mortgages through a pilot program.The pilot program includes several limitations to the types of loans the government-sponsored enterprise will b

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  • Why are home prices at all-time highs with more inventory?

    Why are home prices at all-time highs with more inventory?,Logan Mohtashami

    Both existing housing inventory and home prices have been rising together year over year, which might seem odd at first glance since existing home sales are trending near all-time lows. However, I can clear up any confusion on this topic. Let’s keep it simple: total active listings are still below 2

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  • HUD offers new disaster relief in Hawaii following Biden executive order

    HUD offers new disaster relief in Hawaii following Biden executive order,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday announced a new round of disaster relief in the state of Hawaii that is targeted for the island of Kauai following severe storms, flooding and landslides that took place there in April.On June 17, President Joe Biden issued an exec

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  • Montana aims to remind seniors about its ‘reverse annuity mortgage’

    Montana aims to remind seniors about its ‘reverse annuity mortgage’,Chris Clow

    The Montana Board of Housing is aiming to remind the state’s seniors about a government-administered program that is specifically designed to help older adults access their home’s equity — and it should be very familiar to members of the reverse mortgage industry.Recently, officials with the state’s

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  • Could aging in place be ‘a poor long-term decision?’

    Could aging in place be ‘a poor long-term decision?’,Chris Clow

    In survey after survey in which Americans are asked about their preferred living situations in retirement, recent data is clear — they want to age in place in their current homes and remain in the familiar environs of their house and community. But a closer look at aging in place by NextAvenue asser

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  • Right-to-list agreements now banned in 30 states

    Right-to-list agreements now banned in 30 states,Brooklee Han

    Since making headlines for the first time roughly 18 months ago, right-to-list agreements — also known as Non-Title Recorded Agreements for Personal Service (NTRAPS) — have been banned in 30 states, according to an announcement from the American Land Title Association (ALTA).The title industry trade

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  • Smaller metro areas are seeing sharp home-price increases: SmartAsset

    Smaller metro areas are seeing sharp home-price increases: SmartAsset,Neil Pierson

    While major cities are often the bellwethers when it comes to home-price trends, a SmartAsset analysis of Zillow data released Thursday shows that some secondary and tertiary U.S. metro areas are leading the way for home-price appreciation.SmartAsset, a personal finance and fintech website, ranked t

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  • HUD joins other federal agencies to update climate resiliency plans

    HUD joins other federal agencies to update climate resiliency plans,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Friday that it has joined more than 20 other federal agencies to update its climate adaptation plan in furtherance of the White House’s national climate resilience framework. As the nation’s resources are further strained by the

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