• Fed holds rates steady amid mixed economic signals

    Fed holds rates steady amid mixed economic signals,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    As expected by virtually all market participants, the Federal Reserve maintained its short-term policy interest rate between 5.25% and 5.5% at its June meeting that concluded Wednesday afternoon.That’s the seventh consecutive time policymakers with the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) kept the

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  • Refi business is picking up on falling mortgage rates

    Refi business is picking up on falling mortgage rates,James Kleimann

    Mortgage applications shot up 15.6% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly application survey for the week ending June 7.On an unadjusted basis, the market composite index increased 26% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increa

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  • Should we be worried about the number of underwater homes?

    Should we be worried about the number of underwater homes?,Logan Mohtashami

    Should we be concerned about the number of homeowners who are underwater on their homes? Recent data from Attom showed that 1 out of every 37 homes were severely underwater, something I talked about on CNBC recently, but CoreLogic data provides a reality check on this topic. Let’s dig in.One of the

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  • Success Mortgage CEO nominated as MBA vice chairman

    Success Mortgage CEO nominated as MBA vice chairman,Chris Clow

    The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday announced that Owen Lee, CEO at Success Mortgage Partners (SMP), has been nominated to serve as the association’s vice chairman for the forthcoming 2025 membership year.Lee’s nomination was announced by Mark Jones, the 2024 MBA chairman and preside

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  • Homeowners list while buyers hang back, pushing inventory higher

    Homeowners list while buyers hang back, pushing inventory higher,
  • Open Mortgage has FHA direct endorsement authority terminated in Iowa

    Open Mortgage has FHA direct endorsement authority terminated in Iowa,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has terminated the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) direct endorsement approval for Open Mortgage in Iowa. “HUD placed Open Mortgage on credit watch for the Des Moines HOC [homeownership center], which only impacts our loans in Iowa,” Ch

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  • Sotheby’s International Realty gains new affiliate in Michigan

    Sotheby’s International Realty gains new affiliate in Michigan,Brooklee Han

    Sotheby’s International Realty is launching its eighth office in Michigan as the firm announced the affiliation of the The Home Seekers Real Estate Group on Tuesday.Home Seekers, which is based in Okemos, Michigan, will now operate as White Pine Sotheby’s International Realty. The firm, which is own

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  • Despite financial insecurities, retirement may be easier than you think: Forbes

    Despite financial insecurities, retirement may be easier than you think: Forbes,Neil Pierson

    An article written by an Atlanta-based certified financial planner and published Tuesday by Forbes indicates that retirement may not be as difficult as many Americans think.Wes Moss, who hosts the “Retire Sooner” podcast and has 20-plus years of experience as an investment adviser, offered advice th

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  • 70% of agents oppose NAR settlement: Clever Real Estate

    70% of agents oppose NAR settlement: Clever Real Estate,Brooklee Han

    There is a large gap between how the American public feels about the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement and how real estate professionals feel about them. According to a survey published by Clever Real Estate

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  • Under stress, loanDepot ‘buys time’ with plan to extend $500M debt

    Under stress, loanDepot ‘buys time’ with plan to extend $500M debt,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    California-based loanDepot plans to extend its $497.8 million in senior notes due in the fourth quarter of 2025 at a lower maturity and a higher interest rate. The transaction reflects a business under stress but brings temporary relief to the company’s financials, analysts told HousingWire. loanDep

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  • Reverse mortgage consumer complaints decline on a yearly basis: CFPB

    Reverse mortgage consumer complaints decline on a yearly basis: CFPB,Chris Clow

    There were a total of 131 consumer complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) between Jan. 1 and June 10 of this year that were related to the reverse mortgage industry, according to a database maintained by the bureau. This was 52 fewer complaints compared to the same p

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  • MLS PIN urges Nosalek judge to approve settlement agreement

    MLS PIN urges Nosalek judge to approve settlement agreement,Brooklee Han

    In a legal brief filed on Monday, MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) made it clear that it does not agree with the Department of Justice‘s position on the banning of cooperative compensation, as outlined in the DOJ’s statement of interest in the Nosalek commission lawsuit.The DOJ became invo

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  • Optimal Blue’s new CEO Joe Tyrrell on moving technology’s finish line

    Optimal Blue’s new CEO Joe Tyrrell on moving technology’s finish line,Sarah Wheeler

    Optimal Blue announced yesterday that industry veteran Joe Tyrrell would be taking the CEO role at the company. Tyrrell was a long-time executive at Ellie Mae before it was acquired by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in 2020. He served as president of ICE Mortgage Technology for three years before l

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  • Rithm Capital closes deal with Great Ajax

    Rithm Capital closes deal with Great Ajax,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    Rithm Capital, the parent company of multichannel lender Newrez, announced on Tuesday that it has closed a transaction with Great Ajax Corp., which resulted in the purchase of 2.9 million shares of its peer’s common stock.Rithm, a New York-based real estate investment trust, has invested in becoming

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  • NAR addresses steering in latest settlement agreement update

    NAR addresses steering in latest settlement agreement update,Brooklee Han

    The National Association of Realtors addressed concerns of agent steering in its latest update to its commission lawsuit settlement FAQs. The topic of steering — when a buyer’s agent or broker prevents buyers from seeing homes that offer commissions lower than is typical for a market or discourages

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  • Real estate broker Oren Alexander and brother accused of rape in New York

    Real estate broker Oren Alexander and brother accused of rape in New York,Brooklee Han

    Oren Alexander, a top real estate broker and co-founder of the Side-brokered firm Official Partners, along with his twin brother, Alon Alexander, have been accused of raping at least two women in New York. The two lawsuits were filed in March 2024 and were first reported by The Real Deal.The lawsuit

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  • Liberty Reverse parent completes rebrand to Onity Group

    Liberty Reverse parent completes rebrand to Onity Group,Chris Clow

    The parent company of top 10 reverse mortgage lender Liberty Reverse Mortgage has completed its shareholder-approved rebranding initiative, transforming the former Ocwen Financial Corp. into The Onity Group. The initiative has also transitioned the company’s New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ticker sym

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  • Dunmor adds to its business-purpose lending team

    Dunmor adds to its business-purpose lending team,Neil Pierson

    Los Angeles-based Dunmor, a technology-enabled lender that specializes in loans for residential real estate investors, has added a pair of experienced executives in the business-purpose lending space.The company announced Monday that it hired Tuam Pham as chief marketing officer and Steve Huff as se

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  • D.C., Chicago are top YIMBY cities for housing development

    D.C., Chicago are top YIMBY cities for housing development,Neil Pierson

    San Francisco-based Pacaso, a tech-centric real estate marketplace, released a report Monday unveiling the top U.S. metro areas that are embracing new development and “creating a more diverse and plentiful supply of homes.“The report delves into the “Yes in My Backyard“ (YIMBY) movement, which invol

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  • Boomers, millennials locked in ‘showdown’ over housing: Fortune

    Boomers, millennials locked in ‘showdown’ over housing: Fortune,Chris Clow

    As baby boomers increasingly seek to age in place in their own homes — a scenario supported by both the preferences of older homeowners and the realities brought on by elevated mortgage rates — this is clashing with the desires of millennials who wish to enter the housing market, as the combination

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