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

Over a quarter (26%) of retired investors continue to pay off their mortgage, and precisely one-quarter of the cohort are continuing to pay down credit card debt, according to a new survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute.The U.S. retirement population is getting older at a faster rate and a

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Tuesday announced that it has published updated policies for its 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program, in an effort to “modernize the program and enhance its usefulness for individuals and families seeking affordable financing

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) and consumer credit scoring system VantageScore announced on Tuesday that the bank is now accepting mortgage collateral using VantageScore 4.0, an updated version of the scoring system using trended credit bureau data.“[M]ember financial instit

Massachusetts-based Lamacchia Realty is continuing its expansion. The brokerage announced Tuesday that it has acquired Dalton, Massachusetts-based Berkshire Dream Home for an undisclosed sum.Berkshire Dream Home was founded in 2014 by Andy and Sarah Perenick. According to the release, in was the top

Mortgage rates held steady over the past week despite recent signs of relief from the labor market, according to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center. In large part because of the lack of clarity as to when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting the benchmark rate, mortgage rates remained above the 7

CoStar Group is withdrawing two of its Homes.com advertising campaigns after two Fast-Track SWIFT rulings from the BBB’s National Programs National Advertising Division.The two challenges were brought by Move, Inc., the parent company of rival Realtor.com. Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process fo

Institutional investors in single-family rental (SFR) houses cause rents in a neighborhood to increase quickly, but their entrance into a neighborhood doesn’t cause gentrification. That’s the conclusion from a working paper released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The paper exam

As a broker and real estate coach, I’m always surprised when new agents tell me they don’t want to use real estate scripts. A script is just a predetermined question or response that helps guide a conversation closer to your desired outcome. Knowing what you’ll say in advance on a call, at an open h

Since launching in late June, Ryan Serhant’s latest reality TV venture “Owning Manhattan” on Netflix, has become quite the phenomenon. Despite debuting on June 28, the show cracked Netflix’s top-10 most streamed shows in the U.S. for the week ending on June 30. The show stars Serhant, who is no stra

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday announced that it has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to expand the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)’ authority to review real estate transactions near military installations by foreign buyers.CFIUS is an inter-a