Real estate news

• Realtor.com adds Danielle Hale as new chief economist

  25-07-2017 23:28
  Realtor.com has been without a chief economist since Jonathan Smoke left the company in April to become the chief economist for Cox Automotive, an auto industry powerhouse that includes the brands, Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, and others. But now, the real estate site has found a replacement, one that keeps things in the Realtor family, so to speak.
  
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• [Charts] Here's how much money shopping around for a mortgage can save borrowers

  25-07-2017 23:20
  While there's already a push to get more consumers to shop around for a mortgage and branch out beyond getting a mortgage where they already bank, many consumers still don't check out their options. This new chart from LendingTree outlines exactly how much money borrowers can save by shopping around for more offers. Spoiler, it could save thousands annually.
  
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• Arch MI: Housing affordability is about to get a lot worse

  25-07-2017 23:19
  The Federal Reserve raised interest rates twice this year, and the Fed is estimated to increase rates once more this year, and several more times over the next couple of years. However, if the 30-year mortgage rate increases to 5%, or even 6%, affordability could drop dramatically.
  
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• FTC forcefully rejects Louisiana’s request to pause regulatory action over appraisals

  25-07-2017 22:07
  Last week, the state of Louisiana asked the Federal Trade Commission to pause its legal action over the state’s appraisal laws after the state’s governor and the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board issued complementary orders that addressed the FTC’s charges that the board was stifling price competition by requiring that appraisal management companies follow the state’s established polices for how they pay appraisers. Well, the FTC received that request, considered it,
  
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• Professional Broker Websites Now Free to REALTORS®

  25-07-2017 22:01
  NAR PULSE— Placester and NAR have come together through the REALTOR Benefits® Program to offer beautiful, mobile-ready real estate websites FREE to all REALTORS®. NAR Edition sites for brokers include all the benefits of basic agent websites, plus agent index and bio pages, natural language listing search, map search functionality, customizable IDX pages and more. Get started.
  NAR Extends Smithsonian SponsorshipNAR is proud to extend and expand its sponsorship of the “Within
  
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• The Right Choice for Change

  25-07-2017 21:58
  Organized real estate is constantly being challenged. This is not new news—it’s been happening for decades. However, the current crop of challengers to our industry are more powerful than ever before, carving inroads with technologies and efficiencies that resonate with today’s increasingly savvy consumers.
  Today’s “disruptors”—as many in the industry commonly describe them—have spent an incredible amount of capital to integrate cutting-edge techno
  
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• Home Prices Linger at All-Time High

  25-07-2017 21:56
  Home prices lingered at the all-time high in the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, up 5.6 percent year-over-year in May, a gain identical to April.
  The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index’s 10-City Composite rose 4.9 percent year-over-year, down from 5.0 percent in April, while its 20-City Composite rose 5.7 percent, down from 5.8 percent in April. Month-over-month, the 10-City Composite rose 0.7 percent and the 20-City Composite rose 0.8 percent.
  
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• Pacific Union Financial and ValueInsured partner for down payment protection plan

  25-07-2017 20:04
  Pacific Union Financial and ValueInsured announced the launch of PacificPlus, a new mortgage program that protects a homebuyer’s down payment. PacificPlus features ValueInsured’s +Plus down payment protection written into Pacific Union Financial’s mortgages.
  
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• 2Q17 earnings prove recent Flagstar acquisitions paid off big time

  25-07-2017 18:37
  The earnings report is out for how Flagstar Bancorp’s two major acquisitions earlier this year fared for the bank, revealing a roadmap on how it hopes to position itself for success in today’s competitive market. Looking over the second-quarter earnings release, the bank outlines its plans for future growth opportunities. These charts break down its long-term mortgage plans.
  
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• Consumers grow more confident in future of economy

  25-07-2017 18:06
  Consumers’ assessment of their current conditions increased in July, remaining at a 16-year high. Consumers are also more confident in the future of the economy, however they are less optimistic about their income prospects.
  
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• Fidelity National Financial acquires Real Geeks

  25-07-2017 17:48
  It seems that late July is a time to deal making, at least when it comes to Fidelity National Financial.
  Nearly one year ago to the day, Fidelity, the nation’s largest title insurance company, announced that it acquired Commissions, Inc., a provider of web-based real estate marketing and CRM software for real estate agents. And Tuesday, just one day shy of the one-year anniversary of the Commissions, Inc. deal, Fidelity announced that it acquired another real estate marketing and CRM provi
  
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• FHFA index shows home price growth slowed in May

  25-07-2017 16:08
  The latest FHFA House Price Index shows home prices increased in May, but at a slower rate than the previous month. Home Prices in all nine census regions increased annually in May, lead by the Pacific region, which saw an annual increase of nearly 9%.
  
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• Case-Shiller: Housing is not repeating the bubble period

  25-07-2017 15:12
  Home prices increased annually and monthly in May, Case-Shiller results show, however the index’s chairman explained these continued increases do not indicate a rising bubble period. He demonstrated the difference seen in today’s housing market, and the market from 2000 to 2006.
  
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• Wells Fargo accidentally leaks personal information of 50,000 customers

  25-07-2017 00:11
  Wells Fargo, already in various degrees of hot water over using customers’ personal information to open accounts without their knowledge or consent, now has another black eye over the bank’s security of its customers’ information. The New York Times reported over the weekend that Wells Fargo accidentally leaked the sensitive personal information of approximately 50,000 of its wealthiest clients to a former employee who’s suing one of the bank’s employees for defamat
  
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• CFPB loses court battle over RESPA violations

  25-07-2017 00:09
  A federal district court in Kentucky handed a victory to a Louisville, Kentucky law firm, Borders & Borders, after a long-standing legal battle with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over alleged Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act violations. The noteworthy case will definitely gain some attention in the industry given the recent controversy around RESPA violations. And in this case, the CFPB lost.
  
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• Reach Your Clients With the Personal Touch

  25-07-2017 00:00
  Customer service expert Shep Hyken wants you to ask yourself what you can do to deliver a more personalized experience for you real estate clients...
  
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• 6 Lessons From Women in Real Estate

  25-07-2017 00:00
  During a recent commercial forum hosted by the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, industry experts discussed what it takes to encourage more...
  
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