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Housing markets

How big is the wildfire risk in the Western housing market?

Housing Inventory, Housing markets, REALTORS & HOMEBUILDERS, Servicing, Wildfires /

Lenders, homeowners and servicers are facing a massive wildfire risk in the Western U.S. that extends beyond the initial burn. Insurance woes, inflationary pressures and contractor shortages are weighing on affected mortgage holders, according to Cotality’s 2025 Wildfire Risk Report. The assessment found nearly 2.6 million homes at moderate or greater risk of wildfire damage […]

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Half of largest housing markets record home price downturns

Housing markets, Marketing, MARKETING TO BORROWERS, Mortgage Rates, Originations /

Among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, half, primarily in the north and east, had annual home price increases in July, while the others are reporting downturns, Zillow found. Nationwide, year-over-year home price appreciation was a meager 0.2%. While this helped to marginally improve affordability, with average monthly mortgage costs down $19 over the past

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Homebuilders encounter credit, supply cost headwinds

Homebuilders encounter credit, supply cost headwinds

Housing markets, NAHB, REALTORS & HOMEBUILDERS, Tariffs /

Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg The ongoing tariff-impacted rise of material and service prices, alongside challenging credit conditions, are a double whammy hitting residential construction, according to analysis from the National Association of Home Builders. Prices for goods and services used in residential construction came in 2.8% higher in July on an annual basis, marking the largest increase

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Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler exits the meme stock darling

Career moves, Fintech, Housing markets, Marketing /

News that Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler is leaving the company boosted the company’s stock price to its third-highest level since the run-up began at the start of July. The announcement was made before trading started on Friday morning. When the markets did open, Opendoor began the day at $3.415 per share and in early trading

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Real estate investor sentiment up despite economic worries

Housing markets, Investments, Mortgage Rates /

The real estate market is looking up, at least according to property investors. But even amidst the sunny outlook, many of them still worry about tariffs, high insurance and a possible recession. Optimism among real estate investors improved, according to the most recent Investor Sentiment Index. The index rose to 102, up from 88 in

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FHA poised to outpace private mortgage insurers

FHA, Housing markets, Originations, PMI, Secondary markets, Underwriting /

The Federal Housing Association is likely to continue to take market share away from the private mortgage insurers for the foreseeable future, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report said. Insurance-in-force for all forms of mortgage insurance grew by 1.3% between the first and second quarters and by 5.5% year-over-year, the report from Bose George and

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Young buyers’ risky refi gamble: A looming problem?

Homeowners insurance, Housing markets, Refinance /

Young homebuyers are taking the adage “marry the house, date the rate” to heart, but that could set them up for potential problems in the future, a new report warns. Nearly two-thirds of millennial and Gen Z homebuyers said it was “important” or “extremely important” that they be able to refinance their homes in the

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Economists now leaning towards September Fed cut

Economy, Federal Reserve, Housing markets, Mortgage Rates, Politics and policy /

While more economists surveyed in August by Wolters Kluwer expect the Federal Open Market Committee to cut short-term rates at its September meeting than the previous month, a significant share still thinks action won’t come until December or later. The percentage of the participants in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators panel believing the next Fed

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Private MI market share gaps widen in Q2

Distressed, Housing markets, LOAN PRODUCTS, Mortgage insurance, Originations, Servicing, Underwriting /

Private mortgage insurers wrote just 2% more new business on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, but market share shifts widened the spread between the six underwriters. The industry-wide market share gap was 1.7 percentage points for both the second quarter 2024 and first quarter of 2025, according to data from Keefe, Bruyette &

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