As class-action lawsuits continue against major real estate brokerages for alleged telemarketing violations, firms of all sizes are under increasing pressure to strengthen their compliance practices. According to attorney Michele Shuster, a founding partner of Mac Murray and Shuster LLP, staying within the bounds of federal and state telemarketing laws isn’t just a legal necessity […]
What agents must know about telemarketing consent Read More »
The most recent National Mortgage Database (NMDB) Aggregate Statistics report from FHFA reveals the significant amount of home equity that American households possess. This should put an end to any discussions suggesting that the housing market is on the verge of a mass foreclosure crisis or that national home prices will crash like they did
Home equity cushions homeowners against economic shocks Read More »
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) on Monday issued a letter of support for the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA)’s white paper on LO compensation reform. CHLA‘s white paper, released last week, urged Congress to roll back the loan originator compensation rule to focus on its original purpose — a ban on yield
NAMB issues support for CHLA white paper on LO compensation Read More »
Zillow is not buying Compass’s claims that its listing standards policy has or ever will cause “irreparable harm” to the nation’s top brokerage by sales volume. On Monday, the listing portal giant filed two letters in response to Compass’s motion for a preliminary injunction and its motion for expedited discovery. The responses come just a
Zillow fires back against Compass’s claims of ‘irreparable harm’ Read More »
When the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) agreed to implement mandatory buyer representation agreements as part of its commission lawsuit settlement agreement, the trade group said it was in the name of increased transparency. It’s with this same goal in mind that Northwest MLS (NWMLS) said it chose to implement referral fee disclosures. “Northwest MLS
Are broker-to-broker referral fees next in the real estate hot seat? Read More »
Soaring home prices, limited inventory and elevated mortgage rates have exacerbated the housing affordability crisis in many housing markets when viewed in the context of household incomes, which have remained generally stagnant. In a new study, Zillow compiled related metrics to measure the affordability gap in terms of how much more income a household would
The five housing markets where homeownership is still affordable Read More »
In a market where every deal counts, manual income verification is the silent killer of commissions. You know the scenario: the borrower is solid, the property appraises and everything looks good—until income verification turns into a bottleneck. Suddenly, you’re chasing paystubs, waiting on HR reps who don’t call back and explaining delays to a frustrated
Manual income verification is killing your commissions Read More »
Mortgage rates have been slowly decreasing, but is this drop significant enough to influence our weekly housing data? Keep in mind that our weekend tracker reports provide insights months ahead of the reports most Americans typically read. Therefore, we closely monitor changes in our data trends whenever mortgage rates fluctuate. The last two weeks have
Have slightly lower mortgage rates stabilized the housing market? Read More »
It’s been a strange season for the housing market, caught somewhere between post-pandemic exhaustion and pre-election caution. And yet, in the quiet shuffles of financial markets and whispered policy pivots in Washington, signs are emerging that something may be stirring beneath the surface. Just last week, mortgage rates unexpectedly improved by as much as 0.25%,
As rates dip and policy shifts, is the housing market about to wake up again? Read More »
When Elon Musk was given control over much of the federal government staffing levels at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, real estate professionals in Washington, D.C., wondered if the sweeping layoffs would impact the housing market. While everyone has taken a wait-and-see approach, it’s getting hard to deny that people are moving
It’s official: DOGE cuts are impacting the DC housing market Read More »