A Sept. 30 Government Shutdown Could Impact Real Estate
If Republicans and Democrats fail to reach agreement by Sept. 30, some services – such as NFIP, IRS and more – could slowly shut down, possibly delaying transactions.
Homebuying, Stress and the Things Couples Fight About
Couples may happily disagree in life, but when they have to share a home the differences can come to the forefront. The top reason for a fight? A home’s price.
August New Homes Sales Rise for Second Straight Month
U.S. Commerce: Sales of new homes last month were up 1.5%, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 740,000 – more than economists expected.
8 Experts: Sky-High Housing Prices Won’t Fall
Today’s market isn’t like the boom-bust cycle leading up to the Great Recession: Tough loan standards are the norm, plus many factors have kept housing supply low.
HUD Rolls Out AI Platform to Fight Fraud in Grant Spending
Called Argus, the risk management platform’s artificial intelligence capabilities should reduce HUD’s time spent manually monitoring program grantees by over 75%.
Making the MLS More Transparent: NAR Committee Recommendations
NAR’s Technology Board made recommendations that will go into effect if approved by a Multiple Listing Service committee and NAR’s board. Among them: Participants can’t represent that their services are free, and listing ads can’t be sorted or filtered based on the level of compensation a cooperating broker offers.
To Some Thieves, a 3D Tour Is Like Online Shopping
A Faberge egg on the mantle? The location of a home safe? Agents should take steps to protect their sellers’ privacy and safety when they create 3-D listing tours.
Giving Money to a Real Estate Syndicator? Things to Know
A syndicator combines money from multiple investors for a single project. Due diligence requires consideration of at least nine things – but trust tops the list.
Appraisal Valuation Gap Uncovered in Minority Areas
A Freddie Mac study of 12M appraisals found that 13% of homes in Black neighborhoods were below contract price; in white tracts, it was 7.4%; in Latino it was 9.4%.
Mortgage Rates Up this Week, but Only a Bit
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88% this week, a small increase from last week’s 2.86%. Freddie Mac credits foreign investors for keeping rates low.