National News

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How confident should we be in the housing market?

If you’re feeling like home prices can’t go up forever, you’re not alone. The November edition of Fannie Mae’s monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index cites a 13 percent drop in confidence that prices will continue to climb over a

White House nominates FHFA critic to lead agency

The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 10 that President Donald Trump was expected to nominate Mark Calabria to replace the outgoing director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the federal regulator tasked with managing government-sponsored mortgage corporations Fannie Mae

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Real Estate in Brief: HQ2 listings, short-term rentals for brokers and more

  Real estate website MyHQHome.com plans to launch in January, taking advantage of the Amazon HQ2 real estate gold rush. Several brokerages have joined forces in constructing the website, aiming to target Amazon employees relocating to the company’s two new city locations, Crystal

Why millennials are buying more homes in suburbs than cities

Assumptions about how millennials will spend their money as they progress through adulthood continue to be proven inaccurate, or at least misunderstood. This is particularly true in real estate, specifically the places where Americans now in their 20s and

For-sale inventory records first annual increase since 2008

Housing inventory is steadily recharging around the U.S., giving potential buyers more options. RE/MAX’s latest national housing report found October was the first month to show a year-over-year increase in inventory in nearly 10 years. Compared to one year

Real Estate in Brief: Flood Insurance Program extension, new down payment options and more

Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate granted the National Flood Insurance Program another six-month extension while the House of Representatives granted the same program an extension of seven days. “NAR is relieved that authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program

Oct. pending home sales complicate short-term housing outlook

The latest report on pending home sales recorded in October, released today by the National Association of Realtors, showed more signs of a short-term slowdown. NAR’s pending home sales index declined by 2.6 percent last month compared to September,

Real Estate in Brief: Home price cuts, green mortgages and more

Nearly one third of homes for sale experienced a price drop of more than 1 percent this October, according to report by real estate brokerage Redfin. The report foreshadowed a market cooldown, finding October’s decline in home prices to be the largest

Fannie, Freddie loan limits increase for third-straight year

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the federally owned mortgage corporations Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced Nov. 27 it will increase its conforming loan limits for the third consecutive year in 2019. After not changing the limits

Guaranteed Rate expands in Hawaii with local acquisitions

Independent mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate announced Nov. 27 that it would expand its presence in Hawaii with the acquisition of assets and staff from local lenders including Honolulu HomeLoans (HHL) and Hawaii Lending Alliance (HLA). The company said it

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Real Estate in Brief: New task force on housing affordability, brokerage expansions and more

One of the largest residential real estate brokerages in the U.S., Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, will open more international franchise locations throughout Europe and the Middle East. According to Bloomberg News, BHHS will partner with London franchisee Kay & Co.

Case-Shiller: Sept. home price growth slowest in nearly 2 years

The latest reading of the U.S. housing market — the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Sept. 2018 — showed yet another sign of sluggish price growth. S&P’s key 20-city composite index showed that home prices in the

Federal regulators propose loosening home appraisal rules

A joint proposal by three federal agencies released Nov. 20 could speed up an estimated 40 percent of residential real estate transactions in the U.S. by changing requirements surrounding appraisals. Under the proposed rules, certain residential real estate transactions

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MLS, brokerages evolve their stance on private listings

There is a growing trend throughout several markets involving property listings that don’t appear on that market’s multiple listing system. The idea around private listings, or pocket listings, office exclusives or a number of other names, has been known

Existing home sales see first increase in six months

After six months of declines, existing home sales posted a month-to-month increase in October, according to the October report from the National Association of Realtors. Total existing home sales rose 1.4 percent from September to 5.22 million single-family homes,

Senators introduce updates to the Fair Housing Act

Senators Tim Kaine and Orrin Hatch have introduced a bipartisan bill that would expand the Fair Housing Act to include low-income families and veterans. The “Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2018” expands the anti-discriminatory language of the original law

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