News / Features
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Heading into the end of a year filled with volatility, the mortgage lending industry continues to look at its present and future performance as a glass half-empty. According to the latest Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey by Fannie Mae, the
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Instances of mortgage fraud risk grew 12.4 percent since last year, according to CoreLogic’s Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index. Approximately one in 109 applications, or 0.92 percent, of all mortgage applications contained indications of fraud. This is up from
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Houston topped LendingTree’s list of largest homes in the country. The website looked at home sizes in 45 markets across the country and Houston was ranked first with a median size of 1,952 square feet. Dallas-Fort Worth came in
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More national brokerages have announced plans to join other real estate firms like Zillow and Opendoor in piloting an instant-offer home listing service, often known as iBuying. On Sept. 25, Realogy, which owns major residential brokerages like Coldwell Banker,
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The National Association of Realtors announced new additions to the senior leadership staff of its marketing and government affairs divisions. According to an Oct. 2 press release, the association named Victoria Gillespie as chief marketing and communications officer, effective immediately,
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As home price growth slows, the percentage of homes that are going for above their asking price is decreasing. For the four weeks ending on September 23, Redfin found that only 22.9 percent of the homes sold for more than their asking
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While housing is still affordable on a national level, growth in household income is decelerating while gender and racial gaps persists. A new study by Free and Clear looked at data provided by the Census Bureau’s 2017 household income report
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Mark Thiele was named the new senior vice president by the Houston Housing Authority, overseeing housing programs that serve more than 60,000 Houston residents. In this new role, Thiele will oversee the main operational voucher, public housing programs and
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As home prices continue to rise across the country, homeowners appear ready to sell their homes. A record 77 percent of Americans believe that now is a good time to sell their home, according to the National Association of
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The Federal Reserve attempts to regulate accelerated inflation by raising interest rates for the third time this year, as reported by HousingWire. The Fed’s key rates have increased by .25 percent, to a current total of 2.25 percent. This rate hike is now the eighth since 2015, as
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Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced an expansive bill to Congress Sept. 26 that would fund a wide spectrum of initiatives to bolster housing finance and enable more Americans to become homeowners. Called the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act
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One of the oldest homes in the Houston area is on the market with the listing price of $2.28 million. The 3,719-square foot, five-bedroom home was built as a model home for buyers in the 1890s. The home is
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There is no one-size-fits-all way to help people buy and sell homes. Depending on what stage of life they are in, the needs and preferences of the client will change entirely. Buying or selling a home can be a
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Pending home sales fell for the eighth straight month on an annual basis, according to the August report from the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index dropped 1.8 percent from July’s 106.1 to 104.2 in August,
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A South Florida agent is suing NAR and Move, Inc. because of unsolicited text messages that she received through Realtor.com. In the class action lawsuit, Courtney Silverman alleges that “in their persistent efforts to advertise and solicit business, defendants,
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Realtors across many states in the nation reported slower homebuying activity in August as the Realtors Buyer Traffic Index fell to 57 from 69 in August 2017, according to the August 2018 Realtors Confidence Index Survey. Homebuying activity in