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Zillow Starts Making Cash Offers For the Zestimate
February 25 2021 |
The Zestimate is now an initial cash offer for eligible homes in more than 20 cities nationwide. This ushers in a new era for the Zestimate, the company's proprietary home value estimation tool, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this month.
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NAR Applauds House Vote to Secure Housing Rights for LGBTQ Americans
February 25 2021 |
National Association of Realtors® President Charlie Oppler issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed H.R. 5, the Equality Act. The legislation would ensure sexual orientation and gender identity are included as prohibited bases for discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
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New Home Sales Higher in January, Yet Supply Side Concerns Remain
February 24 2021 |
Strong demand stemming from low interest rates, favorable demographics and a suburban shift for home building to smaller, more affordable housing markets helped to lift new home sales in January, but rising lumber and material costs threaten to blunt this momentum.
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American Land Title Association Submits Introductory Letter to Biden Administration
February 24 2021 |
The American Land Title Association(ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, submitted a letterto President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris congratulating them on the quick start to the Administration, while also highlighting how the title and settlement industry responded during the COVID-19 crisis and the importance of expanding housing opportunities and affordability.
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Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Declines to 5.22 Percent
February 22 2021 |
The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 5.29% of servicers' portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.22% as of February 14, 2021. According to MBA's estimate, 2.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
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Construction Headwinds Pick Up in January
February 18 2021 |
Housing production softened in January as rising lumber prices continue to affect the housing industry. Overall housing starts decreased 6.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.58 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Builder Confidence: High Demand Offsets Higher Costs-For Now
February 17 2021 |
Strong buyer demand helped offset supply chain challenges and a surge in lumber prices as builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched up one point to 84 in February, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released today.
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States Title Raises $150 Million to Modernize Home Closing Experience
February 17 2021 |
States Title, a leading force for disruptive change in the real estate industry, today announced $150 million in debt financing from HSCM Bermuda, who has previously invested in the company. The financing follows a $123 million Series C filed last May and will be used to accelerate traction on an aggressive roadmap and market expansion to fundamentally transform the home closing experience.
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Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Declines to 5.29 Percent
February 16 2021 |
The Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 6 basis points from 5.35% of servicers' portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.29% as of February 7, 2021. According to MBA's estimate, 2.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
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Residential Remodeling Fully Recovered from the Beginning of COVID-19
February 12 2021 |
Spending on residential improvements will continue to grow at a healthy pace over the next two years, according to experts speaking at an online press conference hosted by the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers during the 2021 International Builders’ Show virtual experience.
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Record-High Lumber Prices are Hammering Housing Affordability
February 12 2021 |
Soaring lumber prices are adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home, pricing out millions of potential home buyers and impeding the residential construction sector from moving the economy forward, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
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NAR Applauds HUD for Protecting LGBTQ Civil Rights
February 11 2021 |
The National Association of Realtors® Thursday applauded HUD’s announcement that it will enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. HUD’s move, based on the Supreme Court’s reasoning from last June’s Bostock decision, effectively expands civil rights protections to LGBTQ Americans seeking housing and housing-related services.
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Mortgage Delinquencies Decrease in the Fourth Quarter of 2020
February 11 2021 |
The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.73 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest National Delinquency Survey.
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U.S. Median Home Asking Prices Hit a New High, Up 10% From Last Year
February 05 2021 |
New listings were down 12%; active listings of homes for sale were down 36% from a year ago -- Asking prices of newly-listed homes hit a new all-time record of $330,225, up 10% from the same time a year ago, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. In a typical year asking prices do not pass the previous year's peak until March. This early spike in asking prices suggests that this coming spring will see stronger price growth than is typical this time of year.
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American Land Title Association Announces First Chief Information Officer
February 04 2021 |
The American Land Title Association, the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, announced the elevation of ALTA Vice President Kelly Romeo CAE to senior vice president (SVP) and chief information officer (CIO). Romeo is the first person to fill the CIO role at ALTA.
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Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Remains Unchanged at 5.38 Percent
February 01 2021 |
The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance remained unchanged relative to the prior week at 5.38% of servicers' portfolio volume as of January 24, 2021. According to MBA's estimate, 2.7 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
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NAR Mourns Past President R. Layne Morrill
February 01 2021 |
Former NAR president (1998) R. Layne Morrill, of Kimberling City, Missouri, passed away on Saturday, January 30th, from complications of Parkinson's Disease, which he had been battling for at least 15 years, the National Association of Realtors® announced today.
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