New Home Sales Essentially Flat in October, Continuing Strong Fall Season
November 25 2020 | |
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October dipped 0.3 percent to 999,000 from an upwardly revised September number, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the monthly decline, the October rate is 41.5 percent higher than the October 2019 pace, and on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up 20.6 percent in 2020.
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Top Five Cities Where Affordability Declined the Most, According to First American Real House Price Index
November 23 2020 | |
First American Financial Corporation(NYSE: FAF),a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released the September 2020 First American Real House Price Index (RHPI). The RHPI measures the price changes of single-family properties throughout the U.S. adjusted for the impact of income and interest rate changes on consumer house-buying power over time at national, state and metropolitan area levels.
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NAR President Charlie Oppler Apologizes for Past Policies that Contributed to Racial Inequality
November 19 2020 | |
Newly-installed National Association of Realtors® President Charlie Oppler issued a formal apology Thursday for the association's past policies that contributed to segregation and racial inequality in America. During a virtual fair housing summit hosted by The Hill and co-sponsored by NAR, Oppler offered an emotional apology on behalf of the industry for NAR's actions during a large part of the 20th century.
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ALTA Good Deeds Foundation Receives $500K in Donations
November 19 2020 | |
The ALTA Good Deeds Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by theAmerican Land Title Association(ALTA), today announced it has surpassed the banner level of $500,000 of charitable donations in just over a month. ALTA established the Foundation in October to bolster the charitable efforts of title and settlement professionals and help with housing needs as well as those adversely impacted by national emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Justice Department Files Antitrust Case and Simultaneous Settlement Requiring National Association of Realtors® To Repeal and Modify Certain Anticompetitive Rules
November 19 2020 | |
The Department of Justice today filed a civil lawsuit against the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) alleging that NAR established and enforced illegal restraints on the ways that REALTORS® compete.
The Antitrust Division simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that requires NAR to repeal and modify its rules to provide greater transparency to home buyers about the commissions of brokers representing home buyers (buyer brokers), cease misrepresenting that buyer broker services are free, eliminate rules that prohibit filtering multiple listing services (MLS) listings based on the level of buyer broker commissions, and change its rules and policy which limit access to lockboxes to only NAR-affiliated real estate brokers. If approved, the settlement will enhance competition in the real estate market, resulting in more choice and better service for consumers.
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Single-family Starts at Highest Pace Since Spring of 2007
November 18 2020 | |
Led by solid gains in single-family production, overall housing starts increased 4.9 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.53 million units, according to a report from according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Sales Growth Lifts Builder Confidence to New Record High
November 16 2020 | |
In another sign that housing continues to lead the economy forward, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased five points to 90 in November, shattering the previous all-time high of 85 recorded in October, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released today. Builder confidence levels have hit successive all-time highs over the past three months.
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Delaware County (PA) Attorney Convicted Of Bank Fraud And Identity Theft Offenses
November 12 2020 | |
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Dory L. Sater, age 46, of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, was convicted on November 10, 2020, following a jury trial, of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses. The evidence presented at trial showed that in August 2017, Sater forged a mortgage satisfaction piece and filed the instrument with the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds Office.
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Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 5.67 Percent
November 09 2020 | |
The Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 16 basis points from 5.83% of servicers' portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.67% as of November 1, 2020.
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Fathom Holdings Enters Title Insurance Sector, Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Verus Title
November 05 2020 | |
Fathom Holdings Inc., a holding company that primarily operates through its wholly owned subsidiary,Fathom Realty, LLC, a national, cloud-based, technology-driven, residential real estate brokerage, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Verus Title Inc., expanding its residential real estate offerings to include title insurance services.
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Lack of Inventory, Higher Prices Push Housing Affordability Near Two-Year Low
November 05 2020 | |
Record-low mortgage rates were not enough to offset inventory shortages and rising home prices as housing affordability continued to decline in the third quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.
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Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 5.83 Percent
November 02 2020 | |
The Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 5.90% of servicers' portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.83% as of October 25, 2020. According to MBA's estimate, 2.9 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
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