Spruce's Patrick Burns on innovation in title technology
This week, HousingWire's Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler interviews Patrick Burns, the CEO and co-founder of Spruce, a proptech company powering online real estate transactions. In this episode, the pair discuss heightened investor interest in title technology, innovation and fintech adoption spurred by COVID-19, as well as the rise of M&A and partnerships.
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Americans getting priced out of red-hot housing market: 'It's the Wild West'
With home prices rising at the fastest pace in 15 years, buyers nationwide are getting priced out. The result, economists warn, is widening inequalities in the housing market.
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Soaring lumber prices add $36,000 to the cost of a new home, and a fierce land grab is only making it worse
As the housing market gets leaner, potential buyers are turning in record numbers to new construction, but several factors are making those homes pricier than ever before.
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What Powell and the Fed just did should help to keep mortgage rates low
Though the economy is showing signs of life after the beating it took from COVID-19, the Federal Reserve says it's not ready to back off its current pandemic-targeting policies. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell (pictured) and his central bank colleagues announced on Wednesday that until several economic benchmarks are reached, they'll keep holding a key interest rate near zero. That should continue to help mortgage borrowers.
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Drone operators challenge surveyors' turf in mapping dispute
When Michael Jones started a side hustle shooting drone photos and videos for realtors, his clients wanted more: Images with property lines on them, to better understand where their fences should be. It seemed like a good use of emerging technology that met an obvious consumer demand, and Jones was careful to add a disclaimer: His maps weren't meant to replace the proper surveys that are often needed for such things as mortgages, title insurance and land use applications.
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Job opportunity: How to become an abstractor
Abstractors research all documents and activities affecting ownership of properties. The work involves sifting through public records, often in a county clerk's office, for mentions of things like liens or bankruptcies or land boundaries. Essentially, abstract companies make sure that the seller of a property does in fact own the property and has a "free and clear" title.
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