There were a total of 361 consumer complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) related to the reverse mortgage industry during the calendar year 2023, according to a consumer complaint database maintained by the Bureau. Of those complaints, 167 had to do with “trouble during the payment process,” while other topics included payment […]
A Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-sponsored Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) requires a borrower to be at or over the age of 62 to qualify for a loan, making baby boomers most of the new qualifying candidates for a HECM. A new report from Construction Coverage sourced by its researchers and data from the U.S. Census […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a management alert this week, saying that the department has struggled to identify and prevent “improper payments” related to its programs for 11 consecutive years. The OIG advised HUD leadership to “address the Department’s longstanding challenges with identifying and […]
The past three years in the mortgage industry were cutthroat, with origination volume shrinking, and while things are looking better for 2024, lenders are still in a position where they must make bold moves to stem losses on the production side of the business, according to a report from Stratmor Group, a mortgage advisory firm. […]
Pending home sales rose 8.3% month over month in December, according to the newest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It was the largest monthly jump in pending home sales since 2020. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) increased to 77.3 in December, up from 71.6 in November. On a year-over-year basis, pending […]
Nevada’s unusual commission lawsuit is no longer so unusual. When the copycat commission suit was initially filed in early January by Nevada home seller Nathaniel Whaley, the complaint named just Realtor associations and MLSs as defendants, making it stand out from the spate of other commission suits. But all of that changed on Thursday, when […]
Data from research organizations and aging advocacy groups is clear: More older Americans want to age in place in their own homes, as opposed to living in dedicated care facilities. To get a better grasp on this preference, Chicago-based National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate station WBEZ recently featured a dedicated aging-in-place segment. WBEZ spoke with […]
Homeowners in California now have even fewer choices in homeowners insurance carriers. The Hartford Financial Services Group, better known as The Hartford, announced Wednesday that it would no longer issue new homeowners insurance policies in California starting in February 2024. The firm noted that this change would also impact The Hartford’s joint homeowners insurance program […]
Mortgage rates stabilized in the past week but remain close to the narrow range observed since the start of this month. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.69% as of Jan. 25, an increase from last week’s figure of 6.60%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate […]
If you’re a new broker or team leader you might not realize just how competitive recruiting was in 2023. The data are sobering: The Agent Movement Index, the number of experienced Realtors switching brokerages each month, was at its lowest level since 2016. Throw in the recent explosion of boutique brokerages, teams, and “teamerages” and […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Matt VanFossen, CEO of Absolute Home Mortgage and Mortgage Automation Technologies, to talk about his unique view of the housing ecosystem and how it influences how he builds technology. Van Fossen not only heads a mortgage lender and a tech company, but is the president of the […]
