Losetheagent.com has developed a peer-to-peer real estate market, with access to mortgage professionals.

The site includes marketing tools that assist the homeowner in selling their property without real estate agents, saving thousands of dollars in commissions, according to the company.

All free of charge, the premium program allows sellers to advertise a property or land for sale through a streamlined listing process. By simply entering the address, the site’s proprietary algorithm surveys available or properties that have closed within the immediate vicinity and timeframe and recommends a price based on that information. The seller can choose to accept or adjust the price and is then prompted through each step of entering the property’s information through the easy-to-use interface.

Users have access to title companies, mortgage brokers and lenders with a key stroke or two. An important component of the no-fee platform, buyers have the option of submitting a copy of their mortgage pre-qualification documents for review. The LoseTheAgent.com team vets the pre-qualification, and the buyer receives an identification number that can be entered for potential property discounts and preferred appointment times.

“LoseTheAgent.com empowers property owners to successfully sell their home. Our innovative platform gives the seller all of the tools that they need from pricing recommendations and buyer screening to open house scheduling and the option for videos, marketing templates and more,” said Bill McLeod, president of LoseTheAgent.com. “Our platform will help increase the efficiency of the real estate transaction in general and potentially save tens of thousands of dollars per transaction in commissions.”

LoseTheAgent.com bills itself as having the potential to return $6.3 billion of potential commissions back to consumers.

Location might be everything in real estate, but buyer perception isn’t far behind.

Consider that seventy-five percent of Americans believe their local housing market is cooling off--among them, 72 percent say they are not surprised, according to results from Valueinsured's Q4 2018 Modern Homebuyer Survey.

This shift in market perceptions follows five consecutive quarters where majority of Americans believed housing was overheated.  Among states with the most robust home sales activity, 22 percent of residents in California, 19 percent in Colorado, 36 percent in Texas, and 22 percent in Washington say their local market is not cooling.

The ValueInsured Housing Confidence Index registered at 63.0, on a hundred-point scale in the fourth quarter, down 4.7 points in one year. Homeowners, historically the most confident segment on the Index, produced a score of 71.6 in the quarter, the second-lowest level recorded in 30 months.

The report indicates millennial homeowners are among the most bearish:

• 72 percent report home shoppers in their neighborhood are less aggressive now compared to one year prior.
• 67 percent expect a home bought in their neighborhood today will likely decrease in value one year from now.

A Shift from Seller's to Buyer's Market

Millennial homeowners' outlook signals the starter-home seller's market may have peaked. Fully 78 percent believe now is a good time to sell; however, only 38 percent of those who wish to buy a starter home in the near future believe now is a good time to buy--down 8 points in one year. This is meaningful, as starter-home owners' hesitancy to sell and the subsequent inventory drought had been a key catalyst that drove up home prices in many major markets in recent years.

From Bidding Wars to Waiting-It-Out

Despite observing market adjustments, 72 percent of all Americans and 78 percent of urban residents believe home prices are still too high. The latest data represent 10-point and 13-point increases, respectively, from Q2 2018. Urban homeowners in particular blame flippers and speculative investors (70 percent) and wealthy transplants from more expensive housing markets (66 percent) for inflating their local home prices to unsustainable levels.

Theories for what inflated home values aside, many prospective homebuyers now plan to wait it out before pulling the trigger:

• 59 percent of all interested homebuyers (including first-time and upgrade buyers) say they plan to wait for a "meaningful correction" before buying
• 14 percent plan to drop out of buying altogether if a correction does not occur

"In August 2017, ValueInsured was among the first to report Americans' concerns about overheated housing and a possible correction," said Joe Melendez, CEO and founder of Valueinsured. "Fast forward fifteen months, Southern California is in its worst housing slump in over a decade, Seattle leads the nation in fastest home-price drop, and North Texas has the largest sales decline in seven years. Expect the market to stall in the near term."

Synergy One Lending has agreed to acquire the assets of BBMC Mortgage, a national mortgage company.

BBMC offers a full suite of home financing products and services including traditional mortgage products and reverse mortgages through a wide network of loan officers, as well as direct sales channels.

“BBMC has built an impressive team and we are a strong cultural fit--with both firms committed to a relentless drive towards an exceptional customer experience through the combination of talent, technology, and digital marketing expertise,” said Terry Connealy, CEO of Synergy.

In addition to acquiring select assets and leases, Synergy One expects to transition most BBMC employees to the company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha Bank. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Synergy One and Mutual of Omaha Bank put their customers first, which aligns closely with BBMC’s culture and commitment to honesty, fair dealing and superior customer service,” said Jeff Gennarelli, president of BBMC Mortgage.

Citizens-Military Warriors Support Foundation Donate House to VA

Citizens Bank in collaboration with the Military Warriors Support Foundation will donate a just renovated, mortgage-free house to a deserving veteran and his family.

The Aldan, Pennsylvania home--renovated by Citizens Bank colleagues and donated by the bank--was presented today to Private First Class Michael Lowe, who honorably served his country as a combat engineer in Iraq and Korea.

Michael was inspired to join the Army in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York City on September 11, 2001. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and raised in Brooklyn. He entered the Army in March 2003 and served until 2006 as a Private First-Class Combat Engineer serving in Korea and Iraq. Before retiring from the Army for medical reasons, Michael received several awards and commendations for his service including the Purple Heart.

“We are proud to honor Michael’s brave service by providing him with a home that has been refurbished with pride and great care,” said Brad Conner, vice chairman and head of consumer banking for Citizens Bank.

At a ceremony today, Citizens colleagues lined the street to welcome Michael and his family to their new home. Representatives from Citizens Bank and Military Warriors Support Foundation presented the keys to Michael and led him on a tour of his new home.

More than 100 Citizens Bank colleagues have donated their time volunteering on various projects to improve the house. Citizens Bank colleagues donated their time and talents, as well as items for the home (television, snow blower, gas grill, gardening tools, small kitchen appliances and silverware, living room, family room, and bedroom furniture) and gift cards for various stores in the area.