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Baby Boomers Boosting Builders' Confidence

The appeal of new homes to baby boomers and older buyers hasn't gone unnoticed by builders. To be sure, builder confidence in the single-family housing market for borrowers older than 55 remained strong in the fourth quarter of 2018 with a reading of 66, up six points compared to the third quarter, according to the… Read more...

Homes Sold Above Asking Price Dropped in Second Half of '18

The share of homes sold above asking price declined each month in the second half of 2018, and December saw the biggest month-over-month drop since at least 2012, another sign of the slowing housing market. Nineteen percent of home sales in the U.S. went for above asking in December, down from 21 percent in November… Read more...

Planet Home Loans Opens 26 Branches, Licenses Technology

Planet Home Lending LLC, a national lender and servicer, opened 26 retail branches, expanded into other channels and brought on 165 mortgage loan originators in 2018. Also, it increased the private client sub-servicing portfolio by 300 percent and the correspondent division expanded its client base by 40 percent, according to the company. The renovation division… Read more...

Better Mortgage Receives $70M Capital Infusion

Better Mortgage has closed a $70 million funding round from American Express Ventures, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, as well as existing investors Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs, and Pine Brook. The new capital will support expansion and enhancements to its technology platform. Better doubled operates in half of the states in the U.S. and… Read more...

Pending Home Sales Slip, Notes NAR

Pending home sales declined overall in December, but for the second straight month the West experienced a slight increase. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on home contract signings, decreased 2.2 percent to 99 in December, down from 101.2 in November, according to the National Association of Realtors. “The longer-term growth potential… Read more...

25% of Home Searchers Plan to Switch Cities: Redfin

Twenty-five percent of home searchers looked to move to another metro area in the fourth quarter of 2018, up from 23 percent the year before, according to the migration report from Redfin. The national share of home searchers looking to relocate has been increasing since Redfin began reporting on migration in early 2017 and now… Read more...

East Texas Title Completes its First Remote Online Closing

East Texas Title has executed its first remote online closing in Texas since the state’s remote online notarization law went into effect. The transaction, which was executed using NotaryCam’s eClose360 platform, was performed on behalf of a couple in Colorado, who were selling their property in Longview, Texas. “We started conducting remote online closings on… Read more...

LoanSnap Receives $4.7M Investment

LoanSnap has raised $4.7 million investment led by Thomvest Ventures and existing investors, bringing the company's financing to $17 million. It offers conventional, Veteran Affairs and refinance mortgages as well as and home-equity lines of credit. LoanSnap offers what it describes as “smart-loan” technology that deploys artificial intelligence to analyze a consumer's financial situation and… Read more...

Freddie’s Kiefer: There's No Housing Bubble

Realtors, homeowners and others who ask, "Are we in another house price bubble?" The answer is "No," said Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac, who was speaking at the 2019 Florida Real Estate Trends summit during the Florida Realtors Mid-Winter Business Meetings. "Home prices are up, but that by itself is no indication… Read more...

Social Media Tools for Originators

Loan officers can use social media to educate followers about the mortgage market, to be a trusted resource—not just as a way to advertise their services. To be sure, originators have expertise that consumers need and might not be able to get anywhere else, except through social media. The key is to generate and post… Read more...

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