National News

Nov. 30, 2023

How Flood Insurance May or May Not Help Homeowners

 

As the name suggests, flood insurance is a type of insurance policy that will pay out if your home is damaged by flood waters.

If you are taking out a mortgage to buy a home in a federally designated flood zone, you are required to buy a flood insurance ...

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Nov. 7, 2023

Regulation hasn’t caught up to generative AI

 

October 16, 2023, 5:36 pm By 

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has tremendous potential to cut costs and improve customer experience, but regulation has not caught up to develop a governance program, industry pros said of AI’s implementation in mortgage lending.

Bias, discrimination, privacy and security concerns ...

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Oct. 27, 2023

As mortgage rates near 8%, loan originators target first-time homebuyers

 

October 4, 2023, 3:17 pm By 

In an environment where 30-year fixed mortgage rates are racing towards 8%, loan officer pipelines are thinning dramatically. 

Originators who primarily served move-up buyers with high credit scores and strong down payments are struggling to find clients. But LOs ...

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Sept. 5, 2023

Housing starts tick back up in July in spite of headwinds

  

August 16, 2023, 2:33 pm By 

Housing starts picked up significantly in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.452 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That was up 3.9% from June and up 5.9% from a year ago. Meanwhile ...

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Sept. 2, 2023

Why the Fed is celebrating after jobs week

September 1, 2023, 6:26 pm 

By 

Jobs week cleared up the skies for the Federal Reserve members, who are smiling — big time — after a series of data lines gave them what they wanted: a softer labor market! 

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Sept. 2, 2023

Housing sector is showing signs of picking back up.

 

August 25, 2023, 11:40 am By 

In a hawkish tone, Jerome Powell said that Federal Reserve (Fed) officials are prepared to raise the federal funds rate further and hold it at high levels until they are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down to the ...

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Aug. 23, 2023

Where are mortgage rates headed?

 

August 13, 2023, 5:00 pm By 

Last week ended with a wild ride for mortgage rates. We anticipated the two inflation reports could help mortgage rates, however, we had a bad bond auction last Thursday, and the 10-year yield rose sharply. Weekly active inventory grew slowly again ...

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Aug. 18, 2023

Housing starts tick back up in July in spite of headwinds

 

August 16, 2023, 2:33 pm By 

Housing starts picked up significantly in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.452 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That was up 3.9% from June and up 5.9% from a year ago. Meanwhile, permits ...

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Aug. 17, 2023

Inflation data laying groundwork for the Fed to pivot

 

August 10, 2023, 11:24 am By 

Has the recent inflation data given the Federal Reserve a pathway for a 2024 pivot? The Fed has whispered about what can happen if the inflation growth rate falls more into 2024 and it’s a positive take. Some have thought the ...

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July 22, 2023

The existing home market is still savagely unhealthy

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