While rising mortgage rates have set potential homebuyers scrambling, a poll from Redfin finds sellers are also concerned about the development. According to the survey, 47 percent of sellers said they are worried about a spike in rates driving down buyer demand, up from 23 percent in the last poll. An increasing percentage of homeowners are also anticipating larger price gains, though concerns over rising prices eased, falling from 32 percent to 29 percent quarter-over-quarter.
Read More »More Americans Say Buying a Home is a Good Financial Decision
Americans hold a more positive view of the housing market, while an increasing share of renters plan to own, according to the 2013 National Housing Pulse Survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Of those surveyed, 80 percent said they believe buying a home is a good financial decision, up by 8 points from 2011. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who say they prefer to rent over buying dropped 6 points since 2011 to 25 percent.
Read More »Hundreds of Jobs Cut as Wells Fargo Shuts Down Joint Ventures
Wells Fargo Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., will exit from its eight mortgage joint ventures in mortgage lending due to "the current regulatory and market environment," the company announced Thursday.
Read More »Survey Shows Buyers More Willing to Adopt Aggressive Tactics
Prospective buyers have had to step up their game as the market continues to grow more competitive.
Read More »DocMagic Recruits Director of Software Development
DocMagic, Inc. announced the appointment of Brian Yoder as director of software development.
Read More »Investor Activity Down as Current Homeowners Step Up
Among three buyer types--current homeowner, first-time homebuyer, and investor--current homeowners were the only group to see activity rise in June, according to data from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. As rising home prices discourage investment activity, HousePulse found home purchases from investors slipped to 19.7 percent, down significantly from 23.1 percent from February. June was the fourth straight month to see investor traffic decline.
Read More »Survey Shows High Hopes Among Appraisers
The vast majority--95 percent--of residential appraisers surveyed in May and June reported an increase in demand for their services compared to last year, according to a report from the Appraisal Institute. Although the outlook for services appears strong, the hiring of trainees is expected to remain weak, especially among residential appraisers. According to the institute, commercial appraisers account for less than one-third of practicing appraisers, yet they were much more active in hiring trainees.
Read More »Home Sales, Prices Continue Winning Streak in June
Annual home price and sales gains continued their streak in June, increasing on a yearly basis for the 17th straight month, according to RE/MAX's monthly housing report.
Read More »Regulators Propose Higher Capital Requirements for Largest Banks
Federal regulators announced a proposal Tuesday to double the standard Basel III leverage ratio for the "largest, most systemically significant" banks. The proposal would also require covered bank holding companies to maintain a tier 1 capital leverage buffer of at least 2 percent above the minimum supplementary leverage ratio requirement of 3 percent, for a total of 5 percent, the regulators stated. Currently, the proposed rule would apply to eight banks.
Read More »FHFA Reports 107K HARP Refinances in April
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined 107,000 refinances in April through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), according to data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
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