Windermere rolls out tech tools at NAR convention
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Windermere Solutions LLC (WSLLC), a technology company spun out from Seattle-based Windermere Real Estate, today announced new web tools for agents at the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) annual convention. The primary offering, Agent Websites, “give agents a classy online presence and the tools they need to connect with buyers and sellers […]15 years ago
Realtors head to confab with five-point housing proposal
The National Association of Realtors will gather for its annual convention in Anaheim, California, this weekend armed with a five-point proposal the group believes will jump-start the nation’s housing market. NAR, the country’s largest trade association with more than 1 million members, worked with two policy think tanks – the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) and […]15 years ago
State homeowners may be eligible for foreclosure review
Washington homeowners whose home was part of a foreclosure action between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010 may be eligible for an independent foreclosure review. The reviews, recently announced by federal regulators, are required under a settlement reached between the nation’s largest mortgage servicers and the regulators. Under the settlement, mortgage servicers were required […]15 years ago
Monthly loan payments nearly 40% cheaper than 2006
Housing affordability improved dramatically because of declines in both prices and mortgage interest rates, according to David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, a research company specializing in financial services. “The monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced single-family home is now $700, compared to $1,140 in 2006 – a decline of nearly 40 percent,” Stiff said. […]15 years ago
B of A seeks $3 billion to counter foreclosure penalties
Bank of America had to pay $1.3 billion in penalties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the first nine months of 2011 because of the delays in foreclosure cases, the bank disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. According to RealtyTrac, more than 8.9 million homes have been lost to foreclosure since 2007. […]15 years ago
Freddie may need at least a decade to unload foreclosures
Freddie Mac vendors sold fewer REO properties (real estate owned by lenders via foreclosure) in the third quarter than they did earlier in the year as nonperforming loans continue to climb, Housing Wire reported.15 years ago
What’s an extra bath worth? Builders introduce estimator
The National Association of Home Builders has developed a house price estimator in an attempt to gauge the average price of a home with various features in different parts of the country.15 years ago
Appraisals continue to be thorn in the side of home deals
Appraisals continue to hamper real estate transactions. In the first six months of the year, one-third of real estate professionals say appraisals have caused a delay or canceling of contracts – that’s up from 29 percent for all of last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Lenders are requiring more detailed data thorough […]15 years ago
Freddie Mac seeks $6 billion more in assistance
Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage giant, is requesting $6 billion in additional aid to cover steep losses during the third quarter. It’s the largest quarterly request since April 2010. Since 2008 when the government took control over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s financial decisions, taxpayers have spent about $169 billion to rescue the government-sponsored enterprises, […]15 years ago
Realtor group rolls out international listings site
The National Association of Realtors launched an international website that features residential real estate listings from Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.15 years ago
Local home prices dive with distressed sales
A growing number of distressed home sales, coupled with stringent "jumbo" financing requirements, pushed Puget Sound property prices lower than expected in October, according to the latest figures released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.15 years ago
Zillow acquires company specializing in agent marketing
Seattle-based Zillow has acquired a majority ownership of Diverse Solutions, an Irvine, California-based company that helps real estate agents market their businesses and improve their personal websites, for approximately $7.8 million in cash and stock. Diverse Solutions’ software services include providing listings content and property search functionality for the Internet and mobile platforms. Founded in […]15 years ago
25 percent of homes sold to foreigners, analyst says
Analyst Howard Blum, a real estate investor and publisher of financial newsletters, reported that the amount of U.S. residential real estate purchased by foreign buyers is much greater than either the National Association of Realtors or Capital Economics estimate. Blum said more than 25 percent of all homes sold today are bought by foreign cash […]15 years ago
Three tips when buying a foreclosure
It’s human nature to try to save a buck. That’s why buyers and investors are curious about distressed properties. “The No. 1 reason to buy a foreclosure is the potential for a good bargain,” said Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac.com, a research company that tracks defaults, foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) by lenders. But despite […]15 years ago
Distressed properties propel brisk local sales – DataQuick
DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate research firm, reported that September home sales in the Seattle area increased 26.2 percent when compared to the same month last year with distressed properties making up half of the closings. The regional area – which includes Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue – saw 3,747 new and resale home closings […]15 years ago
Mortgage Credit Certificates: A top first-time option
Few first-time home buyers are aware of a subsidy that could prove to be a huge benefit for cash-strapped consumers. The Mortgage Credit Certificate Program was authorized by Congress in the 1984 Tax Reform Act as a means of providing housing assistance to low- and moderate- income families. To qualify, buyers must not have owned […]15 years ago
Headed out? Make marketing expectations known
The chores of listing and selling a home should not be taken lightly – nor handed off – especially in this market. When you contract a real-estate broker to help sell your home, you are promising to pay a commission for services rendered if the broker finds a person ready, willing and able to buy […]15 years ago
Expert sees ‘years’ of 1 million-plus foreclosures
Rick Sharga, who helped to build RealtyTrac into the nation’s preeminent network for tracking foreclosures, said the housing market faces several more years of approximately one million new foreclosures per year. Sharga, now executive vice president with Carrington Mortgage Services, told Housing Wire that he doesn’t see a spike, rather a slow, steady burn in […]15 years ago
Tom Kelly: Greed propels agent overboard
In a recent column, we asked if a person who serves homebuyers and sellers for a living should be held to different guidelines if they are competing to purchase a property? For example, should the listing be exposed to the market for a certain amount of time (perhaps 48 hours) before a licensed agent can […]15 years ago
California reportedly subpoenas B of A over toxic loans
Investigators with the state California state attorney general’s office have subpoenaed Bank of America Corp. in connection with the sale and marketing of troubled mortgage-backed securities to California investors, the Los Angeles Times reported. The state is trying to determine whether the bank and its Countrywide Financial subsidiary sold investments backed by risky mortgages to […]15 years ago
A first: Realtor.com to add apartment listings
At a time when the rental market continues to surge, Realtor.com will soon add apartments to its online listings of single-family properties for sale and rent. “It’s an opportunity to connect millions of people interested in the convenience apartment communities offer, while providing tools like the ‘rent vs. buy’ calculator, local homes for sale and […]15 years ago
