Author: admin

Mortgage rates fell this week and they are now far from the levels widely discussed after the election. With the final jobs report for 2024, mortgage rates made a nice move lower today, and it’s been a positive story this week. We discussed this possibility in last week’s Housing Market Tracker: Will there be a Santa Claus rally in mortgage rates? Economic data has played a significant role in the market, unlike speculative theories.  So, what has this jobs week revealed? It aligns with the trend we’ve been observing: the labor market is softening but not collapsing. Additionally, the most…

Employers added 227,000 workers to their payrolls in November, but with 7.1 million Americans out of work the unemployment rate is back up to 4.2 percent. Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025. A rebound in job growth in November after disruption caused by October strikes and hurricanes was not enough to keep unemployment…

Anywhere brand Century 21 is growing its presence in Massachusetts. On Thursday, the Century 21 Custom Home Realty affiliate announced its acquisition of Mansfield, Massachusetts-based Monarch Realty Group. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Through this acquisition, the firm now boasts 60 real estate agents and four offices. “Bringing Monarch Realty Group into the CENTURY 21 Custom Home Realty family will provide its affiliated agents with advanced systems and tools and empower them to deliver exceptional value to their clients while leveraging the cache of the most recognized name in real estate,” Deb Flanagan, the broker-owner of…

A listing photo shows the original French doors capped with arched glass that lead out to a terrace that’s 5’9” deep and gazes over private Turtle Bay Gardens. Photo: Sotheby’s International Realty 242 East 49th is one of the nicest homes on one of the world’s loveliest blocks of townhouses, and for that reason — and its proximity to Broadway — it’s been home to reams of celebrities. The actor Ruth Gordon, now best known for playing the elder matron with a macabre edge in Harold and Maude and Rosemary’s Baby, bought the place thanks to her friend Katharine Hepburn, whose best…

Facing lawsuits and enforcement actions by attorneys general in several states, the company said Thursday it would shut down about two weeks after being sued by Connecticut’s Attorney General. Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025. Sale-leaseback platform EasyKnock, which faced consumer lawsuits and enforcement actions by attorneys general in several states, has closed its…

Tim Nelson, reverse department manager at VIP Mortgage, is a 35-year veteran of the mortgage business, and he has been solely focused on reverse mortgages for the past 15 years. Nelson recently sat down with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) to share perspectives on what it was like to move from being a reverse mortgage industry professional to a customer. He obtained his own Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) as soon as he and his wife reached the qualifying age of 62. In this second part of the interview, Nelson goes into some of the more specific aspects of making…

Illustration: Gabriel Alcala If there’s anything Curbed readers have asked us for, besides a secret new way to find a good New York City apartment, it’s an app that makes it easier to read the stories on our site. That day is here! Now, if you happen to pause between looking at an elegantly renovated Brooklyn Heights townhouse and a story about why people are moving to the Financial District (yes, really!), you don’t have to enter yet another log-in and password. The app is available for download here, giving you a streamlined pass not just to Curbed but also to…

New commission rules offer brand new opportunities for working with buyers. California broker Cindi Hagley offers ways to embrace change and prosper. Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025. Commission changes are here. In a nutshell, the changes ended the practice of homesellers automatically covering the fees for agents on both sides of the…

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday announced two new key responses to its ongoing disaster recovery efforts in the wake of an accelerating trend of extreme weather events. These include an extension of a foreclosure moratorium for victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as a new pre-disaster housing partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FHA formalized the foreclosure moratorium extension in Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-25, requiring lenders to immediately implement the extension that is now set to expire on April 11, 2025. “This extension provides homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages in Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Areas…

Whether it’s refining your business model, mastering new technologies, or discovering strategies to capitalize on the next market surge, Inman Connect New York will prepare you to take bold steps forward. The Next Chapter is about to begin. Be part of it. Join us and thousands of real estate leaders Jan. 22-24, 2025. Saying it’s been forced “onto a tightrope that is impossible to walk,” Rocket Mortgage has sued federal regulators, alleging the government is requiring lenders to grant appraisers independence and then holding the lenders liable if those appraisers engage in racial bias or discrimination. “The government cannot require…