Housing markets

Investment purchases surged to their highest share in five years in the second quarter, even though total volume decreased from 12 months earlier.

Washington, D.C. and Denver lead the country with the largest share of mortgaged households, and will likely soon see a shift in buyer demand, Realtor.com said.

The recent decline in mortgage rates and rising incomes helped improve buyer affordability, but record home prices remain formidable obstacles.

The real estate agent's guilty plea is the first under the law passed last summer, following thousands of deed theft complaints in the past ten years alone.

Contract closings fell 0.2% last month to an annualized rate of 4 million, according to National Association of Realtors figures released Thursday.

As home prices reach new heights, mortgage expenses are unaffordable for the typical earner in a third of the nation's largest 580 counties, according to Attom.

The title industry sustained improvement first seen last year, with second-quarter premium totals up on both a quarterly and annual basis, ALTA said.

The data suggest U.S. homebuilders are successfully luring buyers off the sidelines with aggressive sales incentives.

In the mortgage business, Rate has the biggest upside in the Compass-Anywhere M&A as it has joint ventures with both Guaranteed Rate Affinity and Originpoint.

There were 35.2% more sellers than buyers in the market last month. June and July were the only routine months since at least 2013 with a greater percentage.