Housing markets

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.

The average return on investment for flipped homes was 25.1% in the second quarter this year, the lowest point since the second quarter of 2008.

Radian undertook a multiyear process that resulted in the $1.7 billion purchase of Inigo, but it's exiting other businesses outside of mortgage insurance.

The Community Home Lenders of America and the Community Associations Institute want the FHA to insure loans on condos approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Underserved markets advocates also want to keep the 30-year mortgage and do more to expand rural and manufactured housing while preserving low cost homes.

Consumers are 19% more likely to pay their auto loans than their mortgages, which is a shift in attitude from the pandemic period, FICO said.

A federal judge in Colorado ruled that the appraisal discrimination case raised by the government against both Rocket and Solidifi will move forward.

While equity still sits near historic highs, price growth moderation led to shrinkage of the total amount available and a rise in underwater mortgages.

Consumers are so concerned about rising costs that they often forego coverage altogether, according to two separate studies from Valuepenguin and Realtor.com.

California-based Linkhome Holdings' new platform allows buyers to use cryptocurrency for property purchases.

The American Land Title Association is supporting Fidelity National Financial's efforts to stop an anti-money laundering rule from going into effect.

Homes for sale inventory reached pre-COVID levels for the first time in years, while contract activity continued to soar last month, HouseCanary said.

Falling mortgage rates resulted in a slight uptick in credit availability in August, the Mortgage Bankers Association research showed.