News

The former CEO and chief financial officer of a disaster restoration and construction business conspired with other company executives to lie about the company’s business in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to drive up the company’s stock price, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.
The Senate will soon vote on the nomination of Kathy Kraninger as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, however even if she is confirmed it may not stop Democrats from investigating CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.
Housing starts increased 1.5% in October, propelled by the multifamily sector, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. One expert said this report is a stalemate between the demand and supply sides of the market, which are moving in different directions right now.
Title insurance companies in 12 of the nation’s largest markets will now have to provide federal authorities with substantial details on all real estate deals of $300,000 or more if the buyer is paying all cash. The requirement comes at the hands of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is significantly expanding its investigation into whether foreign buyers are using shell companies to buy U.S. real estate in order to launder money.
In October, a decrease in year-over-year home sales contributed to the first year-over-year inventory increase in a decade, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report. RE/MAX CEO Adam Contos said the market continues to move toward equilibrium.
Last year, Redfin rolled out a new service called \"Redfin Concierge,\" where the online brokerage will \"deep clean\" and stage a home on a homeowner’s behalf to aid in the sale of the property, all for a 2% listing fee. The program originally launched in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., before expanding into San Francisco in February of this year. And now, Redfin is bringing the enhanced listing program to its own backyard of Seattle.
Burdened by student debt and less inclined to marry young, Millennials are putting off homeownership, waiting longer to buy a home than generations past. But a recent study by the Urban Institute reveals the financial impact of delaying homeownership, revealing that those who purchased in their younger years carry more wealth into retirement and suggesting that young adults \"take into account the long-term consequences of renting when homeownership is an option.\"
Freddie Mac has long allowed certain borrowers to use “sweat equity” to cover a portion of their down payment, but now, the GSE will allow borrowers to use “sweat equity” to cover their entire down payment. Under the expansion, certain borrowers will be able to “sweat equity,” materials provided or labor completed by a borrower to improve a house before closing on the property, as their full down payment.
Multifamily mortgage originations continued trending towards another record-breaking year with another strong quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Monday. Multifamily originations were up year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. But by how much?
Affordability concerns contributed to homebuilder confidence falling eight points to 60 in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said for the past several years, shortages of labor and lots along with rising regulatory costs have led to a slow recovery in single-family construction.