Leading U.S. mortgage lenders United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) and Better have joined Fannie Mae’s pilot program that waives lender title insurance requirements for certain refinance transactions, HousingWire has learned.The initiative, announced by President Joe Biden during his March 2024 State of

Looking to launch a real estate career in 2025? We’ve pinpointed the best online real estate schools in California for every budget, weekly schedule and timeline — with podcast-style audio lessons, mobile phone apps, and courses for every learning style. California requires 135 hours of prelicensing

It’s hard to imagine a more dramatic fall from grace than that of Oren and Tal Alexander, the once star brokers who’ve been yanked from the top of the New York City real estate world and jailed.The pair — along with Oren’s twin brother Alon — were arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with th

An ongoing lawsuit between two major reverse mortgage lenders, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage and Longbridge Financial, over marketing practices could come to an end if both parties can reach a settlement agreement prior to going to trial.But such an outcome isn’t guaranteed, and Mutual of Omaha has reque

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Office of Policy Development and Research recently published a report that more closely examines the housing needs of older Americans and the pain points that have exacerbated their needs stemming from a national housing crisis.The materia

Every season is fraud season — and title firm First American is not messing around. On Wednesday, the Big Four title company announced the launch of Order Insights, a real-time fraud alert system.The tool is available to all First American policy-issuing title agents and is now included with AgentNe

Dallas-based United Real Estate has announced another strategic expansion in the Carolinas. Charlotte-headquartered United Real Estate Queen City will open a new affiliate location in Fort Mill, South Carolina. According to a company statement, this move will strengthen the brokerage’s presence in t

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Wednesday published a final rule in the Federal Register, establishing a permanent program to sell seriously delinquent, FHA-insured single-family mortgages following the release of a proposal over the summer. A public inspection version of the rule was re

In a year that has been full of noise, United Real Estate President Rick Haase has somehow managed to stay focused. Some of that focus comes from the messages written on the three colorful rubber bands adorning his wrist.The first reads, “Go through life with an attitude of gratitude.” A second read

The housing market got some much needed relief in the fall when mortgage rates began to drop, but it was short lived. Despite two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, mortgage rates rose again and remain stubbornly high.The turbulence in rates has trickled down to individual markets like Cinci

Foreclosure activity slowed slightly in November 2024, reversing a trend of rising foreclosures in October. But this decline may merely be a seasonal phenomenon, according to real estate data provider Attom. On Tuesday, Attom released its November 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report incl

Even after home prices and mortgage rates rose for much of 2024, markets in the South and West are uniquely poised for growth next year. This week, Realtor.com highlighted markets in Colorado, Florida, Virginia and Texas among its top housing markets for 2025.The forecast combines housing market and

Realty ONE Group is letting agents decide if they want to renew their National Association of Realtors (NAR) membership. In an announcement on Tuesday, the brokerage company said that it has created a program that allows agents in eight metro areas in Arizona to choose whether or not they affiliate

For Realty ONE Group, 2025 is poised to be a year of growth, but according to company chief operating officer and chief financial officer Mike Clear, that isn’t anything out of the ordinary.“We are a company that always tries to play offense,” Clear said. “We are always trying to grow and provide mo

After briefly crossing the 7% threshold, mortgage rates have moved lower in the past two weeks. And they have the potential to continue dropping by the end of the year, depending on how markets react after next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.At HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center on Tuesday, the 30-

OneTrust Home Loans, a DBA of CalCon Mutual Mortgage LLC based in San Diego, Calif., announced this week the appointment of Gabe Bodner to the head of its 55-plus lending division which includes its reverse mortgage business.Bodner, a 20-year mortgage professional, previously served OneTrust as a VP

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week announced it has launched rulemaking to address harmful financial consequences of crimes including domestic violence and elder abuse. The Bureau is announcing it ahead of time to gather feedback for potential amendments to the regulation that

Just a year ago, a striking claim circulated that Wall Street investors had bought 44% of all homes in America in 2023. This kind of sensational story can easily lead to misconceptions about housing economics. Fast forward to today, and the trend has shifted to the idea that BlackRock is snapping up

A welcome drop in 30-year conforming mortgage rates to the low-6% range led to a burst of refinance activity early in the fall, with more than 300,000 mortgage holders closing refinance transactions in September and October. That’s according to the December 2024 Mortgage Monitor report from Intercon