• Rithm Capital to issue $775M in unsecured debt

    Rithm Capital to issue $775M in unsecured debt,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    Rithm Capital, a New York-based asset manager with a focus on real estate — and the parent of multichannel lender Newrez — is the latest company in the mortgage space to issue debt. Rithm is joining a list that includes competitors Mr. Cooper Group, Freedom Mortgage, PennyMac Mortgage Investment Tru

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  • What are the pros and cons of smart home tech for seniors?

    What are the pros and cons of smart home tech for seniors?,Chris Clow

    Smart home technology — often in the form of a voice-activated virtual assistant that can automate devices in the home — can be a tool to facilitate aging in place. Experts on the topic of aging, and specific programs that provide this technology to seniors, have illustrated the potential, but the m

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  • First-time homebuyers made up a record share of agency purchase loans in 2023

    First-time homebuyers made up a record share of agency purchase loans in 2023,Connie Kim

    First-time homebuyers made up 55% of agency purchase mortgages in 2023, according to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) eMBS data, the highest such share in the 10 years ICE has been tracking the metric. A record 47% of government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) purchase loans in 2023 came from first-time h

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  • Why is housing inventory growing with higher mortgage rates?

    Why is housing inventory growing with higher mortgage rates?,Logan Mohtashami

    The mortgage rate lockdown premise says that if rates rise, inventory can’t grow meaningfully. The idea is that nobody will trade their low mortgage rates to buy another home — even though this happened every week last year. Of course, I have a different view. My podcast partner, Editor in Chief Sar

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  • USDA lowers interest rates on single-family direct home loans

    USDA lowers interest rates on single-family direct home loans,Chris Clow

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday that it has lowered the interest rates for its single-family housing (SFH) direct home loan programs as of March 1, according to an email update sent out earlier this week.Section 502 SFH Direct rates are now 4.5%, SFH non-program rates a

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  • Kiavi closes on $350M securitization 

    Kiavi closes on $350M securitization ,Sarah Marx

    Kiavi, one of the nation’s largest private lenders for residential real estate investors, closed a $350 million unrated securitization of residential transition loans (RTLs), the company announced on Monday. The loans bundled in the securitization were mostly investment property loans used for fix-a

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  • Older homeowners want to age in place but are averse to extracting equity: Fannie Mae

    Older homeowners want to age in place but are averse to extracting equity: Fannie Mae,Chris Clow

    By and large, homeowners who are 60 and older love where they live and have a preference to age in place. They may also see the equity in their homes as a “financial reserve” and are generally confident in their retirement plans, but they are far less interested in employing their home equity in ret

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  • Loan Factory sued by originators for alleged use of unauthorized information

    Loan Factory sued by originators for alleged use of unauthorized information,Connie Kim

    California-based mortgage brokerage Loan Factory was sued by a class of loan originators, who allege that the company used their personal and professional information, without their authorization, on its website in an attempt to drive business.Loan officer Derek Daniel Bobadilla and the class member

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  • Indiana’s housing market is primed to bounce back in 2024

    Indiana’s housing market is primed to bounce back in 2024,Brooklee Han

    Last year was a tough one for the Indiana real estate market.“Sales from 2022 to 2023 were down 14%,” Mark Fischer, the CEO of the Indiana Realtors Association, said. “We were up year over year in inventory, but we were at a 25 year low on new listings.”But as the calendar flipped to 2024 and as we

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  • Opinion: Improving housing affordability without exposing homebuyers to more risk

    Opinion: Improving housing affordability without exposing homebuyers to more risk,Diane Tomb

    It is no secret that there is a housing affordability challenge in the U.S. According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Housing Affordability Index, since spring of last year, a typical family with a median income have not been able to afford a median-priced home. While mortgage rates w

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  • Magistrate judge recommends $46M in restitution from former Live Well CEO

    Magistrate judge recommends $46M in restitution from former Live Well CEO,Chris Clow

    After attorneys made their cases for both the U.S. government and former Live Well Financial CEO Michael Hild regarding a restitution amount owed to the company’s creditors, a magistrate judge overseeing the issue has recommended that Hild pay more than $46 million.The final amount will be determine

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  • Announcing HousingWire’s 2024 Finance Leaders

    Announcing HousingWire’s 2024 Finance Leaders,Lesley Collins

    HousingWire is excited to introduce the winners of the 2024 Finance Leaders award, recognizing the top finance executives in housing who are driving financial performance, expanding margins, improving liquidity and helping their businesses access the capital markets. In its 4th year, 40 honorees wer

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  • Trade groups commend Fannie Mae’s newest step to address buybacks

    Trade groups commend Fannie Mae’s newest step to address buybacks,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    Mortgage trade groups have commended the moves taken by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to address a spike in loan buybacks — the latest being a new electronic notification made available by Fannie Mae. But advocates also say more is needed t

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  • Postilio and Conlon move to Compass, plan to expand beyond NYC

    Postilio and Conlon move to Compass, plan to expand beyond NYC,Sarah Marx

    Compass has added two top New York City agents, Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon, to its roster, the company announced on Thursday.The pair joined Compass after spending almost nine years at Douglas Elliman, where they were founding members of the sports and entertainment division. Postilio and Conlon

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  • ‘Will your wins’: Luxury agents share tips for breaking into the high-end market

    ‘Will your wins’: Luxury agents share tips for breaking into the high-end market,Brooklee Han

    Real estate agents gathered at the Palladium Theater in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to learn networking and lead generation strategies from some of the nation’s top luxury real estate agents at the Goldbar Live conference.While every real estate professional had their own nuggets of adv

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  • Opendoor officially launches partnership with eXp

    Opendoor officially launches partnership with eXp,Sarah Marx

    Opendoor and eXp Realty officially launched their new partnership on Thursday, Inman first reported. This integration is making Opendoor cash-offer solutions available to eXp Realty’s nearly 90,000 agents.Last October, the iBuyer announced that it was teaming up with eXp Realty to be the primary cas

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  • Fewer housing permits equate to further inventory, affordability challenges

    Fewer housing permits equate to further inventory, affordability challenges,Chris Clow

    While the number of new homes rose by 4.2% in the U.S. last year, this was primarily led by a 22% increase in the multifamily sector. Single-family housing permits, meanwhile, slowed in 70% of U.S. metropolitan areas, which could forecast more challenges ahead for an already strained level of supply

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  • High-volume Chhabra Group joins eXp

    High-volume Chhabra Group joins eXp,Sarah Marx

    Sahil Chhabra is bringing his 21-agent team, the Chhabra Group, to eXp, as a so-called “mega team,” the brokerage announced on Thursday. Based in Calgary, Alberta, the Chhabra Group was previously affiliated with RE/MAX. Conversations with eXp top producers Justin Havre and Ibrahim Hussein informed

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  • Liberty Reverse Mortgage hit with class-action suit alleging violation of California labor laws

    Liberty Reverse Mortgage hit with class-action suit alleging violation of California labor laws,Chris Clow

    Liberty Reverse Mortgage, a top 10 reverse mortgage lender owned by Ocwen Financial Corp. and its subsidiary PHH Mortgage Corp., allegedly violated California labor laws by failing to provide employees with rest breaks, meal breaks and appropriate compensation for off-the-clock and overtime work, ac

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  • FHFA sets transition to new credit models for late 2025

    FHFA sets transition to new credit models for late 2025,Flávia Furlan Nunes

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Thursday that the transition to new credit score requirements is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decision commended by the mortgage industry. That’s when the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac w

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