Women's Wisdom Network (966)
Meet Tim Holmes, creator of Nurkl Toys, who is on a mission to help kids stay creative! In his recent video, Tim showcases how sticks can be transformed into endless possibilities for kids to enjoy. Check out the video!
Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.94 percent. "Mortgage rates continued their ascent this week, reaching a two-month high and flirting with seven percent yet again,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The recent boomerang in rates has dampened already tentative homebuyer momentum as we approach the spring, a historically busy season for homebuying. While sales of newly built homes are trending in a positive direction, higher rates and elevated prices continue to pose affordability challenges that may leave potential homebuyers on the sidelines.” News Facts The 30-year FRM averaged 6.94 percent as of February 29, 2024, up from last week when it averaged 6.90 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.65 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.26 percent, down from last week when it averaged 6.29 percent.…
You only have two options when it comes to the future of technology in marketing: First, which is unfortunately appealing to many, you can hunker down, sticking to the old marketing tactics to drive sales. In doing so, you decide to let others deal with advancements in digital technology while you sit on the sidelines and see what happens. This strategy seems safe because others are taking the risks, not you. But the issue here is that simultaneously, your competition and their marketing team is taking calculated risks based on Hard Trend future certainties, and while doing so, they are also reaping the benefits and advancing into the future. Not only will your brand sit idly by, but your sales will stagnate.
But of course, there is a second option. This option is much more beneficial to your bottom line and is the key to being the disruptor instead of the disrupted. Instead…
![64% of Homebuyers/Sellers Have Successfully Negotiated Real Estate Agent Fees [New LendingTree Report]](/media/k2/items/cache/a469d7f069dcee0a43dc46583431ed5f_M.jpg)
Lending Tree's latest survey found that nearly two-thirds of homebuyers or sellers who asked their real estate agent for a lower commission fee were successful. Here's what else they found. While just 31% of homebuyers or sellers have attempted to negotiate real estate agent commission fees when buying or selling, 64% of those who asked successfully reduced theirs. Additionally, 36% say they weren’t aware negotiating was an option but would have tried if they were. Overall, 84% of Americans believe real estate agents should be flexible with their commission. Among homebuyers or sellers, 48% admit they don’t know what percent commission their agent received in their last transaction. 44% of those who do know say their agent received between 3.00% to 4.99% in their last transaction, while 30% say it was 5.00% or higher. 64% of Americans believe a real estate agent is at least somewhat necessary when buying or selling. However, 44%…
Florida’s condo market is faltering as the increasing intensity of natural disasters pushes up home insurance costs, and HOA fees soar in the wake of the 2021 Surfside condo collapse Prices of condos in major Florida metros are dropping year over year, and sales are declining, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. New condo listings are soaring as sellers try to offload their properties. That differs from the U.S. as a whole, where condo prices are rising, sales are holding steady and new listings are increasing at a much slower rate. In the Jacksonville metro, for instance, the median condo price declined roughly 7% year over year in January, sales declined 27%, and new listings increased 32%. The story is similar in Miami, where condo prices fell 3%, sales dropped 9% and new listings rose 27%. Florida’s market for single-family homes is faring…
As mortgage professionals, we must deal with many things in our day-to-day business. Some of these things are controllable, some are not. One of the issues that we all have to deal with is market volatility. When the market moves, it can create a great deal of stress for us, our team, our referral partners, and of course, our clients. Interest rates can be a very emotional subject. People hate paying more, but also, fear things they don’t understand. So here are a few things we can look at to help ourselves, as well as our clients and referral partners, be aware of that may cause movement in the rate markets. • FED Meetings – ten times a year and they set the market for short term bank rates. They don’t have to raise or lower rates to impact the market, it can just be what they say they intend to…
Home prices rose 0.5% month over month in January, on par with December’s gain, as the drop in mortgage rates at the end of last year gave buyers a bit more purchasing power U.S. home prices climbed 0.5% from a month earlier in January, matching the 0.5% gain seen in both December and November, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose 6.7%—the largest increase in a year. This is according to the January Redfin Home Price Index (RHPI), covering the three months ending Jan. 31, 2024. Read the full RHPI methodology here.
“Price growth held steady last month because many of the home purchases that closed in January were negotiated at the end of last year, when mortgage rates posted the biggest drop since 2008. The decline in rates gave buyers more purchasing power, and for…
More than forty years being associated inside the mortgage and real estate communities has taught me a great deal. Working with some of the best professionals in these areas across the country can also remind me that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I have preached here before the value of situational awareness and that the true value of any professional is providing options for their clients and sharing multiple ways of getting things done. A recent conversation with one of my clients brought back the exact same scenario I had with a client more than 30 years ago and helped me understand very deeply about how much value we can bring to the table if we just look at all the details and provide objective options! Quite simply, the story goes like this; a couple want to sell a house and buy another one that…
![Existing-Home Sales Rose 3.1% in January [NAR]](/media/k2/items/cache/d2af3a14b3e10d7ed9eb1f44e27b82d5_M.jpg)
– Existing-home sales grew in January, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Among the four major U.S. regions, sales accelerated in the Midwest, South and West, and remained steady in the Northeast. Year-over-year, sales improved in the West, and decreased in the Northeast, Midwest and South. Total existing-home sales[i] – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – elevated 3.1% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million in January. Year-over-year, sales slipped 1.7% (down from 4.07 million in January 2023). “While home sales remain sizably lower than a couple of years ago, January’s monthly gain is the start of more supply and demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Listings were modestly higher, and home buyers are taking advantage of lower mortgage rates compared to late last year.” Total housing inventory[ii] registered at the end of January was 1.01 million units, up…
![65% of Mortgage Offers Went to First-Time Homebuyers in 2023 [New LendingTree Report]](/media/k2/items/cache/e7b59c06e5b33284e627d8fa9aea1d29_M.jpg)
With mortgage rates and home prices as high as they’ve been, many would-be buyers stayed out of the housing market in 2023. But the latest LendingTree data shows that of those who remained active in the market, first-timers were much more common than those who already owned a home. Through a nationwide analysis of mortgage offers given to users of the LendingTree platform in 2023, we found that nearly 2 out of 3 went to first-time buyers. Here's what else we found.
Nationwide, 65.25% of mortgage offers made on the LendingTree platform in 2023 went to those who identified as first-time homebuyers. The states where the highest shares of mortgage offers are given to first-time buyers are New York, California and New Jersey. 77.30% of offers in New York went to first-time buyers. The shares were 73.15% and 72.22% in California and New Jersey. The states where the lowest shares of…
Redfin reports new listings dropped for the first time since June and pending sales growth slowed; stagnating mortgage rates and the biggest home-price jump in over a year caused the market to lose momentum New listings dropped 1.2% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the first decline since June, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. They were up 2.7% from a year earlier, but that marks a deceleration from December’s 4.2% gain. Active listings (the total number of homes for sale) fell 0.3% from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis—the first decline in six months—and were down 4.4% year over year. Pending home sales also lost momentum in January, rising 1.1% from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis—a marked slowdown from December’s 5.1% jump. Still, pending sales were at the highest level since September 2022 and rose…
Home prices posted their biggest annual increase in 15 months and mortgage rates rose above 7% this week. The median U.S. home-sale price rose 6.1% year over year during the four weeks ending February 11, the biggest increase since October 2022. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Mortgage rates are rising, too, exacerbating high prices to drive costs up: Daily average rates are sitting above 7%, up from 6.6% at the beginning of the month. High costs are one factor keeping would-be homebuyers on the sidelines. Pending home sales are down 7.3% year over year, one of the biggest declines in over four months, and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents–is down 18%. In addition to high housing costs, several seasonal factors kept some house hunters at home this past…
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MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.77 percent. "On the heels of consumer prices rising more than expected, mortgage rates increased this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The economy has been performing well so far this year and rates may stay higher for longer, potentially slowing the spring homebuying season. According to our data, mortgage applications to buy a home so far in 2024 are down in more than half of all states compared to a year earlier.”
News Facts The 30-year FRM averaged 6.77 percent as of February 15, 2024, up from last week when it averaged 6.64 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.32 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.12 percent, up from last…
Overall, investor home purchases dropped 11% from a year earlier, the smallest decline since they began falling in 2022 Real estate investors bought 26.1% of low-priced U.S. homes that sold in the fourth quarter, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the highest share on record and is up from 24% a year earlier. By comparison, investors purchased 13.6% of mid-priced homes that sold (vs 14.3% a year earlier) and 15.9% of high-priced homes that sold (vs 15.4% a year earlier). Investors are drawn to affordable homes for the same reason as other homebuyers: They cost less, which is especially attractive when home prices and borrowing costs remain elevated. And when housing affordability is this strained, there could be more potential for value increases in the lower price tier, meaning more potential for building equity. For its analysis, Redfin determined the three price…
I spoke a little bit last week about conversions and how tracking your conversion rates can really help you dial in your business. Far too often people are focused solely on lead generation, which is important, but they fail to track those leads through their system and use that data to improve their total conversion rates. So, this week I wanted to explore this just a little bit and give you some information to think about including in your business. Here are the main items you want to track to help you improve your conversions, as well as understanding the net result of your leads from all referral sources. Referral source Initial contact Credit Pull/Preliminary document collection Preapproval Contract Closed In general, you want to track all of your leads and come to a total number for your overall conversions. However, you also want to be sure you use referral…
Rents haven’t fluctuated much over the past year, rising 1% in January–a far cry from double-digit growth during the pandemic. The median U.S. asking rent rose 1.1% year over year to $1,964 in January, the largest annual increase since March 2023, and was unchanged from a month earlier, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. While rents ticked up from a year earlier, the bigger picture is that rent growth is leveling off after surging during the pandemic and then rapidly slowing from mid-2022 to mid-2023.
Year-over-year rent growth has hovered between -2.1% and +2.4% for the past year, a much narrower range than the prior year, when rent growth was as low as 4.8% and as high as 17.7%. Asking rents have flattened because the pandemic moving frenzy is over and landlords are grappling with vacancies due to a jump in…
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