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Fannie Mae: Most Consumers Remain ‘Apprehensive’ About Housing Market

Consumers reported significantly greater optimism about the future direction of mortgage rates, despite showing little change in overall home buying sentiment, according to Fannie Mae data.  Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) for August increased 0.6 points to 72.1, up 5.2 points year over year. Fannie Mae added that a high of 39% of… […]

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Op-Ed: The Next Wave of Lawsuits Will Be About Steering—Mark My Words

Above, Leo Pareja, CEO, eXp Realty In the aftermath of recent lawsuits, the next major legal battleground in real estate is going to be steering. It’s not a matter of if, but when.  During the litigation over cooperative compensation in MLSs, one of the central claims by plaintiffs’ attorneys was that real estate agents were… […]

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What Homebuyers and Sellers Don’t Know About Commissions

In the wake of Burnett vs. NAR, the topic of agent commission is all over the news. Many buyers and sellers, who aren’t in-the-know on all the ins and outs of real estate, are just now finding out how agent commission works. A new report from Clever took a look at home buyer and seller… […]

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Homeowners Reveal the Frightening Facts About Haunted Houses

Haunted houses might be horror’s favorite attraction, but they definitely do not have the same appeal when it comes to the real estate market.  Despite the ghosts and ghouls that come with the territory, 52% of Americans would consider purchasing a haunted house, and 29% believe they already live in one, according to a new… […]

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What Misconceptions Do Buyers Have About the Market?

The housing market is daunting to many homebuyers. Trying to understand the ins and outs of home-buying and home-owning seems impossible for many, leading to a lot of misconceptions from buyers. A new report from Clever found that buyers are confused on a lot of aspects of the housing market and home-buying, with 83% of… […]

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How to Handle Client Questions About Schools and Neighborhoods

Clients often ask questions about neighborhoods and schools when shopping for a home. Brokers and agents should take care when answering to avoid fair housing violations.  www.nar.realtor – Fair Housing

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The Number One Misconception About Working in Luxury Real Estate

Even though it may be natural to assume that luxury real estate professionals only deal with multi-million dollar properties or with high-end clients and estates that are out of reach of “normal” clients, nothing could be farther from the truth. Today, the designation of luxury pertains as much to experience and service as to the… […]

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What to Know About Working With a REALTOR®

Many people don’t really understand how the real estate business works or what is a REALTOR® and what they do. A REALTOR® ® is not the same thing as a real estate agent. REALTORS® are National Association of REALTORS® members who have taken an oath to follow a strict code of ethics. Even people that… […]

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Adverse Market Fee About to be History

It is nice to end the week with good news, so here it is: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) just announced it is eliminating the Adverse Market Refinance Fee that the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been charging. The change becomes effective for loan deliveries on and after August 1, 2021. The 50-basis […]

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Attitudes About Buying and Selling Continue to Diverge

Fannie Mae said “Consumers are increasingly adamant that it’s a good time to sell, bad time to buy a home” as it released its June Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). The index, based on the company’s monthly National Housing Survey, shows a growing difference in the number of consumers who hold one or another of […]

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