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loanDepot announced a major technology move on Monday, launching a proprietary digital lending platform after 18 months of labor. The announcement is part of a larger $80 million investment in technology from the growing nonbank. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

Priorities during this administration could create problems for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s assistance programs as more focus is placed on military spending and less on housing. And the market is expecting the Fed to raise rates in March, however a week and a half still remain before the FOMC meeting, during which time anything could happen. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

By Susanne Dwyer

The original real estate disruptor, Coldwell Banker entered the market with an innovation that fundamentally changed the industry and has been leading the charge ever since.

“The brand itself has a 110-year heritage of innovation, which has demonstrated various meanings over the lifespan of the brand,” says Charlie Young, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. “We’ve always been able to point to tangible, factual elements in the history of innovation.”

The brand’s consistent strive for innovation is rooted in serving consumers’ needs and shaping their experience, as well as driving the success of their real estate agents. And that’s just what Coldwell Banker has done. In fact, their steadfast commitment to keeping their ear to the ground while being on the leading edge of emerging shifts and trends, paired with their network of savvy agents and brokers, has positioned them to be even stronger today—and well into the future. Here, take a closer look at how the brand is fostering connections with its network, its customers and the real estate community by using—and even creating—technology to remain relevant and innovative in today’s world.

Technology Reigns Supreme
With so many people bringing innovation to the marketplace, now is not the time to sit back. “We’re in an era where the bright, shiny object gets a lot of attention—and there’s a high expectation for newness in the marketplace,” says Young, who points to the brand’s proprietary CBx application as one of the most significant—yet underestimated—platforms that makes up the brand’s technology suite. An exclusive app for Coldwell Banker agents, CBx uses the power of big data to help agents improve their marketing with easy-to-understand profiles of potential buyers and maps that highlight areas where that buyer is most likely currently living.

With a built-in AVM component, CBx also includes a function to show how a listing should be priced and why, backing up an agent’s professional price opinion with concrete, third-party data.

“Whomever came up with CBx is a genius,” says Anthony Colantuono, a REALTOR® associate with Coldwell Banker Hunter Realty in Northeast Ohio, who credits the platform with winning him an unfair share of listings in his marketplace. “It’s unreal how accurate it is when it comes to determining a listing price for a specific property,” he adds.

CBx, the brainchild of Coldwell Banker CMO Sean Blankenship, ensures movement patterns are turned into insights that predict the most likely zip code a buyer will come from, making targeted marketing much easier for agents and placing the application in a league of its own. “Not only can I gain insight into the average age of prospective buyers in the area, but I can also see the top areas in which they’re searching, as well as searches initiated within a certain timeframe,” says Colantuono, all of which can be shared with sellers to help them better understand where buyers are coming from.

CBx is humanizing big data. The display makes it easy to discuss trends and their impact on home price with clients, and it makes it easier for …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Homeowners seized the opportunity to refinance their mortgages at the end of 2016, locking in interest rates on the uncertainty whether they would rise higher in the new year.

According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q4 2016 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report, 883,836 refinances totaling $246 billion were originated in the fourth quarter of 2016, a 20 percent increase—and 27 percent increase in dollar volume—from the previous year. Purchase originations moved opposite: 595,000 totaling $161 billion, a 12 percent decrease from the previous year.

“Refinance originations continued to post strong numbers compared to a year ago in the fourth quarter, even as purchase originations decreased on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive quarter,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “The increase in refinance originations is surprising given the rising interest rates in the fourth quarter, but many homeowners may have been trying to lock in still relatively low interest rates before those interest rates rose further.”

The biggest increases in refinance originations in the fourth quarter occurred in Olympia, Wash. (a 108 percent increase), Spokane, Wash. (77 percent), Boulder, Colo. (74 percent), San Diego, Calif. (73 percent), and Eugene, Ore. (72 percent)—areas generally with higher home values. Olympia and Spokane also saw the biggest increases in purchase originations, at a 27 percent increase and 18 percent increase, respectively.

The biggest decreases in purchase originations in the fourth quarter occurred in Naples, Fla. (a 23 percent decrease), Austin, Texas (20 percent), Fort Collins, Colo. (19 percent), San Antonio, Texas (18 percent) and Reno, Nev. (15 percent).

FHA and home equity line of credit (HELOC) originations also decreased in the fourth quarter, 9 and 12 percent from the previous year, respectively, while VA originations increased 23 percent.

“Rising interest rates did seem to have a chilling effect on homebuyers using financing, as evidenced not only by the drop in purchase loan originations but also a corresponding rise in the share of cash buyers, drop in FHA buyer share and a rise in the average down payment percentage in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter,” Blomquist says. “For the year, the median down payment for loans secured by single-family homes and condos was 6 percent of the median sales price nationwide, the lowest down payment percentage since 2012, but still close to twice the 3.3 percent in 2006 during the last housing boom.”

More than 3.3 million refinances and over 2.7 million purchases were originated in all of 2016, according to the report.

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Homeowners Get in Front of Rising Rates at Year-End appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Homeowners seized the opportunity to refinance their mortgages at the end of 2016, locking in interest rates on the uncertainty whether they would rise higher in the new year.

According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q4 2016 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report, 883,836 refinances totaling $246 billion were originated in the fourth quarter of 2016, a 20 percent increase—and 27 percent increase in dollar volume—from the previous year. Purchase originations moved opposite: 595,000 totaling $161 billion, a 12 percent decrease from the previous year.

“Refinance originations continued to post strong numbers compared to a year ago in the fourth quarter, even as purchase originations decreased on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive quarter,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “The increase in refinance originations is surprising given the rising interest rates in the fourth quarter, but many homeowners may have been trying to lock in still relatively low interest rates before those interest rates rose further.”

The biggest increases in refinance originations in the fourth quarter occurred in Olympia, Wash. (a 108 percent increase), Spokane, Wash. (77 percent), Boulder, Colo. (74 percent), San Diego, Calif. (73 percent), and Eugene, Ore. (72 percent)—areas generally with higher home values. Olympia and Spokane also saw the biggest increases in purchase originations, at a 27 percent increase and 18 percent increase, respectively.

The biggest decreases in purchase originations in the fourth quarter occurred in Naples, Fla. (a 23 percent decrease), Austin, Texas (20 percent), Fort Collins, Colo. (19 percent), San Antonio, Texas (18 percent) and Reno, Nev. (15 percent).

FHA and home equity line of credit (HELOC) originations also decreased in the fourth quarter, 9 and 12 percent from the previous year, respectively, while VA originations increased 23 percent.

“Rising interest rates did seem to have a chilling effect on homebuyers using financing, as evidenced not only by the drop in purchase loan originations but also a corresponding rise in the share of cash buyers, drop in FHA buyer share and a rise in the average down payment percentage in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter,” Blomquist says. “For the year, the median down payment for loans secured by single-family homes and condos was 6 percent of the median sales price nationwide, the lowest down payment percentage since 2012, but still close to twice the 3.3 percent in 2006 during the last housing boom.”

More than 3.3 million refinances and over 2.7 million purchases were originated in all of 2016, according to the report.

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Homeowners Get in Front of Rising Rates at Year-End appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News