Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
In a move that could shake up the financial services industry, Bankrate announced earlier this week that it agreed to be acquired by Red Ventures, which bills itself as a “digital consumer choice platform,” in a deal that values Bankrate at $1.4 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Bankrate shareholders will receive $14 per share in cash, which places the total purchase price for Bankrate at approximately $1.24 billion. Click the headline to read more. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Shares of Yum China Holdings Inc. fell in Wednesday’s extended session after the fast-food chain posted in-line earnings but flat revenue growth. The operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in China reported its second-quarter earnings rose to $107 million, or 27 cents a share, from $77 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue, however, remained at $1.59 billion while same-stores sales grew 3%. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 27 cents on revenue of $1.6 billion. Yum China had spun off from Yum Brands late last year. Yum China shares slid 5% while Yum edged down 0.3% after hours.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday a much larger-than-expected drop of 5.8 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended June 30, according to sources. Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group said the decline was a “delayed impact” from the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico last month. “The supply side is tightening,” he said. The API data, which was released a day later than usual due to Tuesday’s holiday, showed a fall of 5.7 million barrels in gasoline supplies, while inventories of distillates were up 400,000 barrels, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday morning. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the EIA to report a decline of 1.6 million barrels in crude inventories. August crude was at $45.50 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the contract’s settlement of $45.13 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Merck & Co. shares declined in the extended session Wednesday after the drugmaker said the Food and Drug Administration halted three clinical studies of a blood cancer drug because of deaths in the studies. Merck shares declined 1.3% to $63.30 after hours. The three studies involve Keytruda, which is being studied to treat blood cancer multiple myeloma patients. Merck said the FDA determined that the risks of the drug in the affected studies outweighed any potential benefits. Patients in the affected studies will no longer receive the drug. Merck said that other clinical studies for Keytruda were unaffected by the FDA clinical hold. Back in June, Merck announced that it was halting new patient enrollment in two of the studies.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
The Federal Open Market Committee announced it will begin reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet, possibly as soon as September. The minutes from the Fed’s June meeting show some members are voting to start reducing the debt if the economy evolves broadly as anticipated. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Multiple mortgage service providers have recently integrated their offerings into a loan origination system. Meanwhile, a reverse mortgage LOS developer has landed two new lender clients.
A new corporate website is intended to better position OpenClose’s expanded enterprise-class solution set, customer profile focus and long-term value proposition, a June 26 statement said.
OpenClose President JP Kelly noted in the news release that the new site is designed to concisely convey the West Palm Beach, Florida, company’s ability to cater to complex top-20 lenders.
From:: Financing
Low inventory is the foremost issue in the housing market, with no let-up in the impossible demand for the few reasonably-priced homes available for sale. Supply shortages, according to at least one constituent, are now the No. 1 barrier of entry for homebuyers.
Fifty-eight percent of mortgage professionals recently surveyed by the National Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB) cited low inventory as the biggest hurdle for homebuyers today, compared to the far-flung 18.5 percent that pointed to the down payment, as well as 7 percent that reported credit, as an obstacle. Supply is especially challenged in California and Texas, with 73 percent of mortgage professionals in California and 58 percent of mortgage professionals in Texas saying limited listings are the primary impediment to home-buying in their state.
Other members of the industry have made similar observations. REALTORS® surveyed in the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Member Profile attributed transactions lost to “difficulty finding the right property” and “housing affordability,” while 62 percent of real estate brokers surveyed in RISMedia’s 2017 Power Broker Report believe scarce supply is currently their most pressing problem.
The inventory dilemma has overtaken concerns about mortgage lending standards, which, though to some are still too strict, have relaxed since the early, strong-armed days post-recession. In fact, according to a recent survey by Fannie Mae, more lenders have taken steps to open up access to credit since the start of 2017, and more plan to continue to do so in the future.
Coming up with enough money for a down payment has become less of a factor, according to the NAMB survey, but remains significantly tied to affordability, which is not only shrinking, but also shuttering dreams of owning a home—a mismatch in sentiment between homebuyers and the professionals that serve them. Tellingly, 70 percent of renters recently surveyed by Zillow are most concerned about saving for a down payment, not the lack of supply.
The discrepancy suggests a knowledge gap that both mortgage professionals and REALTORS® can fill. The industry’s emphatic perspective on inventory, as well, is a chance to inform—to remind buyers of the value of a professional, especially when faced with fast-moving supply.
Undeniably, there are few homes out there—but there are also many opportunities. How will you use today’s environment to your advantage?
Sources: Fannie Mae, National Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB)
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
The post On Low Inventory: From Challenge Comes Opportunity appeared first on RISMedia.
From:: Finance and Economy
Low inventory is the foremost issue in the housing market, with no let-up in the impossible demand for the few reasonably-priced homes available for sale. Supply shortages, according to at least one constituent, are now the No. 1 barrier of entry for homebuyers.
Fifty-eight percent of mortgage professionals recently surveyed by the National Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB) cited low inventory as the biggest hurdle for homebuyers today, compared to the far-flung 18.5 percent that pointed to the down payment, as well as 7 percent that reported credit, as an obstacle. Supply is especially challenged in California and Texas, with 73 percent of mortgage professionals in California and 58 percent of mortgage professionals in Texas saying limited listings are the primary impediment to home-buying in their state.
Other members of the industry have made similar observations. REALTORS® surveyed in the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Member Profile attributed transactions lost to “difficulty finding the right property” and “housing affordability,” while 62 percent of real estate brokers surveyed in RISMedia’s 2017 Power Broker Report believe scarce supply is currently their most pressing problem.
The inventory dilemma has overtaken concerns about mortgage lending standards, which, though to some are still too strict, have relaxed since the early, strong-armed days post-recession. In fact, according to a recent survey by Fannie Mae, more lenders have taken steps to open up access to credit since the start of 2017, and more plan to continue to do so in the future.
Coming up with enough money for a down payment has become less of a factor, according to the NAMB survey, but remains significantly tied to affordability, which is not only shrinking, but also shuttering dreams of owning a home—a mismatch in sentiment between homebuyers and the professionals that serve them. Tellingly, 70 percent of renters recently surveyed by Zillow are most concerned about saving for a down payment, not the lack of supply.
The discrepancy suggests a knowledge gap that both mortgage professionals and REALTORS® can fill. The industry’s emphatic perspective on inventory, as well, is a chance to inform—to remind buyers of the value of a professional, especially when faced with fast-moving supply.
Undeniably, there are few homes out there—but there are also many opportunities. How will you use today’s environment to your advantage?
Sources: Fannie Mae, National Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB)
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
The post On Low Inventory: From Challenge Comes Opportunity appeared first on RISMedia.
From:: Real Estate News
The Big 3 market indexes rose Wednesday, led by the tech-friendly Nasdaq Composite , but market internal data told a very different story, with most individual stocks trading lower. The number of advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by a 1,836-to-1,069 score on the NYSE and by a 1,536-to-1,166 margin on the Nasdaq. And while 62% of Nasdaq volume was in advancing stocks, only about 36% of NYSE volume was in gainers. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up about 5 points in afternoon trade, but only 12 of 30 components gained ground. The S&P 500 tacked on 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 0.6%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Oil prices settled with a loss of more than 4% Wednesday–their largest such decline in a month. Prices pulled back on the heels of eight-straight sessions of gains on reports of a rise in monthly crude exports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and news that Russia has ruled out deeper OPEC-led production cuts. August WTI crude fell $1.94, or 4.1%, to settle $45.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News