Contracts, Invoices & Legal

Purchase volume was flat last week and up just 3% compared to the same time a year ago when the market faced similar rates in the high 6% range. View the full article

Purchase applications reached their highest level since January despite the average 30-year fixed rate falling by just 1 basis point last week. View the full article

Royal Bank of Canada executives said they plan to start originating more mortgages in the United States, and they indicated that they may ditch the City National Bank brand. View the full article

The Real Brokerage's Agent Optimism Index, which measures agents' 12-month outlook, increased to 64 in April from 62 in March, but still below February's 70.3. View the full article

The real estate industry is at the forefront of a lobbying blitz to sway Congress to preserve the carried interest tax break that President Donald The President wants to abolish in a giant tax bill pending in Congress. View the full article

Buyers face decreased return on investment as home prices and rates remained at challenging levels while economic uncertainty clouded the outlook, Redfin said. View the full article

Home prices increased 0.9% year-over-year and 0.1% month-over-month in January, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller national home price index. View the full article

The announcement follows Realpha's two previous mergers with mortgage brokerages, as well as its purchases of AI firms and title businesses. View the full article

The real estate technology company reduced its workforce and consolidated select vendor relationships. These moves will save the company roughly $2 million. View the full article

Over 46% of mortgage transactions examined had at least one significant wire fraud or title risk, with 3.2 findings per transaction, Fundingshield said. View the full article

A record amount of equity is now held by property owners 62 and older, with a growing share transferring homes to their heirs and not putting them up for sale. View the full article

Wellness rooms, thoughtful sensory inputs and layouts that boost functionality can reduce workplace stress. View the full article

Kelman chose to step down from the company, which he had spent 20 years running, a week before its second phase of integration with Rocket. View the full article

The plaintiff is asking for a Seattle federal court to postpone the Redfin shareholder vote, scheduled for June 4, until the company disseminates supplemental information curing the alleged omissions in the proxy filing. View the full article

The real estate investment trust, while reporting a first quarter net loss, benefitted from growth and stable margins in its three mortgage production units. View the full article

The company reported a profitable first quarter and called for loosened regulation to bring more private capital into home finance in its latest earnings call. View the full article

As the 30-year fixed-rate declined by almost 20 basis points, borrowers took advantage, boosting rate-and-term transaction volumes, Optimal Blue said. View the full article

If mortgage rates drop into the low 6% range, there will be a retention opportunity on 5.4 million loans that have interest rates starting at 6.5%. View the full article

The number of highly qualified refinance candidates rose to 1.7 million, the most in three and a half years, as mortgage rates ease. View the full article

Some market sectors face growing challenges related to a K-shaped economy as servicers play an increasingly important role in keeping customers. View the full article

Falling rates spurred a refi surge that pushed defect rates to 1.79% in Q3, driven by income and compliance documentation gaps as lenders ran lean, per Aces Quality Management. View the full article

Rate-and-term refinances dropped 14% month over month in October, but were still up 143% from last year. View the full article

Overall home loan application activity fell 6.6% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with volume resembling the frigid start to the year. View the full article

The latest refinance surge helped lift total application activity up for a second straight week, even as purchases fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. View the full article

All five publicly traded title insurance companies reported a year-over-year increase in earnings during the third quarter, but only two had higher orders. View the full article