Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Restricting institutional investors is bad policy, but reforming 1031 exchanges and requiring public listings for HUD homes could boost affordability, according to the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors. View the full article

Recruiting veterans urge originators to track their future employer's pricing for a longer period of time, and to seek more details about the firm's culture. View the full article

The run-up in prices since the pandemic, and mortgage rates hovering near 7%, have squeezed affordability for house hunters, pushing many to the sidelines. View the full article

Billions in home equity sit untapped as second-lien loans struggle to gain traction, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors. View the full article

Wall Street dealers expect Bessent to signal as soon as Wednesday, when his department releases a quarterly statement on debt sales, that issuance in the $30 trillion Treasury market will keep shifting in that direction. View the full article

Some litigants are "knuckleheads" but others are real threats, and well-pleaded cases can easily cost companies millions of dollars, TCPA attorney Eric Troutman said. View the full article

The top female loan originator in the mortgage industry logged $186.5 million in dollar volume over the course of 2024. View the full article

Hartford, Connecticut, Rochester, New York, and Worcester, Massachusetts, headed the list of the 100 largest metro areas in the country, according to Realtor.com. View the full article

Only 20% of the Top Producers in the National Mortgage News survey were under 40, while almost half were between 41 and 50, and 30% even older. View the full article

Residents in more than half of U.S. counties need greater than one-third of income to successfully manage major housing costs, according to new Attom research. View the full article

Homeownership increased the most in Connecticut between 2019 and 2024. View the full article

The activist investor is calling on Costar to exit its residential real estate businesses to concentrate on commercial. View the full article

As the risk of a recession rises, commercial real estate loans remain a major concern for banks and industry participants. One observer asked: "Is '25 the year where sellers start to capitulate, call a loser a loser, and move on?" View the full article

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said on Sunday that he no longer opposes Kevin Warsh's nomination to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve following the Justice Department's announced closure of its inquiry into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. View the full article

Titl hopes to standardize and connect property records through a centralized, digitized U.S. registry, which would lead to reduced closing times and costs. View the full article

First American claims Liberty National's owner changed the company's name immediately after a judge held her firm liable for an erroneous wire transfer. View the full article

Jonathan Yasko pleaded guilty to diverting monies in real estate transactions to cover unrelated closings, and to pay for his own cars and personal travel. View the full article

State regulators and attorneys general could be picking up the gauntlet on anti-kickback provision enforcement, especially in the mid-Atlantic states. View the full article

The law, set to go into effect later this year, was introduced to prevent potential money laundering in all-cash purchases made by companies or trusts. View the full article

The increase in refinance originations in the fourth quarter trickled down to the title insurers, which reported year-over-year gains in new orders. View the full article

The title industry sustained improvement first seen last year, with second-quarter premium totals up on both a quarterly and annual basis, ALTA said. View the full article

The title insurance industry, highly dependent on mortgage origination volume, recovered after watching volume fall 31% in 2023 and 16% in 2022. View the full article

April was a mixed bag for title companies, executives said on earnings calls, but some are expecting a stronger market the rest of the year. View the full article

Federal Reserve officials want to see how exactly new trade policies impact the U.S. economy before adjusting interest rates. Markets and monetarists have different ideas about what that might look like. View the full article

More homeowners are willing to take out a HELOC versus three years ago, but a knowledge gap remains around the use cases for the product, MeridianLink said. View the full article