Author: Sasa

Don't be afraid of being outnumbered. Eagles fly alone. Pigeons flock together.

Housing Market Moving at Record Speed

According to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Report, the housing market is as competitive as ever, moving at record pace. Buyer demand has been strong enough to keep the market moving at a record pace, even after a massive spike in mortgage rates.

SFR Return on Investment Drops as Home Prices Spike

ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data company, released its new Single-Family Rental Market Report which shows that profit margins on three-bedroom single-family home rentals (SFR) have been declining on a year-over-year basis throughout 2022 across much of the U.S. Areas that previously saw lower yields were the most at risk of this recent phenomenon.

CFPB Issues New Interpretive Rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a new interpretive rule that describes individual states’ authorities to pursue lawbreaking companies and individuals that violate the provisions of federal consumer financial protection law. This announcement is part of the CFPB’s expansion of its efforts to support state enforcement activity.

Distressed Home Sales Down 2% YoY in April

Amid rising rates and strong inflationary concerns, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that existing-home sales in April fell for the third consecutive month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million, as sales were down 2.4% from March 2022, and down 5.9% year-over-year. NAR defines “total existing-home sales” as completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops.

The Week Ahead: Servicers Crafting the Ultimate Client Experience

On Tuesday, May 24, the Five Star Institute, in partnership with Messagepoint, presents the latest in its Webinar Series, “Mortgage Servicing: Increasing Control and Efficiency by Modernizing Borrower Communications Management,” from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. CDT. Each installment of the Five Star Institute Webinar Series aims to broaden the horizons of the mortgage industry, serving as a source for insights and education regarding critical industry topics led by subject-matter experts and company sponsors. Too many mortgage servicers are at the mercy of third-party service providers and outdated systems when it comes to managing borrower communications. In this webinar, Messagepoint will teach you how to take control back of the borrower communication process in order to reduce cycle times and costs, control authoring and review cycles, eliminate operation silos between print and digital communications, and ultimately, deliver a better borrower experience. Scheduled webinar speakers include Patrick Kehoe, EVP of Product Management for Messagepoint, and Duwaine Thomas, Executive Consultant with Newbold Advisors LLC. Kehoe has more than 25 years of experience delivering business solutions for document processing, customer communications, and content management. As EVP of Product Management for Messagepoint, Kehoe drives product strategy and messaging in collaboration with Product Development. Prior to joining Messagepoint, Kehoe was Worldwide Head of OpenText Exstream. He has managed, architected, and delivered comprehensive solutions, including BPO for customers in financial services, banking, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail/distribution markets. Kehoe has an acute understanding of how to achieve results by focusing on the customer, identifying the problem, and applying the appropriate technology. Thomas is a financial services executive with more than 34 years of experience managing servicing and debt settlement sales organizations. He has extensive experience managing across multiple sites, credit loss management, escrow management, quality assurance, quality control, servicer/vendor management, investor reporting, claims management, customer service/complaints, and mortgage servicing rights (MSR) valuations. He is currently working with Newbold Advisors, and...