Housing Economists United In Optimism At Inman Conference
Strong optimism in the growth prospects for the 2015 housing market was the unifying factor at panel of housing economists at the Inman Connect conference this morning in New York City.
Murdoch Talks Move Inc. Plans At Inman Conference
In a wide-ranging talk Thursday morning at the Inman Connect conference in New York City, Rupert Murdoch reassured real estate agents that his acquisition of Move Inc. was intended to form a partnership with the industry, one that doesn’t include challenging the existing real estate model but rather leveraging NewsCorp’s other media assets to take advantage of the growth he expects in the sector.
Cautious Optimism As Lenders Look Ahead To 2015
After weathering a tough 2014 marred by a sluggish housing market, lenders see a brighter picture ahead in 2015, with many industry observers describing themselves as cautiously optimistic about the coming year.
Brick By Brick
Jim Wilson has seen it all in the mortgage banking industry. Born and raised in Connecticut, he\’s worked for several local banks, helping them to build national lending platforms. He sat down with The Commercial Record to discuss his role in the industry and why, in the post-crisis lending landscape, Farmington Bank is choosing to concentrate on its own backyard.
Too Little, Too Late For IDX?
Perhaps the biggest news to come out of a relatively sedate annual meeting for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) earlier this fall was a push by the national trade group to help agents offer better options for consumers searching for a home on their websites. But some in the industry suggest that the group may be shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted, with more and more consumers migrating their real estate searches to smartphones and tablets, and using apps provided by the big portals to do so.
A Career Spent In Compliance
As a young attorney, Norm Roos got the assignment of boning up on an arcane new law called the “Truth in Lending” Act. Little did he know how relevant that bout of studying would be in a career spent as one of Connecticut banks’ most trusted advisors when it comes to regulations and compliance.
Raveis Launches New RAVestimate To Compete With Zillow
William Raveis Real Estate, the largest family-owned brokerage in Connecticut, has launched a new “RAVestimate” feature on its website which provides estimated home values. It is the first major broker to offer an automated valuation feature to compete with Zillow’s “Zestimate,” and founder Bill Raveis says his brokerage’s offering easily outclasses the portals’.
Brokers Want Their Brands On Portals
Brokers increasingly see a need to carve out a place for themselves on the portals, and are shifting their ad dollars and marketing focus toward luring consumers from portals to their own sites. But if the big brokers make their peace with the Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, will that leave smaller brokers out in the cold?
State AGs Flexing Dodd-Frank Muscles
The Connecticut Attorney General\’s office is stretching its Dodd-Frank muscles, applying a new provision of the federal reform bill for the first time in an attempt to put a stop to an alleged mortgage modification scam aimed at distressed homeowners.
Fed Senior Economist: Housing Market Not As Bad As People Think
This may be about as good as it’s going to get for the housing recovery, suggested Paul Willen, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank, in a speech this morning. But that may not be as bad as people think.
Freddie Mac Chief Economist: ‘2015 Should Be Best Year For Home Sales Since 2007\’
After a slow 2014, the housing market should be looking up next year, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft told attendees at the New England Mortgage Banking Conference in Newport, R.I.
Capital Needs Still Unmet For Public Housing
Despite major recent investments by the state, public housing in Connecticut still faces serious challenges, said experts at a workshop that was part of the Connecticut Housing Coalition Annual Housing Conference in Hartford this morning.
Non-QM Still A Drop In The Bucket For Most
It\’s been nine months since the new regulations defining a “qualified mortgage” (QM) kicked in – but despite some recent flutters of interest in non-QM lending from Wall Street, local lenders say they still feel bound to stick to the new rules.
CMBA Hosts Regulatory And Compliance Round Up
So far, 2014 has been a very busy year for state and federal regulators – and there are more curveballs coming for the mortgage industry. Fortunately, the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association assembled a group of regulatory and compliance experts for a session last month in New Britain to review the changes lenders can expect.
Deborah Abildsoe
Deborah Abildsoe took her college year studying abroad a little further than most. After finishing her degree while studying overseas, she was offered a job working for Den norske Creditbank in Oslo, trading fixed-income securities.
Nanette Pastore
As an industry, real estate has a reputation from attracting an eclectic mix of professionals from other industries, eager to launch a second career. But its own executive ranks tend to be filled from those who got their start as agents – which makes Nanette Pastore’s...Zillow-Trulia Merger Will Have Big Impact
News of the Zillow-Trulia merger hit the real estate world like Chris Farley doing a cannonball. The $3.5 billion deal will bring together the two largest real estate web portals, which, together with their partner networks, account for more than 70 percent of all real-estate related Internet traffic.
Questions Abound About New Foreclosure Law
Lenders should be wary of a bill passed last year by the Connecticut legislature to help speed up the foreclosure process, as much remains ambiguous about how the new foreclosure procedure created by the bill will work in practice, warned industry experts at a meeting held by the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association.
Zillow Buys Trulia For $3.5B In Stock
Real estate portal Zillow Inc. will acquire its largest rival, Trulia Inc., for $3.5 billion in stock, the firms announced this morning. The deal is expected to close in 2015. Combined, the two companies and their partner networks account for more than 75 percent of all real estate-related Internet traffic.
Number Of Licensed Agents Drops 4.6 Percent Statewide Since 2012
As the landscape for real estate overall improves in Connecticut, another front has opened for busy brokers – the recruitment wars.
