Income Growth Helps Mute Existing Affordability Constraints
May 22 2025 | |
“While affordability registered slight gains in the first quarter, the Cost of Housing Index clearly shows the need for policymakers to take action to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis by enacting policies that will allow builders to increase the nation’s housing supply,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C. “Eliminating burdensome regulations, ending tariffs on Canadian lumber and other building materials, providing funding to promote careers in the skilled trades and expediting approvals for affordable projects will allow builders to construct more homes.”
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Existing-Home Sales Edged Lower by 0.5% in April
May 22 2025 | |
"Home sales have been at 75% of normal or pre-pandemic activity for the past three years, even with seven million jobs added to the economy," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Pent-up housing demand continues to grow, though not realized. Any meaningful decline in mortgage rates will help release this demand."
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ALTA Applauds House Passage of Tax Package
May 22 2025 | |
American Land Title Association(ALTA) CEO Diane Tomb issued the following statement regarding the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill tax legislation. “We commend the House for passing legislation that recognizes the needs of American small businesses, including the thousands of title and settlement companies ALTA represents."
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Advocus Adds Nathan Smith as Underwriting Attorney
May 21 2025 | |
“Through our tried-and-true procedures and culture of collaboration and consensus-building, Advocus knows how to bring people together,” Smith said. “Advocus stands out for putting attorneys at the center of the process, and I am absolutely thrilled to contribute to a team that has reshaped, and continues to set, the standard for what the process can and should be.”
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Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
May 21 2025 | |
“Mortgage rates jumped to their highest level since February last week, with investors concerned about rising inflation and the impact of increasing deficits and debt,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist. “Higher rates, including the 30-year fixed rate increasing to 6.92 percent, led to a slowdown across the board. However, purchase applications are up 13 percent from one year ago.”
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Single-Family Starts Down on Economic and Tariff Uncertainty
May 16 2025 | |
“The decline in single-family housing starts in April mirrors builder sentiment, as elevated interest rates, uncertainty on the tariff front and rising construction costs are exacerbating housing affordability challenges,” said Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “In turn, this is making it more difficult for builders to deliver entry-level housing at a price point that is accessible to home buyers.”
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ALTA Reports Title Insurance Premium Volume Increased 7% in 2024
May 15 2025 | |
“Despite ongoing challenges from limited housing inventory and elevated mortgage rates, title professionals remain steadfast in their role—protecting property rights and serving their communities,” said Diane Tomb, ALTA’s chief executive officer. “Beyond managing closings and ensuring secure transactions, title and settlement agents play a crucial role in educating consumers about a host of threats to homeownership, such as fraud, heirs’ property complications and predatory real estate fee agreements.”
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April New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Increased 5.3 Percent
May 15 2025 | |
"Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty and mortgage rate volatility, April was a strong month for new home purchase activity, with applications posting an annual gain for the second straight month,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
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Soft Spring Selling Season Takes a Toll on Builder Confidence
May 15 2025 | |
“The spring home buying season has gotten off to a slow start as persistent elevated interest rates, policy uncertainty and building material cost factors hurt builder sentiment in May,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C. “However, the overwhelming majority of survey responses came before the tariff reduction announcement with China."
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Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
May 14 2025 | |
“Last week saw steadier mortgage rates, as the FOMC meeting played as predicted, and market movements led to a small two-basis point increase in the 30-year conforming rate to 6.86 percent,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist.
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Settlor Integrates With CertifID to Strengthen Security For Users
May 14 2025 | |
“This integration will drive increased efficiency and productivity for closing agents by directly incorporating CertifID’ s wire fraud prevention tools into Settlor users’ everyday workflows and processes without our users having to open a separate app,” said Mike Patterson, Settlor Co-Founder.
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Mortgage Delinquencies Increase Slightly in the First Quarter of 2025
May 13 2025 | |
“There were mixed results for mortgage performance in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the end of 2024. Delinquencies on conventional loans increased slightly, while mortgage delinquencies on FHA and VA loans declined,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “Foreclosure inventories increased across all three loan types, and particularly for VA loans."
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First Draft of Tax Reform Bill "Very Positive" for Real Estate
May 12 2025 | |
"This is a very strong opening bid for our advocacy priorities. This draft language preserves or strengthens a raft of provisions vital to housing affordability, including making the current lower income tax brackets permanent," says NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn. "These are all measures we have worked tirelessly to advocate for on behalf of our members."
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Multifamily Developer Confidence Falls in First Quarter
May 08 2025 | |
“While occupancy in existing buildings remains strong, multifamily developers are remaining cautious about starting new projects, especially mid/high-rise and condominium projects,” said Debra Guerrero, senior vice president of strategic partnerships and government affairs at The NRP Group in San Antonio and chairman of NAHB’s Multifamily Council. “Construction costs, regulatory barriers and financing are the main headwinds right now, with some developers also citing uncertainty about tariffs as a reason to be cautious.”
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Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
May 07 2025 | |
“The economic news last week included a negative reading for first-quarter GDP growth and further signs of contraction in the manufacturing sector, mixed with a solid employment report for April. The net impact on mortgage rates was mostly downward but just back to levels from early April. The 30-year fixed rate declined to 6.84 percent,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist. “Conventional purchase application volume increased 13 percent and was up 9 percent from year-ago levels, a surprisingly strong move given lingering economic uncertainty."
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NAR Report Reveals Home Staging Boosts Sale Prices and Reduces Time on Market
May 06 2025 | |
"The typical home seller resides in their home for 10 years before selling," said Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research. "During that time, homeowners might overlook certain aspects that could be less appealing to potential buyers. By staging a home, agents who are Realtors® strategically highlight the best features, ensuring sellers receive the most-competitive offers."
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Stewart Title Insurance Company Merges with Stewart Title Guaranty Company in New York
May 01 2025 | |
“Operating as STGC in New York will allow us to better serve our New York customers by accessing all of our underwriting power and increased financial stability,” said Stewart CEO Fred Eppinger. “Stewart is a trusted underwriting name in New York, and this merger will allow us to leverage the full strength of our combined financial balance sheet, enabling us to more effectively and efficiently underwrite transactions of all sizes, including significantly larger and more complex transactions.”
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Remodeling Market Poised for Growth as the Age of Owner-Occupied Homes Increases
May 01 2025 | |
“The aging housing stock continues to drive remodeling projects as home owners are increasingly choosing to tap into their home equity and invest in improvements rather than relocate, creating long-term growth prospects for the industry,” said NAHB Remodelers Chair Nicole Goolsby Morrison, a remodeler from Raleigh, N.C. “In fact, NAHB is forecasting residential remodeling activity to post a 5% gain in 2025, and a nominal gain of 3% in 2026.”
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