Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. is now the second title vendor taking part in Fannie Mae‘s title insurance waiver pilot program. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte announced the move in a social media post. The waiver pilot, relaunched by Fannie Mae in March 2024, allows approved mortgage lenders to use an automated title review process to assess title risk during loan...

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Remodeler confidence in the U.S. dipped in the second quarter as ongoing economic uncertainty and elevated interest rates tempered market momentum, according to new data released this week by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) declined to 59 in Q2, down four points from the previous quarter. While still above the key 50-point threshold...

PropStream, a real estate data and analytics subsidiary of Stewart Information Services, has acquired lead generation and marketing platforms Batch Leads and Batch Dialer. The acquisitions merge PropStream’s property data capabilities with Batch Leads’ artificial intelligence-driven lead generation tools and contact dialer. Company leaders said the move is aimed at creating a platform that...

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it has ended the major policy provisions of the Biden-era Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) task force, “effectively disbanding” a program that sought to eliminate racial bias in the appraisal process. The directive primarily applies to two rules. One required appraisers and mortgage lenders to comply with the Fair Housing Act and...

“Marry the house, date the rate” is a phrase that was popularized during the post-pandemic era of rising mortgage rates. Lenders urged borrowers to focus on finding a house they were head over heels with and worry about their interest rate down the line. Borrowers who were accustomed to rates hovering near 3% didn’t realize how long “dating the rate” would take. This left many to be in an...

Century 21 Real Estate has announced the affiliation of Edge Real Estate, a Kaysville, Utah-based brokerage founded by Tiffany Kennard. The move expands the footprint of the Century 21 brand along Utah’s Wasatch Range and marks the rebranding of the firm as Century 21 Edges. Founded two years ago, Edge Real Estate is led by Tiffany Kennard and her son, Taylor Kennard. Tiffany entered the real...

Bilt, which operates a loyalty program and credit card that converts rent payments into points, has secured a $250 million funding round led by General Catalyst and GID, with participation from United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest mortgage lender. The funding brings Bilt’s valuation to $10.75 billion and will fuel expansion across the broader housing ecosystem, including mortgages,...

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