Florida has taken the top spot as the most sought-after area for renters in 2022, according to new research from RentCafe. RentCafe looked at the 100 largest U.S. markets and analyzed data such as the number of days a rental sat vacant, the percentage of occupied apartments, and how many renters competed for apartments. South and Central Florida ranked highest, followed by mid-sized markets in the Northeast. Miami-Date County is the hottest rental market in the country, with the highest demand for apartments thanks to a huge number of apartment hunters, low inventory, and record-high lease renewal rates. Hot areas like Miami and Orlando are struggling to keep up with an influx of new renters even though they have built…
Tom Simon has been named CEO of Exceleras, moving up from his position as Chief Experience Officer, the company announced. “My work as Chief Experience Officer has prepared me for this move, because everything we have developed was designed to give our clients the experience they desire. Too often, software fails to deliver positive experiences for users because it forces them to change the way they do business to operate within the constraints of a system,” Simon said. “At Exceleras, we pride ourselves on an industry leading, flexible user experience that’s simple, intuitive and cost effective. As a result of our retooling efforts to upgrade our highly configurable architecture, add features and integrate new reporting and analytics capabilities, we were…
Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure starts increased in June but ultimately stayed below pre-pandemic levels, according to Black Knight’s First Look at June 2022 data. The national delinquency rate rose by nine basis points month-over-month to 2.84%. But the three months prior saw consecutive record lows in delinquencies, meaning the boost has little bite. The increases were distributed across all categories. The number of borrowers late by a single day jumped 5%. Those late by 90 or more days increase by a mere 1%, and that comes on the heels of a 21-month streak of improvement. Foreclosure starts rose by 27% but remained down 40% from pre-pandemic levels. However, it does constitute a 441% YOY increase, which Black Knight notes is…
Bill Scavone has been named president of Weichert, Realtors, while continuing to hold his current position of president of Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, the company announced in a press release. Scavone will take charge of all departments within both companies, including sales, recruiting, and operations. He has been with Weichert Real Estate Affiliates for 18 years, serving as a franchise sales leader, COO, and president. He successfully led the company into its fastest period of growth, with increases in net franchises, gross commission income, and profit. Under his leadership, the business has been named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 500 Franchises for 18 years in a row, as well as the Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 Franchises for the last seven…
Zonda’s New Home Pending Sales Index for June 2022 finds the housing market cooling to levels seen in February 2020. The New Home PSI posted a reading of 125.5 for June, down 7.5% YOY and 27.9% below cycle highs. It measures new home orders and average sales rate per community. New home sales dropped month-over-month by 0.2%, the fifth straight month of declines. The new home orders component fell 10.5% YOY, while the average sales rate per community component fell 8.2% YOY. “Home sellers and home buyers are adjusting to a new reality in the housing market,” said Ali Wolf, Zonda’s chief economist. “Home sellers are quickly understanding the days of frenzied demand are behind us and it takes an…
Mortgage rates rose from an average of 5.51% to 5.54% last week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.54%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.78%. “The housing market remains sluggish as mortgage rates inch up for a second consecutive week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Consumer concerns about rising rates, inflation, and a potential recession are manifesting in softening demand. As a result of these factors, we expect house price appreciation to moderate noticeably.” Mortgage loan applications are tumbling as buyers are priced out by the combination of increasing interest rates and sky-high home prices. But the AEI Housing Center recently…
Non-QM lender Angel Oak Home Loans has opened five new branches in three states, the company announced. South Carolina now has three additional branches, one in Charleston, led by Ed Powell, SVP of Angel Oak Home Loans’ Consumer Direct Division; one in Columbia, led by Drew Church; and one in Cheraw, also headed by Church. The other two locations are in San Marcos, CA, led by Sean Casey, SVP and Western Regional Sales Manager, and Jacksonville, North Carolina, led by Brian Mitchell, Regional Sales Manager. Angel Oak now has 52 offices across 43 states. These five new branches add to a time of growth for the company, which opened four new offices just last month. “Angel Oak is well equipped…
Mike Smith has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Doma Holdings, the company announced in a press release. Smith was promoted from within the company, where he previously served as its Chief Accounting Officer and acting CFO. “I am honored to serve as Doma’s Chief Financial Officer and continue working with our talented leadership team, Board of Directors and everyone at Doma,” he said. “I am excited about continuing to deliver on our vision of removing the friction and frustration from the home closing process to make the real estate transaction a better experience for everyone involved.” Smith brings three decades of leadership to the position, having led teams through public company transitions for IPOs, acquisitions, and others. Before joining…
By CHUCK GREEN Home sweet… multifamily home construction? If, well, the spare bedroom fits. And that it seems to do in light of a new report from Construction Coverage showing a spike in construction of multifamily homes in the U.S. With a jump in multifamily housing projects, home building in the U.S. catapulted to a nine-month high last December, according to Reuters. There was a 2.4% hike to a rate of 737,000 units among multifamily homes under construction. “As long as supply chains remain stressed, builders will struggle to complete projects, slowing sales and likely limiting growth in the supply of new homes,” said Ben Ayers, Senior Economist at Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio. Earlier in the year, addressing the International Builders’ Show in…
Mortgage loan application volume tumbled again, falling by 6.3% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 6.3%. The adjusted purchase index dropped 7%, while the unadjusted purchase index increased by 16% and was 19% lower YOY. The refinance index fell by 4% and made up 31.4% of total applications, down 80% from the same time last year. ARM activity dropped to 9.5% of total applications. “Mortgage applications declined for the third week in a row, reaching the lowest level since 2000. Similarly, with most mortgage rates more than two percentage points higher than a year ago, demand for refinances continues to plummet, with…
