Real Estate Broker/Agency News

Ginnie Mae extends some COVID-19 policies

Ginnie Mae announced last week that it is extending certain pandemic-era policies, including delinquency reporting exemptions. Delinquency reporting exemptions were set to expire at the end of July, but Ginnie Mae said issuers now have until Jan. 31, 2023. It also said that alternative audit procedures will be accepted until

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FHFA: No delay on 50 bps fee, but open to “engagement”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reiterated its stance on a new fee on some government-backed enterprise securities. The agency made no promise to delay the fee. Still, some stakeholders unhappy with the fee see an opportunity. In a statement, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said her agency was “committed

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Will Realtors ever go extinct?

In 1997, when I first entered this business, “disintermediation” was a hot topic. Property listings had just gone online. Expedia had launched the previous year and was already upending the travel business. Many believed Realtors were next. At the time, there were 716,000 Realtors in America. Today, there are 1,563,000

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As fundraising environment freezes, power buyer UpEquity cuts staff

Austin-based mortgage tech platform UpEquity laid off around 10% of its workforce last week, proof that the rising interest rate landscape hurts real estate technology companies, too.  Co-founded in 2019 by Tim Herman and Louis Wilson, the lender and “power buyer” allows homebuyers to make all-cash offers to compete with institutional investors. The

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