Blog Elements – Page 12 – Title Partners of Florida

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A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates

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January 8, 2020/by RK Admin

MLS ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’ was Approved by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

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December 9, 2019/by RK Admin

A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates

Uncategorized

January 8, 2020/by RK Admin

MLS ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’ was Approved by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

Uncategorized

December 9, 2019/by RK Admin

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A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates

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The drop in mortgage rates during 2019 marked a dramatic turnaround from the previous year expectations, when mortgage rates briefly reached 5 percent and the Federal Reserve indicated two interest rate increases. Instead, surging trade wars shivered confidence in the markets, the Fed cut rates and investors —hungry for the relative security of mortgage debt that they were willing to accept lower yields— drove mortgage rates down.

A new decade started and 2020 greets home shoppers with lower mortgage rates compared with 2019. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.72% this week, compared to 4.51% at the beginning of 2019. In the past two months, the thirty-year rates have floated around 3.7% average, showing some stability in mortgage rates over the last few weeks.

Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist said: “The stability is welcome news after the interest rate turbulence of the last year, which caused a slowdown in the housing market and other interest rate-sensitive sectors. The low mortgage rate environment combined with the red-hot labor market is setting the stage for a continued rise in home sales and home prices.”

Pending Home Sales Jump

The national averages with mortgage rates reported by Freddie Mac for the week ending Jan. 2 are as follows:

30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.72%, with an average 0.7 point, falling slightly from a 3.74% average a week ago. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.51%.

15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.16%, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.19% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.99%.

5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.46%, with an average 0.3 point, rising slightly from a 3.45% average last week. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.98%.

The drop in mortgage rates was a save on the budgets of potential homeowners, who could take out larger loans for the same monthly payments; however, economists say housing affordability will become a more pressing issue in 2020, determining where people live and how they spend.

After mortgage rates dropped, home price appreciation accelerated, ending 13 months of slowing home price growth, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, a measure of home prices.

The National Association of Realtors: The trade association for real estate agents predicts moderate growth in the housing market and continued low mortgage rates. The experts predicts that the low rates will last. It is expected that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will remain below 4% in the coming year, moving to 3.8% by the end of 2020.

We, at Title Partners of Florida, write and support the real estate transaction closing, including the issuance of title insurance policies through Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund. We also coordinate searches, title products, and a variety of other services for our clients. Contact us with any questions about our real estate closing services by phone (844) 321-6168 or by email titleinfo@titlepartnersfl.com.

January 8, 2020/by RK Admin

MLS ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’ was Approved by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

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The so-called “pocket listings”, “coming soon” listings and listings marketed on private networks outside the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have been debated for quite a while. Some believe that keeping listings off the MLS reduces the buyers’ options, distorts market data, and may not be in the seller’s best interest.

The subject has been in discussion since 2013 by a work group at the NAR. An advisory board to the NAR developed a recommendation known as the Clear Cooperation proposal designed to foster broker cooperation and address the off-market listings. Finally, after its revision, discussion, and recommendations, at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco, the proposal was approved on November 11, 2019 by the MLS Issues and Policies Committee.

The MLS Policy 8.0 states as follows:

“Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.”

Jon Colie, vice president of MLS, industry relations for HomeServices of America, and current chairman of the board for Mid-Atlantic regional BRIGHT MLS said: “The policy doesn’t eliminate private-office exclusives, “coming soon” listings, or even pocket listings, instead, it addresses what he called hybrids, meaning, “We’re marketing it everywhere except the MLS.”

All MLSs must adopt the policy before May 1, 2020. Non-compliance of the policy may include warnings and fines, which will be determined by the local MLS. This policy only affects residential real estate, and it requires listings to be submitted to the MLS if they are advertised to a select group of brokers outside the listing broker’s office. It doesn’t prohibit brokers from taking office-exclusive listings, nor does it impede their ability to meet clients’ privacy needs. The policy intends to bolster cooperation and promote a more constructive and procompetitive impact for consumers.

The Clear Cooperation Policy calls for all MLS participants to input any listing they market publicly, into the local MLS within one day, enabling MLS participants to share listings with the widest audience of potential buyers. The distribution of the listing is pro-competitive and pro-consumer. The goal is to ensure that all buyers have fair access to the full range of residential listings and make the business of selling and buying real estate more transparent.

We, at Title Partners of Florida, write and support real estate transaction closings, including the issuance of title insurance policies through Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund. We also coordinate searches, title products, and a variety of other services for our clients. Contact us with any questions about our real estate closing services by phone (844) 321-6168 or by email titleinfo@titlepartnersfl.com.

December 9, 2019/by RK Admin

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates

MLS ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’ was Approved by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates

MLS ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’ was Approved by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

A New Year Kicks In With Lower Mortgage Rates

MLS ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’ was Approved by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR)

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