Outstanding October

As we enter fall and the fourth quarter, we gear up for the busiest time of year, the holidays. Most of us know what that means, juggling work, life, and celebrations. Do you have a plan to help you stay focused, on task, and distraction-free for a great year-end?

Looking back at September, we watched mortgage rates increase once again above 6% as articulated in the following article, "The housing market may have to go through a correction: Mortgage rates hit 6.29%, Freddie Mac says"

"Impacted by higher rates, house prices are softening, and home sales have decreased"

Given the current market conditions, are you using your Title Toolbox account to build relationships with loan officers? Loan officers are looking for business too. What they may lack are the valuable tools you have that could provide them with the necessary leads. Win, win for you and the loan officer.

Building Value with Loan Officers

Let's look at the most valuable information to a loan officer. Loan officers often request property profiles and premier leads - such as divorce, phones, emails, and mortgage data.

Looking specifically at the mortgage data, the loan officer is interested in the "First Loan Estimated Interest Rate" and/or the "Loan to Value Ratio" (LTV) of a home.

For example, with the interest rates in the 6+% range, you could do a search where the interest rate is much higher than 6%, as we did in the example below at 10%, and provide those targeted leads.

But let's take it a step further; if you look for a high-interest rate and a low Loan to Value (LTV), this would be an opportunity to lower their interest rate and possibly do a cash-out refinance. Double win for the client and loan officer. Below is an example of this scenario for Los Angeles County, CA. First Loan Estimated Interest Rate is greater than or equal to 10%, with an LTV Ratio less than or equal to 20%. Results: 3,651 properties match those criteria for the price of $178.05. (We recommend playing with the search criteria numbers to see the various results for comparison and choose what you feel would be the best).

How to Locate and Share Mortgage Data to Lenders

With a few clicks of a button, Title Toolbox makes it extremely easy to share your data and research with your clients and prospects.

If you need assistance with Title Toolbox to help you expedite your marketing efforts, please contact: ttbhelp@benutech.com for questions or for one-on-one training with Jim: jdubois@benutech.com.

September News Highlights and Life Event Trends

National:

• Recession to hit in early 2023, Fannie Mae says. The U.S. economy is likely to enter into a recession in the first quarter of 2023 due to a combination of high inflation, monetary policy tightening, and a slowing housing market, Fannie Mae's latest forecast predicts. (National Mortgage News) More>

• Homeowners lose wealth as rising interest rates weigh on home values. Roughly 85% of major markets have seen prices come off peaks through July, with one-third coming down more than 1% and about 1 in 10 falling by 4% or more. (CNBC) More> 

Mortgage:

• Mortgage rates breach 6% for the first time since 2008. Mortgage rates surged past 6% this week, the highest level since November 2008, worsening already rampant affordability concerns. (yahoo!finance) More>

• Higher Mortgage Rates Push Refis Down More Than 80% YoY. The MBA’s Refinance Index decreased 4% from the previous week, and was 83% lower than the same week one year ago. (MReport) More>

Inventory:

• Good news: Properties stay on the market longer for the first time in 2 years, and listing prices are falling. The MBA’s Refinance Index decreased 4% from the previous week, and was 83% lower than the same week one year ago. (MarketWatch) More>

• Fall housing inventory building slowly: Altos Research. In a new blog post, Altos Research said it adjusted its housing forecast for the remainder of the year amid a slowdown in buyer demand and a lower-than-expected housing supply coming for sale. (Fox7) More> 

Rent:

• Renters Losing Sleep While Searching for Homes. Recent data revealed that two in five recent renters —or 40%— said they lost sleep during their home search, with many worrying about cost, communication, and competition. (DSnews) More>

• Monthly Apartment Rents Fall in August for First Time in Nearly Two Years. Month-to-month apartment rents fell in August for the first time in nearly two years, sending another signal that the U.S. multifamily market is headed toward normalcy. (CoStar) More> 

Trending:

• Changing Needs Motivating Home Sellers. After two years of the pandemic, sellers' needs have changed, prompting a search for another home. Of those who sold within the last year: 31% were looking for different amenities/features, 29% found that the home no longer met the needs of their families, 26% needed a home office for remote work, 23% wanted to live closer to family and friends, 20% felt they bought their home in a hurry/panic and decided it was not the right home for them, 17% no longer needed to live near an office. (DSnews) More>

• Millennials and homebuying: Real estate adapts to the largest generation. Millennials represent 43 percent of homebuyers, the highest share of any generation, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Whether it’s browsing real estate listings online or applying for their mortgage through an app, millennials are more likely than previous generations to take advantage of tech innovations in the real estate sphere. (Bankrate) More>

• Americans Migrating Away from Metros. Suburbs and Smaller Metros Benefited Most From Domestic Migration in 2021. (DSnews) More>

• Homebound Young Adults Choosing to Pay Debts, Building Savings. The majority of those that moved back home in the early months of the pandemic has yet to move out again. (MReport) More>

• Summer Ends Amid Rising Bankruptcies. Chapter 11 filings increased 81% to 466 (from 257 in July), Chapter 13 increased 15% to 14,981 filings (from 12,992), Chapter 7 filings increased 13% to 19,884 filings (from 17,593). (DSnews) More> 

• Study Finds One-Third of U.S. Homes Are Bought With Cash. According to a new report from Redfin, nearly one-third —or 31.4%— of U.S. home purchases were paid for with all cash in July. That’s near the eight-year high reached in February and up from 27.5% a year earlier. (DSnews) More> 

• With Homeownership Out of Reach for Many, Millennials Explore Co-Buying. While many Millennials aren't looking for a handout from their parents, 45% said they are looking for a real estate agent who is experienced in co-buying to help them through the process, while 36% say they would co-buy with someone they weren't married to if it meant they could get a bigger mortgage. (MReport) More> 

• Another Inflation Stress: Rising Costs of Senior-Living Homes Strain Families. Inflation is fueling cost increases at nursing homes and assisted-living and independent-living facilities, which is tough for seniors on fixed incomes. (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) More>

Trainers Tips

DuBois Discusses Data

Greetings from the other side…of fulltime employment i.e., retirement!

The Data Doctor is hanging up his data stethoscope for a life of well-deserved leisure. Not entirely true, but close. As I move towards semi-retirement, I will be limiting myself primarily to training, which means this will be my final column in our newsletter.

I've been traveling around the U.S. searching for the perfect retirement community; while in the Northeast, I stumbled across a local commerce print newspaper that is old school — where they list outstanding property taxes. In the West, this might seem incredibly odd, but in some parts, it is still a viable practice to shame property owners into bringing their taxes current.

My point is tax defaults in Title Toolbox are a marketing bonanza for agents and lenders and have always been a favorite. While we do not have every county in our system, it's always a data point to search.

Taking the data/retirement continuum to the next level, I did a five-mile radius search from an address that is a point of personal interest to me and located 124 homes with divorce filings. You can connect the dots on how simple it is to begin the listing process as an agent.

Happy data mining, and feel free to contact our support staff for any questions you might have via email at ttbhelp@benutech.com. See you on the other side!

Regards,

Jim