WASHINGTON (June 11, 2024) – National Association of Realtors® President Kevin Sears issued the following statement in response to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcement of a “Buyer-Broker Agent Temporary Local Variance Circular”: “The VA’s home loan guaranty is the only program that explicitly bans buyers from directly paying for professional real estate representation. We applaud the VA for revising this policy and allowing veterans …
The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to temporarily lift its ban on buyers directly paying for professional real estate representation until the agency deems it necessary to engage in a formal rulemaking process, a VA official said Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference in New York. Although not an official announcement, the comments from VA Deputy …
NEW ORLEANS (May 9, 2024) – Home prices in New Orleans rose in the first quarter of 2024 as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate ranged from 6.60% to 6.94%, according to the National Association of Realtors®’ latest quarterly report. Compared to one year ago, the median single-family existing-home price in New Orleans climbed by 4.7% to $277,700. “After a soft …
HUD Increases Wind and Named Storm Insurance Coverage Deductible Amount April 18, 2024 — HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing published a Mortgagee Letter & Housing Notice, revising the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Multifamily property insurance requirements for wind and named storm coverage by increasing the maximum casualty insurance deductible amount for wind or named storm coverage to the greater of …
A note from Katie Johnson, NAR Chief Legal Officer: On April 23rd, Judge Bough granted that motion which means that the NAR settlement agreement is preliminarily approved. Settlement class members are now enjoined from filing complaints or prosecuting any claims based on the type of conduct at issue in Sitzer-Burnett and the other settled Actions on behalf of home sellers …
A Message from Ken Fears, NAR Director of Conventional Finance and Valuation Policy: Earlier this week, both Fannie Mae (opens in new window) and Freddie Mac (opens in new window) published explicit confirmations that buyers whose agent is compensated by the seller will continue to have access to financing through those institutions. Furthermore, so long as it remains “customary” for the seller to pay …
By Ken Fears This article originally appeared in the March 27, 2024 NAR Washington Report here. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) along with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac seeking confirmation that homebuyers will continue to have access to mortgage credit after the proposed …
By Jeremy Green This article originally appeared in the March 27, 2024 NAR Washington Report here. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) submitted a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), urging them to revise its policies pertaining to fees veterans cannot pay when using their VA home loan benefit. Under VA policies, veterans using the home loan benefit are prohibited …
The Truth About the Settlement Agreement March 22, 2024 Misinformation has been pervasive in the media over real estate commissions. Here are the facts you should know. (Read more…) NAR Settlement Briefing Video March 22, 2024 Resources: Files NAR Settlement Overview updated 3/22/24 Litigation FAQs updated 04/04/24 Financing FAQs updated 04/04/24 Settlement Fact Sheet updated 3/26/24 News Release – Correcting the Record: NAR …