First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., acquired Title Security Agency LLC, a brand within the Arizona real estate community. First American had been a minority owner for five years.
Category: News and Trends
MBA Chart of the Week: 30-Year Fixed Mortgage vs. 10-Year Treasuries
This week’s chart shows the narrowing of the spread between the 30-year fixed mortgage rate and the 10-year Treasury yield–from a high of 208 basis points in September to 183 basis points at the end of December.
Forecast: Hottest 2020 Housing Markets in South; California to See Cooldown
Last week, we brought you a story about which U.S. housing markets changed the most over the past decade. Today, we present predictions for 2020’s hottest housing markets, courtesy of Zillow, Seattle.
Commercial-Multifamily Briefs
Lincoln Property Co., Dallas, and partner Cadillac Fairview closed a U.S. multifamily fund.
The Week Ahead
The House and Senate are back in town, but don’t expect a lot of activity—yet. Committees—particularly the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee—will take their time gearing up for activity this year.
U.S. Population Growth Continues to Slow
Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows 42 states and the District of Columbia had fewer births in 2019 than 2018, while eight states saw a birth increase. With fewer births in recent years and the number of deaths increasing, natural increase (or births minus deaths) has declined steadily over the past decade.
Housing Markets that Changed Most over Past 10 Years
According to Redfin, Seattle, the U.S. housing market ended the decade in a “vastly different place” than it began.
People in the News
OptifiNow, Seal Beach, Calif., hired Linn Cook as Vice President of Sales, responsible for leading sales of its cloud-based sales and marketing platform.
‘Sudden Uptick’ in Fraud Risk Raises Eyebrows
First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., said its monthly Loan Application Defect Index showed a jump in mortgage fraud risk for purchase transactions, the first such increase since last March.
Consumer Confidence Slows, ‘Unlikely to Gain Momentum’ in Early 2020
The Conference Board, New York, said its Consumer Confidence Index fell marginally in December, following a slight increase in November. The Index now stands at 126.5, down from an upwardly revised 126.8 in November.