Webinar Recording: The State of Wire Fraud in the Title Industry
Wire fraud is a growing concern in the title industry. Hackers are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to trick title companies and their customers into sending wire transfers to fraudulent accounts. To address this issue, ALTA recently hosted a webinar titled...
Mortgage credit rises thanks to more jumbo offerings
After coming in at its tightest in over a decade, residential lending credit loosened up marginally in March, thanks to greater offerings of jumbo and conventional products, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Mortgage Credit Availability Index, an MBA...
Homebuyer mortgage demand jumps after interest rates drop to two-month low
Today’s housing market is so pricey that homebuyers are highly sensitive to any distinct moves in mortgage rates. And that’s what happened last week. Rates dropped, and buyers dove in. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming...
FBI: Reported Cyber Attacks Down but Potential Losses Up in 2022
Cyberattacks and cyber-enabled frauds continue to affect the everyday lives of Americans. According to the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2022 received 800,944 cyber fraud complaints, which is a 5% decrease from 2021....
Home Prices Up Nearly 8% Nationwide From Last March
Home sellers are facing new market dynamics this spring after two red-hot selling seasons in 2021 and 2022, during which prices soared and inventory fell. As of March 2023, home prices were still up 7.8% compared to the previous year, though price growth slowed for...
Wire Fraud Advisory: Vacant Property Fraud
Real estate transactions have been a prime target of cybercrime over the past decade, and there is little sign of change in this focus, even as the housing market slows. Instead, fraudsters continue to evolve their scam and money laundering tactics to avoid detection....
Weekly mortgage demand jumps 7% as interest rates drop to lowest level since September
Mortgage interest rates fell for the third straight week, while mortgage demand also rose again. Total application volume increased 7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average...
Mortgage Rate Predictions So Far Are Bearing Out
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped again this week, another hopeful sign that more home shoppers will soon return to the market. The interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15% this week, according to Freddie Mac, continuing its decline from...
Report: $1.4B in Suspected Wire Fraud Identified by CertifID in 2022
CertifID identified $1.4 billion in suspected wire fraud attempts during 2022, according to a report released by the wire fraud protection firm. The report shows an 145% year-over-year increase in instances of reported wire fraud. The report, which is based on...
Single Female Homeownership Increases Driving Overall Homeownership Rate Growth
As the nation celebrates International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, women, and single women in particular, have achieved one of the main tenets of the American Dream – homeownership. Since 2019, the number of single, female-headed households (including...