Monthly Archives: February 2011

Rerun: Rayburn Interview Provides FNC Primer

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Bill Dabney

In case you missed it, Jonathan Miller’s interview with FNC CEO Bill Rayburn delivers a fascinating look at the mortgage technology company’s value proposition. Miller taps into Rayburn’s renowned wit and wisdom to produce a podcast that is both entertaining and enlightening. Originally broadcast in 2009, this interview warrants a repeat performance.

For a “fantastic” primer on FNC, give this one a listen, if you… Continue reading

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FNC Index: December Home Prices Hit Record Low for 2010

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Yanling Mayer

Despite recent upbeat data on new and existing home sales, U.S. home prices continued to decline in December due in part to increased sales of foreclosed properties, according to the FNC Residential Price Index (RPI).

Driven in part by rising sales of distressed properties and higher foreclosure-sales discounts, home prices declined for the seventh straight month in December and suffered their largest one-month drop during… Continue reading

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Tech Thursday: Putting the App in Appraisal

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Nora Brown

Coester Appraisals‘ new smartphone app, available for free later this year, is part of the company’s strategic plan to bring new technology to the appraisal process.

Coester’s plan, according to company president John Coester, will help blend traditional manual appraisal practices with forward-thinking technology.

“I’ve always thought that most people in the appraisal business take (appraising) as ‘doing appraisals’ and not as a real business,” he told me… Continue reading

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Let’s do the numbers…

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Linda Peal

Critical housing numbers made the news this week. Here’s the wrap-up from our and others’ analysis.

Home Prices

U.S. home prices continued to decline in December due in part to increased sales of foreclosed properties, according to the FNC Residential Price Index (RPI). Driven in part by rising sales of distressed properties and higher foreclosure-sales discounts, home prices declined for the seventh straight month in December and suffered their largest one-month drop… Continue reading

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Coester Appraisal Group to Offer App

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Nora Brown

From MortgageOrb.com:

Coester Appraisal Group, a Rockville, Md.-based appraisal management company, has announced plans to offer the appraisal industry’s first smart-phone application. The application, which is currently in beta testing, will connect Coester Appraisal Group with staff, contracted appraisers and its lender and broker clients.

According to the company, the new application is in HTML5 format, which is designed to make it compatible with multiple operating systems… Continue reading

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Picturing Foreclosures

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Nora Brown

“(With foreclosures) the story is on the inside. It has a lot to do with memory and details. A lot of these places look like houses I lived in as a kid. Plain, made with cheap building materials. The viewer can’t help but project something into this empty space, and a lot of that has to do with memory. In empty spaces, people project their own stories onto them.” -… Continue reading

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Mortgage Market Faces New Wave of Regulation

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Neil Olson

After a long lull in regulation, it is clear that the housing and housing finance crisis has spawned a new wave of regulation directed toward different aspects of the housing finance world, including real estate appraisal.

The year 2010 saw an active swell in regulation, starting with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), passed on July 21, 2010. Embedded in its many… Continue reading

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Tech Thursday: How is Quora useful for real estate/mortgage industry professionals?

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Nora Brown

Question: How is Quora useful for real estate/mortgage industry professionals?

Answer: First, some background. The “online information market” Quora is a crowdsourced question-and-answer site whose value is information. “In essence, Quora takes the best of the social web and seeks to build a solid platform for sharing topical information,” writes Damond Nollan.

Ask the Quora community What are the best iPad apps for… Continue reading

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Sweet Home Alabama

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Karen Mogridge

I’m sure you’ve all heard the song “Sweet Home Alabama,” written and performed in loving memory of the state of Alabama. But what about “Hardest Hit Alabama”? While it’s not a song, it might just make you want to sing.

Alabama has been included in a federal stimulus program designed to provide assistance to homeowners in the nation’s hardest hit states. In other words, if you call Alabama home, you… Continue reading

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Tech Thursday: #Snomenclature

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Nora Brown

First came the #snowpocalypse.

Then, #snowmageddon.

This week, it’s a #snownami.

What would you call the winter weather we’ve experienced this week? (Tweet your suggestions here.)

Canada’s National Post turned to Twitter for ideas. (“snOMG!” or “The Blizzard of Oz,” anyone?) The Washington Post did their own crowdsourcing (“Kaiser Snowze?”).

Maybe #snowverkill says it best.

Photo credit: culturepopped.blogspot.com… Continue reading

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