Claudia Larsen

Existing-home sales surged 14.5% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million in February—its largest monthly percentage increase since July of 2020, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) most recent existing-home sales report. While year-over-year sales fell 22.6%, month-over-month sales rose in all four major U.S. regions, and all regions…

Since the drastic rise of home prices and mortgage rates from the time of the pandemic boom, housing affordability continues to decline. Buyers, whether veterans or first-timers, have felt pushed out of the market due to ongoing market struggles. Mortgage rates are now at 6.60%, after rising for five straight weeks, according to the latest…

The Leading Economic Index (LEI) fell by 0.3% in February to 11, the same percent decline as in January, according to the latest release from The Conference Board. February’s LEI was down 3.6% over the six-month period between August 2022 and February 2023—a steeper rate of decline than its 3% contraction over the previous six…

Corey McCloskey Vice President of Operations John R. Wood Properties, a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® Naples, Florida | https://www.johnrwood.com Region served: Southwest Florida Years in real estate: 20 Number of agents: 700 Favorite part of your job: The fact that every day is different. Motto/work philosophy that you live by:…

Austin Nielsen Broker/Owner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sioux Falls Real Estate Sioux Falls, South Dakota https://www.bhhssiouxfalls.com Region served: South Dakota and small portions of Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska Years in real estate: 15 Number of offices: 1, with two coming soon Number of agents: 36  Favorite part of your job: Helping agents understand that they’re running…

Editor’s Note: Social Skills is a bi-monthly feature in RISMedia’s Daily News focused on social media and digital marketing tips, trends and solutions for agents and brokers. The temperatures are rising, ice and snow are melting away, and the first day of Spring is only a few days away! It’s time to thaw out your…

The U.S. added 311,000 jobs in February, and unemployment saw a minor increase to 3.6%, according to the latest Employment Situation Summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The analysis found that along with the unemployment rate, the number of unemployed persons, at 5.9 million, edged up in February. The unemployment rate and number…

Editor’s Note: The Playbook is a RISMedia weekly segment centering on what brokers and agents are doing to ensure they not only survive but thrive in these challenging times. Industry professionals explain the strategies they’re employing and unique ideas they’ve formulated. Tune in every Thursday for another addition to the series. The housing market can…

While many in the mortgage industry suffered larger setbacks in the tumultuous market of 2022, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) had a much different outlook on the year. The company maintained its spot as the No. 1 overall mortgage lender in the U.S. for the second quarter, continued to be the largest wholesale mortgage lender for…

On trend with complications in the mortgage industry throughout 2022, Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, saw losses year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, but still reported a positive net income for 2022 overall. “Last year marked a period of transformation for Rocket. We right-sized our business to respond to a challenging market; we also made key…