Lew Sichelman

1 week ago | uexpress.com | Lew Sichelman

In a billion-dollar Homes.com ad campaign, Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner travel around the country collecting local data for the listing portal, with the catch line “We’ve done your home work.”It’s the largest real estate ad buy in history, designed to draw would-be homebuyers to the site. But the Emmy-winning Levy and "Saturday Night Live" cast member Gardner are hardly the first celebrities to shill in the real estate sector.

1 week ago | nationalmortgageprofessional.com | Lew Sichelman

Despite legal shakeups, agent commissions rebound to pre-settlement levels — now averaging 5.44% nationwide Real estate sales commissions are in flux. Sales fees were expected to decline in the aftermath of the class-action suit settlement between the disgruntled home buyers and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). And they did. But now, it seems, the rates agents charge to buy and sell houses are back where they were – and then some.

1 week ago | nationalmortgageprofessional.com | Lew Sichelman

Adding to affordability problem, skilled labor shortage driving up costs, timelines of building new houses The continuing labor shortage currently strangling home builders is responsible for billions in lost production, a new report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) concludes. The NAHB pegs the economic impact from the lack of skilled labor at $10.8 billion in terms of higher carrying costs and longer construction times.

1 week ago | nationalmortgageprofessional.com | Lew Sichelman

Deepfake mortgage fraud is growing much more sophisticated, using fabricated video, audio, and images that can be very difficult to discern from the real thing. ChatGPT / OpenAI As deepfakes get convincing and AI-driven fraud escalates, real estate industry faces critical tests on multiple levels Picture this scenario: The escrow agent receives a call from you, his trusted lender. It sounds exactly like you — so much so that he’d swear on a stack of Bibles it was you.

1 week ago | nationalmortgageprofessional.com | Lew Sichelman

From 2020 to 2023, monthly housing costs jumped 29% for outright owners and 16% for mortgage holders, as taxes, insurance, and utilities stretch budgets across the board When it comes to the rising cost of home ownership, according to a new commentary from First American, there’s two sides to the coin — whether you’re still paying a mortgage or you own the place free-and-clear.