The Agency forms a joint venture and enters the mortgage world

Mauricio’s Umansky’s The Agency is getting into the mortgage business. The brokerage has entered into a joint venture with Barrett Financial Group to offer what the companies believe will be a wide range of mortgage products and streamlined underwriting to The Agency’s luxury clients.Dubbed Aclara L

Home sales climb with lower mortgage rates

The rate of home sales is picking up! The number of homes under contract across the country has risen for the last few weeks. Purchase mortgage applications are up for five weeks in a row. It seems like mortgage rates are getting closer to 6% are shaking loose a few transactions. These are small mov

Most Americans say weather events are increasing the risk to their homes

Slightly more than half of Americans say that weather events are becoming an increasing risk factor for their homes, while nearly one in five report difficulties in accessing homeowners insurance. This is according to results of a survey conducted by NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartere

Can my agent get a better deal than others? The data says probably not

The landmark antitrust lawsuit settlement agreed to by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in March has put the practices of real estate agents in the spotlight for both regulators and clients alike.Now, with agent commissions starting to decline, agents naturally want to convey the value of