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Title insurance biz 'highly concentrated' Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, December 22, 2008.
<a href="http://cache.inman.com/files/stories/titleinsurancemarketshare12states.jpg" target=blank>Click here for larger graphic</a>.

According to accountant and author Steven Bragg, one tool the Department of Justice uses to assess whether mergers and acquisitions will result in a potentially anti-competitive concentration of market share is the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, or HHI. The basic calculation ain't rocket science: You square all of your major players' market shares, and add them up.  more...

Home values by we, the people

By Inman News, Monday, December 22, 2008.

Officials at real estate brokerage company ZipRealty see a serious side to a real estate guessing game that allows its clients to weigh in on home values.

The company's Web site now displays the average price estimate of its community of users for specific homes alongside automated home valuations from real estate sites including Zillow.com, Cyberhomes.com and Eppraisal.com.  more...

Mortgage brokers sue to block RESPA

By Inman News, Monday, December 22, 2008.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is going to court to block implementation of changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), saying the Department of Housing and Urban Development failed to assess the impact on small businesses.

HUD's RESPA rule changes include a standardized Good Faith Estimate form, which requires the disclosure of yield spread premiums paid by lenders when borrowers take out loans with higher interest rates. The GFE also requires that the rebates be credited to borrowers.  more...

Rebuilding trust, image in downturn Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, December 22, 2008.
Related Podcast/Video: 
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Falling home prices and mortgage rates could get many would-be home buyers off the fence in 2009, but many will continue to be wary of "catching a falling knife" or won't be able to get financing if they're ready to buy.

It will be up to a shrinking cadre of knowledgeable, tech-savvy agents and brokers to rebuild trust with consumers by providing "value added" information and insight to clients while finding ways to cut their own costs ...  more...