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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 78 June 2025 J O U R N A L • 70% are not financially prepared for unexpected expenses over $2,500. • 58% feel they will never get out of debt. • 52% lose sleep over personal debt. • 48% aren't confident they'll get their debt paid off within the next year. • 48% say their personal debt is un- manageable—including credit card debt (70%), medical debt (38%), and money owed to family/friends (25%). • 33% report a significant amount of debt. • 37% avoid looking at the amount of money in their bank account. How Are Americans Handling Economic Conditions? The survey also found some un- fortunate news: half of all Americans lack the financial stability to handle unforeseen expenses. Nearly half of Americans in 2025 claim that daily expenses (45%) and inf lation (49%) are factors in their financial hardship. Due to the current status of the economy (38%), personal debt (29%), unforeseen expenses (28%), housing costs (27%), and household income (25%), at least 25% of Americans suffer from financial worry. According to the survey, 27% of Americans believe they could be contrib- uting more to their current emergency fund, while half of Americans do not have one. Additionally, half of Ameri- cans claim that they are generally unpre- pared financially for unforeseen costs. "At Discover, our goal is to help cus- tomers find smart solutions to achieve their financial goals. For some people, especially those with high-interest debt, a personal loan may be a helpful tool to reduce the cost of their interest and accelerate the elimination of debt," Nickele said. "Research is important when making big financial decisions, especially with some of the negative perceptions out there around personal loans. I encourage consumers who could benefit from a personal loan to look for lenders that offer competitive interest rates, no fees, f lexible repay- ment terms, and fast funding. If you already have a relationship with a credit card company or bank that you trust, that's a good place to start personal loan research." In 2025, some 45% of Americans make financial resolutions or goals. Of these, 81% claim to have made at least some improvement, with 38% being satisfied with it and 43% believing they could have done better. Creating and adhering to a budget (36%), cutting back on discretionary spending (31%), investing (35%), adding to an emer- gency fund (26%), diversifying sources of income (25%), and paying off or consolidating high-interest debt (24%), are among the top actions taken by the 38% of Americans who are satisfied with their progress. MEASURING THE IMPACT OF THE NAR SETTLEMENT ON AGENT COMMISSIONS I n March 2024, the National Asso- ciation of Realtors (NAR) agreed to a $418 million settlement to resolve multiple suits with sellers who claimed NAR was driving up the price of commissions. NAR's settlement accomplished two goals: it released most NAR members and many industry stakeholders from liability in these instances, and it ensured that cooperative compensation remains an option for customers when purchasing or selling a house. In the settlement, NAR also ob- tained a mechanism enabling practi- cally all brokerage organizations with a residential transaction volume of more than $2 billion in 2022, as well as MLSs that are not completely controlled by Realtor's associations, to acquire releas- es efficiently if they so desire. A new report from Redfin finds that the average buyer's agent commission was 2.4% for homes sold in Q1 2025, up slightly from 2.37% reported in Q4 2024, and 2.36% in Q3 2024—when the new NAR commissions rules went into effect—but down slightly from 2.43% in Q1 2024, when the new rules were announced. Bottom line … buyer's agent commissions haven't changed much since new real estate commission rules went into effect in the United States on August 17. What a Difference a Year Makes? For the report, Redfin analyzed data on buyer's agent commissions for closed home sales. The analysis uses national, aggregated sales data from Redfin agents' listings, deals referred by Redfin.com to partner agents, and deals where buyers used Redfin-owned Bay Equity Home Loans. When the commission's data are broken down Many Americans feel unprepared financially for a number of situations, such as: Circumstance Do not feel financially prepared to handle An economic downturn or recession 55% A family crisis (e.g., illness, death, legal issues) 54% An unexpected expense over $2,500 53% Retirement 50% Job loss or reduction in income 49% Taking on caregiver expenses 49% A major home improvement project or purchase 49% At least one of the circumstances above 77%