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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 89 NORTH CAROLINA New Buyers Unafraid to Enter Housing Market Genworth Mortgage Insurance recently released its inaugural report on first-time homebuyers. Source data dates back to 1994 and analyzes more than 20 million records. e survey tracks home sales to first-time homebuyers on a monthly basis, publishes quarterly, and compares the data against na- tional housing market indicators. It also singles out and identifies homebuyers that purchased their home using a VA loan, a USDA loan, an FHA loan, or with a low down payment coupled with mortgage insurance instead of the traditional 20 percent down payment that has historically been required. e report found that this demographic ac- counted for 424,000 single-family home sales or 38 percent of the total homes sold in Q1 of 2017. is amount is an 11 percent increase from Q1 2016 and the most since 2005. It also found that first-time homebuyers were the driving force behind the expan- sion of the housing market between 2014 and 2016, making up 85 percent of total sales and averaging an increase of 260,000 sales per year, two years in a row. During that period, FHA loans were used 80 percent of the time to secure a mortgage—around 730,000 loans. An estimated 510,000 sales used private mortgage insurance to purchase their home, further re- ducing the number of homes obtained through a traditional 20 percent down payment. In order to fully understand and predict the first-time homebuyer market, the report also tracks repeat homebuyers. In 2016, repeat homebuyers accounted for only 63 percent of home sales, the lowest since 2000. is is at- tributed to lower asset accumulation, preventing people from upgrading their living situation. In a statement released with this new data, Tian Liu, Chief Economist for Genworth Mortgage Insurance, said, "[First-time home- buyers'] impact has already been felt in falling inventory and rising home prices, and we expect them to increasingly drive growth to businesses most exposed to this market segment … [b] y studying this group more closely, we hope to bring a better understanding about the many low down payment options available to help first- time homebuyers reach homeownership sooner." e report for the second quarter of 2017 will be released August 22. 2016. It is the second compliance report the office has released on the bank since February of last year when HSBC initially agreed to a $601 million settlement with several federal agencies and U.S. states regarding question- able servicing and foreclosure practices. e June report revealed HSBC has now met all requirements outlined in that settle- ment. "I have concluded that HSBC did not fail any metrics for the third and fourth quarters of 2016 and has satisfied its obligations under the Settlement," wrote Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the Monitor of the National Mortgage Settle- ment, in the report. As part of Smith's review, HSBC was evaluated on 34 different metrics, including items like "incorrect modification denial," "adherence to customer payment process- ing," "reconciliation of certain waived fees," "account status activity," and "workforce management." e review was a labor intensive process, according to Smith. Smith described the process: "To evalu- ate HSBC's compliance, I work with a team of professionals. HSBC and my professionals follow a work plan in which an internal review group (IRG) made up of HSBC personnel who are independent of its mortgage servic- ing operation determines whether HSBC has complied with the Settlement terms. My professionals and I then review the work of the IRG. On the basis of this review, I determine if the IRG's work was satisfactory and report my findings to the Court and the public. e work to test the servicer in the third and fourth quarters of 2016 involved 32 profession- als, including my primary professional firms, secondary professional firms, and other profes- sionals who dedicated approximately 12,815 hours over six months." e bank satisfied the consumer relief requirements under the settlement earlier this year, paying out more than $371 million to af- fected consumers. Elm Street Technology Acquires Consolidated Knowledge Elm Street Technology (EST), which offers a portfolio of real estate technology and marketing services companies for agents, teams, and brokerages, recently announced the acquisition of Consolidated Knowledge, a technology platform provider to the residential real estate and multifamily industries. e acquisition is the next step in EST's ongoing efforts to consolidate the real estate industry's leading technology and marketing service providers. EST has made a number of strategic moves in recent months in order to create a portfolio of marketing and technology services that, when integrated, offer a single technology solution. is will provide lead generation to client retention services for agents, teams, brokers, and others. So far, the company has acquired Listingbook, a leading MLS data- powered CRM platform, and RLS2000, a premier provider of IDX websites and social media marketing services. "Our team is excited to join the portfo- lio of EST's companies and I'm personally looking forward to joining such an experi- enced and well-respected leadership team," said Lucas Haldeman, Founder and CEO of Consolidated Knowledge. "e current vendor landscape in the real estate industry is way too fragmented, causing extra work and unnecessary time investments from real estate professionals. EST is devoted to developing or acquiring all products and services under one roof that today's real state professional needs to grow their business." TEXAS HSBC Fulfills Settlement Requirements HSBC has fulfilled its obligations under the National Mortgage Settlement (NMS), according to a report released by the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight in June. e report, Titled "Update on HSBC Compliance," breaks down the results of HSBC's compliance—or lack thereof—with NMS servicing standards over the last half of Percentage of Texas property taxes that are collected per year, making the state have one of the highest property tax rates in the country. Source: 2017 Tax-Rates' property taxes report. STAT INSIGHT 1.81%

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