Morning Briefing: Summer buying season will be short says Redfin CEO

Summer buying season will be short says Redfin CEO… Cloud-based realtor moves into mortgages… Mortgage rates down says Freddie… Mortgage firm appoints new CFO…

Summer buying season will be short says Redfin CEO
Home sales may have reached an 8-year high according to the National Association of Realtors, but they may now recede as buyers are put off by higher prices. Real estate brokers Redfin has released its latest index of home buyer demand and says that it took a sharp drop in June. CEO Glenn Kelman told CNBC: "I think there's fatigue, frustration with high prices and a feeling that rates have started to move up, so people are packing it in early this season. Sometimes the housing market really has a long summer. I don't think it will this year.” With tight supply pushing the national median price to a record $236,400 and the Fed set to increase interest rates in the not-too-distant future, buyers are concerned about paying too much for homes. Redfin expects sales to be 14 per cent higher for July than the same time last year but that in August the increase will drop to just 2.2 per cent.
 
Cloud-based realtor moves into mortgages
Cloud-based real estate brokerage eXp Realty has announced that it is forming a majority-owned mortgage company. Mortgage veterans Timothy Mulvehill and Victor Butschek are lined up to be president and vice-president of the new subsidiary. The cloud-based brokerage business operates in 31 states in the US and parts of Canada.
The firm is now seeking to secure up to U$500,000 as working capital for its mortgage company via a convertible debenture. Timothy Mulvehill told CNN: "There is complete alignment in the belief that the mortgage company EXPI intends to build can redefine the opportunities available to reputable, credible, service-oriented and compliance-minded mortgage professionals to build their businesses and demonstrate their commitment to the highest standards of practice."
 
Mortgage rates down says Freddie
Freddie Mac’s primary mortgage market survey for the week ending July 23 shows that the average rate of a 30-year FRM dipped to 4.04 per cent from 4.09 per cent a week earlier. 15-year FRM’s averaged 3.21 per cent (from 3.25 per cent); 5-year ARMs averaged 2.97 per cent (from 2.97 per cent); and 1-year ARM’s averaged 2.54 per cent (up from 2.50 per cent). Chief economist Sean Becketti commented: "U.S. Treasury yields dropped following announcements that many blue chip companies' earnings failed to meet expectations. This drove the 30-year fixed rate mortgage down 5 basis points to 4.04 per cent this week.”
 
Mortgage firm appoints new CFO
GSF Mortgage has appointed Bruce Olster as its new chief finance officer, effective immediately. Previously he was senior vice president for the multifamily warehouse lending divisions at Banco Popular North America. He was also CEO and co-founder of NattyMac LLC, a nationwide mortgage warehouse company that served single- and multi-family independent mortgage bankers.