Mortgage Choice Act to Boost U.S. Housing Market

The National Association of Realtors, America’s largest trade association, representing one million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries, welcomed the passage of the Mortgage Choice Act by Congress.

Steve Brown, president of NAR said in a statement, “The Mortgage Choice Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last night importantly redefines a provision in the Ability-to-Repay rules that limits mortgage fees and points to three percent in order for home loans to be considered Qualified Mortgages.”

He added that the provision unfairly prevents brokers and affiliated lenders from making QM loans because their joint venture services are collectively counted against the cap, while individual services from large retail financial institutions are each capped separately.

He went on to say, “The Mortgage Choice Act treats affiliated and non-affiliated service providers the same way under the rule while still protecting borrowers from risky loan products. Realtors will continue to advocate for this legislation to clarify the QM rules as it moves to the U.S. Senate. With the passage of the new law, realtors are expecting more people to relocate to other cities, particularly so-called millennialswho are looking for dwelling spaces in urban locations across America mostly prefer to rent, but those with money to spare are in luck as a new report from CNN Money has narrowed choices down for them.

Millenians looking for their first homes could conduct their searches online. Nestbuilder.comis among the top property listings destination where they can search for licensed agents that can help them find their first dream home in the said cities. 

The locations were chosen based on job growth, which mostly ranges between 1.5 percent (Minneapolis) and 4.2 percent (Austin) annually, and median home prices mostly ranging between $123,000 and $340,000 (Seattle). The cities were also chosen based on business climate, booming industries, and tendency to become a “millennial hotspot.” 

Nestbuilder.com is a property listings site developed by Florida-based digital media company RealBiz Media Group, Inc. RBIZ. Launched early this year, the website accommodates over 350,000 real estate agent accounts, not to mention 1.6 million video listings.

Each individual listing page on Nestbuilder.com features a professional virtual tour of the property with audio commentaries, an overview of the property and a map to pinpoint to buyers the property’s exact location. The page is also equipped with social media integration functionalities allowing agents and consumers to save the page for reading later or for friends and people within their network to see on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus.

The company’s mission is to empower agents with the right video marketing tools as homebuyer’s online shopping habits evolve. The company manages to achieve this through its roster of disruptive video technologies such as video content management system Microvideo App, its website-based marketing tool NestBuilder Agent, and its mobile video app called EzFlix.

The Microvideo App is a platform targeted at brokerage firms allowing brokers and their agents to collaborate in creating listing video microsites and executing marketing campaigns.

Nestbuilder Agent is a tool that is accessible through listing site Nestbuilder.com and allows agents to create professional agent profilesand virtual tours out of listing photos. These tours can be shared automatically to the agent’s network through social media platforms and email.

EzFlix is a smartphone app that allows agents to create, edit, and share their property videos through their tablets or mobile phones. It appears like a social network and is easy to use with drag and drop functionalities, and a timeline that keep all agents’ listing photos and videos in one place.

 “It is gratifying to see our services being adopted by key players in the real estate industry,” said Realbiz Media CEO William Kerby.

RealBiz has access to the nation’s largest real estate companies with numerous approved vendors and national contracts, both key to its future development programs. When completed, the company is targeting distribution of its digital video network to more than 70 million households and an agent driven MicroVideo App program. For more information, please dial this toll free number at 1.888.REAL.BIZ (888.732.5249) or email at support@rbm.zendesk.com.