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The Latest SERVICING Or ig i nat ion Field Servicing Companies Merge Three well-known enterprises will now operate under one umbrella. —Caroline Reaves, MCS Homeowners are starting to feel the weight of rising rates. A scending mortgage rates are starting to weigh on homebuyers nearly as much as low inventory, according to Redfin's most recent Real-Time Homebuyer Survey. For its report, Redfin surveyed 1,772 active homebuyers across the 22 markets it covers. Respondents hailed from all over the country. Out of those polled, 56 percent said rising rates have impacted their ability to buy a home "somewhat," while an additional 7 percent said rates are impacting them "a lot." When asked how rates have affected their home search, 33 percent said they're speeding up their search before rates get too high, 20 percent said they're slowing their search, and 1 percent have stopped looking altogether. In addition, more homebuyers pointed to rising mortgage rates as one of their major concerns with buying a home right now, with 53 percent giving that response. However, inventory shortage was still the chief concern, earning 58 percent of responses. At the same time, when asked about their motivation for buying a home this year, only 37 percent of buyers cited low mortgage rates, down from 56 percent last quarter. Thirty-eight percent answered "life event," 33 percent said "rising costs," and 25 percent said they are "tired of waiting." On the positive side, buyers seem to believe the market is shifting back toward a balance. The share of buyers who believe now is a good time to sell in their neighborhood fell to 63 percent from 66 percent in the last survey, marking the first drop in three quarters. Still, though, only 24 percent of buyers said now is a good time to buy, a drop from 32 percent in the last survey. Finally, home price expectations were a little more muted than they have been in past surveys. Thirteen percent of respondents said they expect home prices in their area to "rise a lot" over the next year, down from 23 percent in the prior survey. Just more than half (51 percent) expect prices to "rise a little" (down from 57 percent). The M Report | 45 se c on da r y m a r k e t "The common ownership of these three companies . . . will strengthen our collective ability to serve our clients and expand opportunities." Survey: Interest Rate Increases Catching Up to Buyers a na ly t ic s multiple customer channels," Reaves said. "In addition, an expanded field level vendor network will result in leveraged compliance and regulatory response capabilities. These benefits will reaffirm our commitment to remain as leading field service companies in the mortgage industry." "Our immediate goal and focus is to continue providing exceptional performance and customer service to the existing customers of MCS, AMS, and VPS," added Ernie Stefkovic, CEO of AMS. MCS, based in Plano, Texas, provides property inspections, property preservation, and REO property maintenance for the financial services industry. AMS provides field services, rental management, general contracting, marketing, software solutions, and mobile applications to the financial services industry. VPS specializes in securing vacant properties across a wide range of residential and commercial sectors. s e r v ic i ng T hree prominent mortgage field service companies will fall under the ownership of one new holding company. The company, formed by Concentric Equity Partners (CEP) and TDR Capital (TDR), will own Mortgage Contracting Services, (MCS), Asset Management Specialists, (AMS) and Vacant Property Specialists, (VPS). CEP is a private investment firm based in Chicago, and TDR is a private equity firm headquartered in London. The deal was expected to close October 1. The holding company will be led by MCS CEO Caroline Reaves, but the three companies will still be managed separately, according to a release. "The common ownership of these three companies, with their unique strengths and proficiencies, will strengthen our collective ability to serve our clients and expand opportunities to develop ancillary services across