Guild seeks court backing for $10.7 million in employee poaching case against CCM

🎉 Happy Friday. Today's newsletter is 662 words, a 3-minute read.

1. Guild seeks court backing for $10.7 million in employee poaching case against CCM

Guild Mortgage has petitioned a Washington district court to enforce a $10.7 million arbitration award, stemming from a heated dispute with CrossCountry Mortgage over alleged employee poaching.

The saga began in August 2021, when Guild accused former employees Christopher Flowers, Cory Flynn, and Lisa Jolliffe of a calculated scheme to undermine its operations. The trio, having departed Guild's Kirkland branch, allegedly orchestrated an exodus of employees and customers to CrossCountry Mortgage.

Guild's legal action focuses on claims of stolen information, employee recruitment, and customer confusion. The lender is pursuing allegations of contract breach, fraud, unfair competition, and tortious interference.

2. NAR, KW and HomeServices seek new trial in Sitzer

The National Association of Realtors, HomeServices of America and Keller Williams each filed motions looking to undo the October ruling in the landmark case involving broker commissions.

NAR and the brokerages want the court to enter a judgment in their favor, which would contradict the jury’s decision in the case. The defendants’ other requests include a new trial and the decertification of the homeseller class of plaintiffs.

In its motion, attorneys for NAR said the ruling featured “an excessive damage award and legal errors at trial,” among other complaints. The defendants also claimed impropriety on the part of plaintiffs’ counsel and legal errors in jury instructions.

3. Charted: Homes in foreclosure

The share of U.S. homes in foreclosure ticked up a bit in 2023 by 10% — but it's still lower than it was in 2019 before the pandemic, according to new data from ATTOM.

“Reflecting on 2023, we see the recent rise in foreclosure activity as a market correction rather than a cause for alarm. It signals a return to more traditional patterns after years of volatility” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM.

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4. Catch up quick

💼 Radian announces strategic investment in FinLocker. (Business Wire)

🔼 Housing drives more than half of CPI gains. (Bloomberg)

🫤 Why renters are feeling worse about their finances than homeowners. (Axios)

🏘️ HUD makes $40.25 million available in housing counseling grants. (HUD)

5. Mortgage applications rise 9.9%

Mortgage application volume rose 9.9% in the week ended 5 January, according to the MBA, the biggest increase in a year.

• The data tends to be more volatile around holidays, helping explain some of the big drops and rises in recent weeks.

• Applications to refinance a home loan surged 19% week-on-week and were 30% higher year-on-year, while applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 6% week-on-week.

“Mortgage rates have not moved materially over the last three weeks and remain in the mid-six percent range, which has marginally increased homebuyer demand,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.66% as of Jan. 11, a slight increase from last week’s 6.62%, according to Freddie Mac. Overall, rates are hovering around levels seen last summer and below the highs reached during the fall, when they approached 8%.

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🙏 You're all caught up. See you on Wednesday!

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