HousingWire

8/14/2026

New York City tenant advocates aren’t sitting out the legal battle over a rent freeze. They came off the sidelines and entered the courtroom fray to ensure the freeze stays in place. In a Thursday court filing, Tenants and Neighbors and the Metropolitan Council on Housing pushed back against landlords who sued in a Staten […]

8/14/2026

Better founder Vishal Garg says he has majority voting support, proposes board resignations and a $30 million buyback.

8/13/2026

Acrisure Mortgage announced Thursday that it has appointed Todd Boss as president, succeeding Joe Nunziata, who was recently promoted to president of Acrisure Real Estate Services.

8/13/2026

Side says SideOS helps independents and franchisees run operations end to end, aiming to improve efficiency without giving up local brands.

8/13/2026

Mortgage brokers working with United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) say it remains “business as usual” following the lender’s second-quarter loss and a multibillion-dollar capital raise, with no noticeable impact so far on day-to-day loan production.

8/13/2026

Dream Finders Homes’ agreement to acquire Beazer Homes for $33.50 per share brings an end to homebuilding’s most dramatic takeover contest of 2026. What the deal says about what comes next may be even more compelling. The $2.2 billion enterprise-value deal will make Dream Finders the sixth-largest U.S. homebuilder by 2025 revenue. It also caps […]

8/13/2026

Mary Lee Blacklock discusses luxury market strength and why she believes AI will enhance — not replace — the human element of real estate.

8/13/2026

As homebuilders continue to grapple with tightening margins, limited demand and chronic labor shortages, could offsite components emerge as a way to build more efficiently and scale with fewer workers?

8/13/2026

HousingWire Data analysis looked at six metrics across single-family homes — including median list prices, annual price changes, estimated weekly sales, median days on market and months of inventory at the current sales pace.

8/13/2026

Dawn Thomas brings more than 22 years of experience and $675 million in career closed sales volume to the brokerage.

8/13/2026

MRED says Zillow listing filters conflict with IDX rules and could trigger renewed antitrust scrutiny tied to the DOJ’s 2008 NAR deal.

8/12/2026

Home price cuts are nearing 2025 levels nationally, but HousingWire Data shows very different trends in Kansas City, Minneapolis and San Antonio.

8/12/2026

Offerpad CEO Brian Bair says buying is ramping in 2026 after losses since 2022, as the firm adds fou products and refines its buy box.

8/12/2026

Inventory is down slightly year over year, but active supply near 1.54 million and 4.6 months is holding price growth to 2.0%.

8/12/2026

The Real Brokerage Chief Technology Officer Pritesh Damani said 80% of real estate processes could be automated within six months.

8/12/2026

Regulators in 46 states and DC reached a $15.5M settlement with Newrez over lender-placed insurance charges and refunds.

8/12/2026

MLS leaders said brokers are uploading MLS data into AI tools, increasing urgency for auditing, entitlements, and enforceable policies.

8/12/2026

More than 2.5 million properties across the 10 most exposed western states face a moderate or greater risk of wildfire damage, representing nearly $1.4 trillion in reconstruction cost value, according to Cotality’s 2026 Wildfire Risk Report.

8/12/2026

NAR said 91% of 2025 sellers used an agent and FSBO was 5%, as AI tools help listings but not net proceeds and risk control.

8/12/2026

Thad Wong says his firm uses AI to surface prior client context and automate background work, while keeping agent communication human-led.

8/12/2026

NEXA sued a former contractor in Arizona on Aug. 7, alleging trade secret misuse, solicitation and false statements.

8/12/2026

HistoryMaker Homes is adopting AI in phases, partnering with Higharc and launching 60 new floor plans in 18 months.

8/12/2026

Century Communities leverages AI in land acquisition to help its lean land teams vet sites faster, before contracting or engineering begins.

8/12/2026

A narrow irrigation ditch runs along the edge of a 142-acre former farm near Willard, about 50 miles north of Salt Lake City. Beside it sits a 2.74-acre patch of wet ground. Both features are now at the center of a federal lawsuit. Federal regulators say the ditch connects to the Great Salt Lake, which […]

8/12/2026

Many builders lack structured visibility into active plans, driving redundancy, slower land decisions and weaker purchasing leverage. Higharc converts floor plans into connected data models to improve portfolio analysis and operational speed.

8/12/2026

The market is shifting from point solutions to providers offering broad workflow gap coverage. This piece outlines common approaches and the due diligence questions agents should ask to avoid lock-in and weak fits.

8/12/2026

Texas HOA boards face added governance requirements as communities grow. SB 1588 expands open meeting and notice rules, while HB 614 requires written enforcement policies and clearer hearing processes, increasing the need for consistent agendas, communication and recordkeeping.

8/11/2026

Only about half of U.S. private-sector workers participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan at any given time — a gap driven almost entirely by small employers, according to new research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

8/11/2026

FirstTeam entered Kansas and Missouri via a Kansas City office with Rival Real Estate, growing to 62 offices and 2,200 agents.

8/11/2026

Miller argued the solution lies not in building more technology but in aligning offerings with what agents already want.

8/11/2026

Mortgage insurers will be required to keep a larger safety net for mortgages originated using VantageScore 4.0 than for comparable loans using Classic FICO, according to new guidance from the government-sponsored enterprises.

8/11/2026

HW AI Summit panelists said AI needs human oversight, vendor controls and monitoring to meet fair lending requirements.

8/11/2026

HousingWire's AI Summit welcomed Dan Snyder, CEO of Lower, and Chris Rediger, CEO of HouseCanary, to explore AI's home discovery impact.

8/11/2026

Now that Dream Finders and Beazer have reached an agreement, Dream Finders can now look further ahead. Soon after the closing, Dream Finders will find itself nearing a position as one of the five largest builders. Also, it will have restructured Beazer’s land holdings, utilizing Dream Finders’ asset-light model with the support of Millrose Properties. […]

8/11/2026

Florida homebuyers asked to voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit over Compass's $475 transaction fee after seeking class-action status.

8/11/2026

ARMLS appointed Jeff Bosch as CEO starting in November, replacing Matt Consalvo, who is retiring after 14 years.

8/11/2026

Industry executives speaking at HousingWire's AI Summit on Tuesday predict that AI agents will not only continue to take the reins on tasks now performed by real estate agents, loan officers and other housing professionals but will eventually dominate the home discovery process.

8/11/2026

The share of home sales within five miles of a data center with at least 50 megawatts of capacity has more than doubled since 2018.

8/11/2026

Late Monday afternoon, a judge dealt a blow to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to charge a so-called pied-à-terre tax on vacant second homes owned by wealthy non-residents. Wayne Ozzi, a Staten Island judge, issued an emergency pause on implementing the tax. Ozzi sided with homeowners who sued the city Friday. They did […]

8/11/2026

Income needed to afford a median-priced home rose to over $120,000, up from $66,000 in 2020. With rates forecast near 6.5% and prices still rising, the column argues buyer preparation and loan options matter more than timing.

8/11/2026

Late payments affect 70% of contractors, and average construction payment cycles run 90 days, creating operational risk for materials and payroll. The piece outlines standardized estimates, clear invoice terms and automation to improve timing and visibility.

8/11/2026

The article argues that AI impact in servicing depends on modernization fundamentals, migration automation, API-based integrations, recapture workflows and a single default lifecycle view. It also highlights real-time event automation for disasters and faster regulatory change monitoring.

8/10/2026

U.S. homeowners hold $35 trillion in home equity, with many locked into low mortgage rates or facing strict income requirements.

8/10/2026

CrossCountry Intermediate Holdco (CCM) is expected to issue $500 million of senior unsecured notes, coinciding with the projected August closing of its Two Harbors Investment Corp. acquisition.

8/10/2026

ENRG. Realty, founded by Erinn and Peter Nobel, is in 16 states and uses revenue share and equity awards without prioritizing recruiting.

8/10/2026

A coalition advocacy organizations is warning that proposed changes to federal lending rules could leave consumers vulnerable.

8/10/2026

UWM Holdings Corp. is facing a securities fraud investigation and fresh cuts on Wall Street after reporting a loss for the second quarter and a $2.05 billion capital raise.

8/10/2026

United Wholesale Mortgage filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing Two Harbors Investment Corp. of willfully breaching its merger agreement and committing fraud while pursuing a competing deal with CrossCountry Mortgage.

8/10/2026

Following a strong second-quarter earnings report, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods released a positive forecast for Ellington Financial and its reverse mortgage subsidiary, Longbridge Financial.

8/10/2026

Douglas Elliman reported improved financial results during the second quarter of 2026 compared to a year ago as the company looks toward the future of the real estate industry.

8/10/2026

Realty of America adds Charles Boyett and Allison Watkins as anchor partners to expand into North and South Carolina.

8/10/2026

Alliance that closes Aug. 10 moves most TPO GO wholesale staff to Stockton, with no stock or asset sale involved.

8/9/2026

Mortgage spreads at 2.01% are keeping 2026 mortgage rates near 6.74%, supporting pending sales and limiting year-over-year declines.

8/7/2026

July payrolls fell 23,000 and revisions cut 103,000, while wage growth slowed to 3.2%, sharpening the Fed’s September decision.

8/7/2026

President Donald Trump is moving forward with a renewed attempt to remove Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.

8/7/2026

Fitch Ratings downgraded the long-term issuer default ratings of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) to B+ from BB-, citing a sharp increase in leverage driven by second-quarter losses and higher borrowings.

8/7/2026

Judge Hunt granted final approval to REMAX and Keller Williams Batton 1 settlements totaling $28.5 million, claims due Aug. 25, 2026.

8/7/2026

A House panel reviews private listing networks, while Compass cites 4.6% gains and other studies show off MLS homes sell for less.

8/7/2026

Ellington Financial Inc. on Thursday reported second-quarter 2026 net income attributable to common stockholders of $54.4 million, driven by strong loan credit performance and growing reverse mortgage production at its Longbridge Financial subsidiary.

8/7/2026

Judge Bough let Gibson plaintiffs notify opt-in MLSs that settlement terms require sharing listing and commission data via providers like FBS.

8/7/2026

Millrose posted Q2 revenue of $196.9 million and AFFO of $127.6 million, with 0 option terminations and 143,771 homesites.

8/7/2026

Achieve has closed a $261.5 million securitization of newly originated home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), its first of 2026 and ninth overall.

8/7/2026

Better Home & Finance Holding Co. anticipates a tough third quarter as it rolls out a new strategic plan under the interim leadership of Daniel Lewis.

8/7/2026

May and June payroll growth was also revised to include a combined 103,000 fewer jobs — leaving employment gains significantly weaker.

8/7/2026

Mortgage leaders are swapping ghostwriters for AI, which creates a sameness problem. This column lays out a three-part fix: taste to cut bland drafts, guts to take a defensible position and receipts that add dates, dollars and real decisions.

8/7/2026

Nicole Haba argues leadership often follows an unspoken dress code tied to access and networks. She shares how a mentor created room for her voice, and why leaders should choose to redefine the code through mentorship and promotion decisions.

8/6/2026

Blend Labs on Thursday reported higher second-quarter revenue and a narrower operating loss, driven by growth in its software platform business as the digital mortgage technology provider expanded customer relationships and rolled out its new AI-powered Autopilot product.

8/6/2026

Rocket Companies reported high second-quarter earnings on Thursday, driven by increased mortgage origination volume, servicing income and record market share gains in both purchase and refinance lending, even as the broader housing market remained challenging.

8/6/2026

[Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a 3-part HousingWire special series on the impacts of data centers in housing. Part 1 is here.] In 1998, when Steve Alloy succeeded his father, Martin, as president of Northern Virginia-based Stanley Martin Homes, buying land wisely was, as it is now, both a point of pride and […]

8/6/2026

As earnings results wrap up for Q2 2026, here's a rundown of what's happened for major lenders, brokerages, homebuilders, listing portals and title firms.

8/6/2026

New York City’s regulated affordable housing sector is confronting a worsening financial squeeze, and a reckoning is coming unless solutions emerge, according to a new survey of owners, managers, lenders and other industry participants. The survey by affordable housing nonprofit NYC Housing Partnership found that 62% of respondents said operating costs have risen to unsustainable […]

8/6/2026

According to the analysis, the largest gaps involved high-risk issues such as involuntary liens, where the issue fail rate exceeded 36%.

8/6/2026

Legislation would require HEIs to comply with the same disclosure and consumer protection requirements as many traditional mortgage loans.

8/6/2026

New York City administration officials took a stride toward spurring more office-to-residential conversions by expanding a long-term financing option used in clean energy construction. In late June, the city made embodied carbon eligible for financing under its Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, known as C-PACE. Embodied carbon refers to emissions locked into a building’s […]

8/6/2026

Founded nearly 15 years ago, the acquired firm provides title services across Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

8/6/2026

UWM is raising $1.65 billion in preferred equity, including $1.5 billion from Oaktree and $150 million from the Ishbia family, plus a $400 million rights offering.

8/6/2026

Marti Realty Group joins Keller Williams City-View in San Antonio after $260.9M on 735 sides in 2025, scaling New Home Buddy nationwide.

8/6/2026

REMAX hired Michael Altneu as vice president of luxury to grow The REMAX Collection and update partnerships, programs, and services.

8/6/2026

Pennymac said it is the first large servicer to implement the VA's new waterfall and partial claim programs, ahead of a Nov. 28 deadline.

8/6/2026

After ROAD, AMH and Invitation Homes say BTR capital is returning slowly, while consolidation may rise among 350-plus home owners.

8/6/2026

Connected builder websites capture high-intent behavior like plan views, pricing checks and repeat visits, then sync it to CRM. New Home Star says this supports lead prioritization, stronger follow-up and higher lead-to-appointment conversion tied to sales outcomes.

8/6/2026

An IDC study shows slow closings and heavy manual underwriting, even as lenders add AI. The article outlines disclosure, data, human review, explanation and contestability choices to improve transparency and governance.

8/6/2026

The ROAD to Housing Act targets new supply, but aging workforce housing needs preservation capital. With stock at a 45-year median age and 7 million fewer units under $1,000, the column argues for financing stabilized housing like infrastructure.

8/5/2026

Older housing stock, fixed incomes, severe weather and rising costs can combine to make even basic maintenance financially out of reach.

8/5/2026

UWM Holdings Corp. is pairing the announcement of a record $2.05 billion strategic capital partnership with its second-quarter 2026 results, which show the nation’s largest mortgage lender is still leaning into growth despite higher leverage and moving into the red.

8/5/2026

Last month’s structural near-disaster at the former Pfizer headquarters being converted to apartments set off a sweeping inspection of construction sites across New York City. Inspectors checked at 180 sites in all, according to the Department of Buildings. Inspectors found violations, but “we did not find any hazardous structural issues posing an imminent danger to […]

8/5/2026

CRMLS CEO Art Carter sat down with HousingWire to discuss the AI transformation he believes the industry is ignoring at its own peril.

8/5/2026

Zillow Q2 2026 revenue rose 18% to $772M, mortgage revenue jumped 75% to $84M, and the quarter ended with a $4M net loss.

8/5/2026

After cutting 7% of staff, Zillow expanded Jeremy Hofmann’s role to COO, hired Sandi Knight, and promoted 2 SVPs.

8/5/2026

M/I Homes is trading some margin for sales growth, speed, and market share. Pair that spec-heavy operating model with an asset-light finished-lot supply, and the returns could become considerably stronger. M/I Homes is making a contrarian bet at a time when much of the homebuilding industry is becoming more cautious. While competitors are reducing speculative […]

8/5/2026

Daniel Lewis, whose hedge fund shut down in 2016 after 10 years in operation, is taking the helm as interim CEO. But Vishal Garg retains significant influence over the company’s future.

8/5/2026

Both executives have held leadership positions within RPR as the real estate data platform continues developing products and services.

8/5/2026

United Wholesale Mortgage launched its latest pricing incentive for broker partners on Wednesday, saying it will grant a 90-basis-point discount on a large swath of loans through Sept. 8.

8/5/2026

HouseMe.ai entered the U.S. with direct MLS connections across 7 mid-Atlantic markets and plans a nationwide rollout, the company said.

8/5/2026

Zillow and Realtracs finalized a new license keeping Nashville listings on Zillow and adding guardrails on MLS data use, including AI.

8/5/2026

Lower launched ONE, a 1% down payment program with a 2% grant capped at $4,500 for borrowers at or below 80% AMI and a 620 score.

8/5/2026

As AI answers reduce clicks, marketers shift to AEO, prioritizing Google Business Profile completeness and cross platform NAP accuracy.

8/5/2026

The SEC’s 2026-30 draft strategic plan signals a shift toward supporting innovation and capital formation, clearer digital asset frameworks and enforcement focused on established-law fraud and manipulation. It also outlines internal streamlining, EDGAR modernization and limited rule retrospectives.

8/5/2026

At a HUD 2027 budget hearing, officials provided no timeline for a disaster recovery package for January 2025 California wildfire victims. Mortgage leaders say state forbearance under AB 238 helps, but a coordinated federal plan is still needed.

8/4/2026

The company reported $1.4 billion in second-quarter revenue, an 11% increase from the same period a year earlier.