HousingWire

6/29/2026

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the fourth iteration of the Live Local Act on Friday, cementing the state’s commitment to building affordable housing. House Bill 1389 takes effect July 1. It extends state preemption of local zoning rules and closes a loophole that local governments used to discriminate against affordable housing projects with relative impunity. Since […]

6/29/2026

Britany Boatwright leads MaX House, brokered by eXp Realty, which reported $103.32 million in 2025 volume across 264 transaction sides.

6/29/2026

While Washington waits to see whether the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act becomes law by presidential signature, by inaction, by override, or not at all, homebuilders and developers already know the issue at stake does not wait. Here’s how regulatory cost adds up as a chokehold – not a theoretical – in the new-home […]

6/29/2026

A new report from Cavan Companies adds to a growing body of research identifying the Midwest as a leading region for rental housing returns and rent growth.

6/29/2026

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, amid months of uncertainty under the Trump administration, is moving to pursue changes to mortgage regulation, most recently by advancing a request for information intended to expand access to mortgages.

6/29/2026

Tavant has introduced a new enterprise platform that uses agentic AI to accelerate software development, data modernization and automation.

6/29/2026

QXO and TopBuild shareholders approved QXO’s $17B acquisition, clearing a major step for closing. The companies said they expect the transaction to close on or around July 1, 2026.

6/29/2026

Taylor Morrison’s proxy outlining the history and process behind its recently announced acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway makes for interesting reading, especially because the process differed from what many had assumed. It was far more of a deliberate sale than a case of Berkshire Hathaway swooping in to buy the company. The transaction, and the path by […]

6/29/2026

The Agency report cites AI-era buyers, climate relocation, and tighter supply in the $1 million to $5 million tier shaping luxury demand.

6/29/2026

NAR reports 5% of contracts terminated and 13% had delayed settlements, agents can reduce risk by weighing financing and contingencies.

6/28/2026

Mortgage spreads improved in 2026, keeping rates below 7% and helping demand hold up, even as oil spiked and inflation stayed hot.

6/26/2026

Legislation moving through Congress would increase fees on U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs loans, creating a new flashpoint for the mortgage industry.

6/26/2026

A question has hovered over America’s publicly traded homebuilders as the price, pace and margins plot thickened on or about February 28, 2026. How big is big enough anymore, especially with the cloud of uncertainty that intensified on the day the Iran War began? Taylor Morrison Home Corp.‘s recently filed proxy statement, detailing the process […]

6/26/2026

Home accessibility search standards co-developed by agent Barry Long are being adopted by multiple listing services nationwide.

6/26/2026

A servicing portfolio gives you access, but it doesn't automatically create loyalty. This is where customer experience becomes critical.

6/26/2026

Florida buyers sue Compass over a $475 closing transaction fee, seeking class status for fees charged from June 2022 to June 2026.

6/26/2026

New York Attorney General Letitia James has charged a Queens resident with allegedly stealing the Brooklyn home and savings of a 92-year-old woman with dementia, in a case highlighting how deed theft continues to strip home equity and housing security from elderly homeowners in New York City.

6/26/2026

NAR says viral 71% zero deals claim is not its data, 2026 member profile shows 6% individuals and 2% teams had 0.

6/26/2026

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has updated several home loan appraisal requirements, removing and revising certain Minimum Property Requirements.

6/26/2026

Portals and brokerages expand across the stack to defend engagement and margins, as AI makes shopping and expertise more portable.

6/26/2026

ARA adds REMAX president Chris Lim and investor Andrew Dodge to its board and offers REMAX agents a free first year membership.

6/26/2026

AmeriCraft Homes, a new for-sale builder backed by veteran developer Art Falcone, has launched a multi-state platform to deliver “attainable luxury” communities in Florida and the Carolinas, with a hospitality-style customer experience. The Boca Raton-based company, announced June 24, positions itself at the overlap of semi-custom and production building. The model leans into curated design […]

6/26/2026

Michael Merritt, BOK Financial's senior vice president of customer care and default mortgage servicing, told HousingWire the bill represents a “good start, but not everything."

6/26/2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered on a key campaign promise to freeze rents for many residents. The Rent Guidelines Board gave him what he sought last night. It froze rents on one-year leases and, for the first time, two-year leases in rent-stabilized apartments. Those units make up roughly 41% of the city’s apartment […]

6/26/2026

GDX – Global Data Exchange and the International MLS Forum (IMLSF) have appointed Bill Gaul as their official ambassador for new construction and builder data, the organizations announced. Gaul has decades of experience in real estate technology, MLS innovation and data-focused products for the new-home sector. He is the CEO of Builders Update, a new […]

6/26/2026

Modern mortgage originators are redefining success by prioritizing human connection over simple transactions. They build lasting trust and resilience by anchoring their work in four pillars: pursuit, purpose, passion and peace.

6/26/2026

Competitive land buying is constrained by analysis capacity, not by the amount of available data. Many builders can fully underwrite only about 120 to 200 parcels a month, while AI-driven workflows can evaluate thousands and move faster on off-market opportunities.

6/25/2026

Homebuilding’s mid-year public company earnings season is now looking through the prism of the back half of 2026. Each of the sector’s players had better have put themselves in a good position for some heavy lifting and outperformance, rather than lugging around a forgettable first half. In that light, it’s welcome news that one of […]

6/25/2026

NAR 2026 Member Profile shows 13 years experience, nine sides in 2025, and affordability as the top buyer constraint at 27%.

6/25/2026

Proposals come as policymakers and financial professionals warn of looming funding shortfalls and confusion about how the program works.

6/25/2026

Buying a first home has gotten materially harder for young adults in most major U.S. metros since 2019, as home values have far outpaced income gains and higher mortgage rates push monthly payments out of reach, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of American Community Survey data. The study focuses on households headed […]

6/25/2026

JPMorgan Chase has named Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh as co-presidents effective immediately — the clearest step yet in the board’s planning for an eventual successor to CEO Jamie Dimon.

6/25/2026

CoStar investors reelected eight directors with over 93% support and approved say-on-pay at 71.38% as margins stay in focus.

6/25/2026

Expanded features include evaluation of all wire types, including commission payments and agent disbursements.

6/25/2026

Florida judge denied a preliminary injunction and paused the Lutz lawsuit while Tuccori court weighs opt-in settlement final approvals.

6/25/2026

Senate Democrats have accused Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Russell Vought of stripping away key consumer protection resources and obscuring past enforcement work.

6/25/2026

MBA's PAPI rose 2.2% to a reading of 159.4 in May as median purchase payments increased to $2,198 due to higher rates and loan sizes.

6/25/2026

Real estate leadership training is moving to practical execution, focusing on data, culture and accountability to results.

6/25/2026

A Pennsylvania broker sued state regulators, arguing the in-state main office mandate is unconstitutional and costs him about $35,000 a year.

6/25/2026

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to “build, baby, build,” but a bipartisan housing reform package is limping in the legislature. Nonetheless, a single-stair bill outside that comprehensive package has stepped up. The Michigan Senate is now weighing a pair of bills that would allow multifamily buildings up to six stories to be built with a single […]

6/25/2026

As credit scoring modernizes with alternative data like rent and BNPL, consumers face a growing information gap. Financial counseling must be integrated into the lending process to help borrowers navigate these new rules.

6/24/2026

A fiendishly brilliant advertising copywriter working for Benetton during the “hanging chads” Presidential election controversy in 1992 took a circa-1973 Yogi Berraism and transformed it for a New York City billboard on the heavily trafficked northbound West Side Highway. “It ain’t Oval ‘til it’s Oval!” the message read, as the matter made its way up […]

6/24/2026

The FHFA has proposed replacing its existing Duty to Serve regulation with an outcome-based framework that would change how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural housing.

6/24/2026

Adults 55 plus own over 50% of homes, so agents need a repeatable estate sale plan, timelines and vetted referral partners.

6/24/2026

The Keller Williams-affiliated team ranks No. 1 in Ohio among medium teams for transaction sides with 300 in 2025.

6/24/2026

The funds come at a time when the U.S. population is aging rapidly and seniors are overwhelmingly expressing a desire to age in place in their current homes.

6/24/2026

New home sales pulled back in May as elevated mortgage rates, sticky inflation and consumer uncertainty again tested the upper limit of what buyers can afford, the latest U.S. Census and HUD report shows. Sales of newly built single-family homes fell 7.3% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 580,000 units, according to […]

6/24/2026

More than 90% of altered images showed no visible disclosure language on the image itself, captions, listing descriptions or adjacent text.

6/24/2026

New home sales fell to 580,000 in May 2026, and elevated completed units for sale continue to limit permits and starts.

6/24/2026

Trump paused signing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, saying he will act only after the SAVE America Act advances in Congress.

6/24/2026

Federal judge orders arbitration for Real and The Frano Team and stays the consolidated Zillow RESPA lawsuit pending the outcome.

6/24/2026

Darryl Davis Seminars filed a federal trademark suit accusing Epique of using the POWER AGENT brand, seeking an injunction and profits.

6/24/2026

Massachusetts’s highest court has blocked a statewide rent stabilization initiative from the November 2026 ballot on a technicality. A single religious exemption in the measure violated the state’s constitution, the court ruled. In a unanimous ruling Tuesday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court killed a petition that would have capped annual rent increases statewide at either […]

6/24/2026

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated condo project standards in March 2026, reshaping how projects qualify for conventional financing. The changes add insurance flexibility, including ACV roof coverage and a $50,000 per unit deductible cap, while increasing reserve funding expectations.

6/23/2026

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the House of Representatives after clearing the Senate and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature in the coming days.

6/23/2026

Boomer Foster launched Paul Wesley Real Estate in April, serving VA, MD and DC, with nearly $250M in production from about 30 agents.

6/23/2026

Many people in the housing industry are wondering why mortgage rates haven’t fallen even as oil prices have dropped from $111 per barrel to less than $73 today. The 10-year Treasury yield is at 4.48% and mortgage rates are near their yearly highs.

6/23/2026

Sentiment has shifted when it comes to rate expectations as more housing market observers are predicting at least one rate hike this year.

6/23/2026

The “emerging trends” in housing story over the past decade or more has been a tale of magnitude variations on a theme: constrained supply eclipsed by growing demand. If there is one conclusion that rises above all others in this year’s “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026” report, it is that the industry’s challenge […]

6/23/2026

Investor activity in the U.S. housing market remained resilient in 2025 even as overall home sales fell to one of their lowest levels in decades.

6/23/2026

Finance of America hired three senior executives to lead brand, communications and product as it expands retirement home equity solutions.

6/23/2026

NAR subpoenaed ARA for documents and communications tied to ThePLS.com, CCP and the NAR Accountability Project, per a filing.

6/23/2026

The updates touch FHA policies from origination through servicing and quality control. HUD said the goal is to remove outdated requirements, reduce administrative work, and make FHA financing more efficient for both homebuyers and lenders.

6/23/2026

Zillow Summer Launch 2026 adds a guided buyer hub, Verified Pre-approval, and shared collection to streamline search to close.

6/23/2026

Brokerages invest in tech, but agents stay for trust, leadership access, and connection, especially in hybrid models and acquisitions.

6/22/2026

BofA forecasts three quarter-point Fed hikes in 2026, but market pricing and a 10-year yield near 4.51% argue for 0 to only one rate hike.

6/22/2026

Fathom SEC filing shows an agent email pitching a 3 pillar everything home ecosystem tied to Bed Bath and Beyond, pending closing.

6/22/2026

As an individual agent, Mercer reported $167.35 million in transaction volume across 241 sides for 2025 — both ranking No. 1 in Pennsylvania.

6/22/2026

Executives at United Wholesale Mortgage and Two Harbors Investment Corp. raised the heat in an email exchange during their latest round of deal negotiations.

6/22/2026

A former Christie’s New York and New Jersey affiliate now known as The Agency One Rock faces a commission and fee dispute in court.

6/22/2026

Led by broker-owner Dan Crouch, Villager Realty returns to the REMAX brand after a stint as an independent.

6/22/2026

MBA paper says slowing household formation and steady construction could outpace demand and pressure home prices in some markets.

6/22/2026

The D.C. Circuit denied a bid to proceed with CFPB layoffs during the appeal and sent the case back to the district court.

6/22/2026

In the first half of this two-part topic, I described the piecemeal nature of private hazard insurance policies, state-sponsored “last resort” programs, the National Flood Insurance Program, and federal aid through emergency declarations. This system is reactive, slow and difficult to navigate for families and businesses seeking help to recover from catastrophic events. Beyond systemic […]

6/22/2026

Reverse mortgage perception improves when originators share verified stories, explain HECM rules clearly and avoid hype.

6/22/2026

Riverland in Port St. Lucie targets 55+ buyers with 53 pickleball courts and plans to soon expand to 85 courts.

6/22/2026

Allegiant Reverse Services celebrates 10 years, citing 130,000 reverse mortgage transactions and operations serving clients in 48 states.

6/21/2026

The second half of 2026 hinges on whether demand stays positive with mortgage rates near 6.60% and tighter comps from July onward.

6/19/2026

Exactly 50 years ago this time of year, a 51-year-old man handwrote a four-page letter on a legal pad to his then 21-year-old son, one of seven children – six of them sons and one angel of a daughter – who was spending a semester studying in Dublin, Ireland. The letter’s narrative arc, now mostly […]

6/19/2026

For the better part of a decade, the Texas growth playbook was remarkably simple. If you wanted scale, liquidity and appreciation, you went to the Texas Triangle: Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio and tried to be early to the next ring of rooftops. Those four metros captured the lion’s share of population and […]

6/19/2026

ICE is using Claude Mythos via Project Glasswing to find vulnerabilities faster, with a focus on accuracy, speed and fixes.

6/19/2026

ATTOM reports 64,348 Q1 2026 flips, 8% of sales, as typical gross returns rose to 25.4% and gross profit increased to $66,000.

6/19/2026

An expert expains why aging in place is shifting from preference to financial necessity — and what housing professionals need to know.

6/18/2026

Nearly two-thirds of retirement plans now automatically enroll new participants at contribution rates of at least 4%.

6/18/2026

For weeks, a central question surrounding Dream Finders Homes‘ pursuit of Beazer Homes has been unambiguous: Will Dream Finders’ offer for the company and its public relations campaign be enough to convince Beazer shareholders that a sale should occur? A just-completed debt refinancing by Beazer Homes likely raises the cost of any acquisition of Beazer. […]

6/18/2026

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s new framework for the U.S. central bank carries significant implications for the mortgage industry and broader housing market.

6/18/2026

HUD proposed a rule to allow chassis free upper floors in manufactured homes, a change developers say can cut $5,000 to $10,000 per home.

6/18/2026

Insights from one million calls show intent based targeting, better context, and local numbers can improve appointment conversion.

6/18/2026

Tamir Poleg says listing fragmentation could limit access to accurate data, and cites agent survey showing 95% see low demand.

6/18/2026

For agents and brokers, the acquisition reflects a broader shift toward integrated platforms rather than standalone brokerage models.

6/18/2026

Zillow sued Compass and MRED, then pushed a $1.4 billion study and an 85% survey stat as Compass countered in public posts.

6/18/2026

Summit Sotheby's counts the No. 1, No. 7, No. 8 and No. 11 ranked Utah agents among its ranks — along with three more in the top 20.

6/18/2026

MBA's Builder Application Survey reported new home purchase apps down 3% from April and up 3.8% year over year.

6/18/2026

A broad coalition of banking and housing finance trade groups is urging federal regulators to scale back parts of the proposed Basel III capital rules, arguing that overlapping requirements and elevated risk weights could unnecessarily restrict lending and economic growth.

6/18/2026

Ralo, an AI-native mortgage broker founded by two former Google employees, has raised a $2.9 million seed round to expand its automated home loan platform.

6/18/2026

The acquisition combines CertifID’s fraud prevention infrastructure with CloseSimple’s communication and automation capabilities.

6/18/2026

Compass said it plans to continue expanding its presence in northern Arizona and is exploring a permanent office in the region.

6/18/2026

Somewhere right now, someone who needs exactly what you do is typing your name into a search bar. They're reading your LinkedIn profile. They're scanning what you've posted, what others have said, what shows up, and what doesn't. They're forming an opinion. And by the time you actually speak to them, that opinion is mostly complete.

6/18/2026

JTW Advisors executives discuss the trends reshaping homebuilder M&A, from foreign investment and asset-light strategies to consolidation and scale-driven growth.

6/17/2026

Kevin Warsh called policy uneven for housing, ended dot plot guidance and launched a Fed task force as the 10-year yield sits near 4.50%.