A common-sense approach to housing affordability

Our elected leaders have a unique opportunity to strengthen small businesses, sustain critical industries, combat inflation in the housing market and make homeownership more accessible for millions of Americans. Today’s housing market remains trapped in a cycle of limited supply and elevated costs.

Independent single-family rental owners insulated from broader market trends

TurboTenant’s State of the Rental Industry Report for 2026 highlights a split in the rental property market and an interesting nuance: independent landlords and why many single-family rental owners are largely insulated from broader market trends. The split could be as simple as recognizing the diff

Ginnie Mae’s Joseph Gormley sounds the alarm on ‘risk-layered’ FHA portfolios

Ginnie Mae President Joseph Gormley, who is also serving as acting commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), said the counterparties participating in Ginnie Mae’s program have evolved significantly since the Great Financial Crisis, with greater exposure to independent mortgage banks

FHA turns attention to the ‘flipping rule’ and AVMs

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would like to review its anti-flipping rule and reforms to automated valuation models (AVMs), according to Matt Jones, deputy assistant secretary for the FHA’s Office of Single-Family Housing. “We think our AVM, our valuation technology, has improved signific

Google brings real estate listings back to mobile search

After disappearing for a time after the launch of the initial test last December, real estate listings are back in mobile Google search results in some markets.  Just like the initial test, listings appear under sponsored search results, and they include a full property detail page, links to request

Social Security COLA forecast for 2027 jumps to 3.9% in response to rising inflation

The forecast for the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits has risen sharply to 3.9%, driven by persistent inflation in housing, utilities and energy, according to new data released by The Senior Citizens League. The projection — up from a steady 2.8% estimate just one m

Zillow seeks injunction as MRED threatens data feed cutoff

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is threatening to suspend its listing data feeds to Zillow Group websites, including Zillow.com and Trulia.com, unless Zillow cures what the MLS says is a material breach of its license agreements by late Tuesday. In an announcement on Monday, the Illinois-based MLS s

The battle for listings: How brokerages are reclaiming their data

Prior to widespread internet usage, when consumers could only find out about homes for sale through yard signs or accessing an MLS listing book by working with a broker, agents viewed listings as a marketing asset. However, this view evolved as the internet made it easier for consumers to access inf

ONE Sotheby’s International Realty expands into New Jersey

Mayi de la Vega and Daniel de la Vega, the leaders behind luxury brokerage ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, have announced the company’s expansion into New Jersey through the acquisition of the 80-year-old Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty. The move connects two longtime family-le

Builder confidence remains subdued; suppliers eye price hikes

Homebuilders maintained a subdued outlook in May, pressured by higher mortgage rates, rising inflation and affordability constraints. Ongoing conflict in Iran raises the risk of increased building material prices, further complicating an already uncertain environment. However, according to the Natio

The gap between your executive and ops teams will impact your tech stack

As many in the title industry already understand, the conversation around technology selection has become fairly sophisticated. Agents and owners are asking sharper questions before signing contracts, doing more due diligence on vendors and thinking more carefully about implementation timelines and

Mortgage rates are at yearly highs, but housing demand is still positive

Mortgage rates and the 10-year yield both hit yearly highs after the Friday massacre in the bond market, as we didn’t get any positive news on ending the conflict in Iran. Even with all that, our weekly pending home sales data is still positive year over year, for now. The weekly mortgage purchase a

Momentum MLS adds Rayse as member benefit

Momentum MLS and Rayse announced a new partnership aimed at improving transparency, communication and client engagement throughout the real estate transaction process. The collaboration will provide Momentum MLS subscribers with access to Rayse as a member benefit, giving agents tools to guide buyer

How loan officers are saving deals as mortgage rates cross 6.6%

Loan officers are shifting their playbooks to keep deals alive as mortgage rates climb north of 6.6%. Originators are encouraging borrowers to ask for more seller credits, recalibrate their home search criteria and rush to close deals as quickly as possible. Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages reached

Arbor Homes’ low-$200s Arrival Series battles the affordability gap

Arbor Homes, a subsidiary of Clayton, is leaning into its Arrival Series to offer entry-level buyers a home in the low $200s, addressing the growing U.S. affordability gap.  The Indianapolis-based homebuilder recently introduced the Arrival Series to the Louisville market, with detached homes availa

MIAMI and RWorld merger targets unified MLS data and tools

MLS consolidation is something numerous industry executives advocate for but few have managed to successfully pull off given all of the logistical challenges of combining two distinct platforms into one. However, MIAMI Association of Realtors (MIAMI) and Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors (R

2026 HousingWire Homebuilder rankings expand the scoreboard

Up to now, homebuilding rankings have mostly answered two questions: who is bigger? And who is the biggest? They remain important questions. Scale matters in U.S. homebuilding. It affects land access, purchasing leverage, trade depth, capital relationships, brand reach, technology investment and res

Supreme Lending’s John Luddy on the ‘3 deadly sins’ of reverse mortgages

When it comes to the process of selling a reverse mortgage, John Luddy exemplifies the clichéd phrase, “been there, done that.” After 40 years in the mortgage industry, including more than 20 in the reverse channel, there’s not much that surprises the Connecticut-based senior vice president of Supre

KBW says UWM is well positioned despite market pressures

Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) said UWM Holdings Corp., the publicly traded parent company of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), is positioned for continued growth despite elevated interest rates. It points to expanded broker market share, in-house technology investments and a push to bring

HUD audit warns that some HECM LESA accounts may run dry

An audit from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that more than 1,200 reverse mortgage borrowers could exhaust funds set aside to pay property taxes and insurance years earlier than expected, potentially exposing HUD to hundreds of mi