Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California launches crypto division

Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California has launched a cryptocurrency real estate division. The new division debuts with more than $1 billion in luxury listings accepting digital currency, including what the company says is the most expensive home ever offered for cryptocurrency. “T

San Francisco Realtors add virtual staging tools

The San Francisco Association of Realtors (SFAR) has partnered with Collov AI to provide its more than 4,000 members access to artificial intelligence-powered virtual staging tools. Beginning this week, the tools will be available directly through SFAR’s multiple listing service platform. The techno

August Demo Day: Tavant Title Analysis – Touchless Lending

Title Analysis – Touchless Lending Tavant’s AI-powered Title Analysis solution identifies title risks, extracts relevant data, andprovides lender-ready recommendations—streamlining the closing process and reducingrepurchase risk. Product Fast Facts #1 AI reads and interprets complex title docs using

August Demo Day: Blend’s DocAI

Blend’s DocAI Blend’s DocAI revolutionizes mortgage and home equity closings by automating document processing, dramatically shortening time to close and boosting customer satisfaction. Product Fast Facts #1 Instantly verify uploaded document type and check for data mismatches, shortening time to cl

August Demo Day: Vesta LOS

Vesta LOS Vesta is the next-generation mortgage LOS that reduces lenders’ operational cost by “inverting control,” guiding users through the loan. With data-driven tasks, validations, and native automations, Vesta eliminates manual work — enabling faster closing times, higher loan quality, and great

August Demo Day: Sapiens Decision AI Decisioning Platform (“Decision”)

Sapiens Decision AI Decisioning Platform (“Decision”) Sapiens Decision is an intuitive modern AI decisioning SaaS solution designed for automating complex decisions. Our visual modeling workbench is based on a proven methodology that covers decision modeling, testing, and governance. Auto-generation

August Demo Day: Blue Sage AI Sales Agent

Blue Sage AI Sales Agent The Blue Sage AI Sales Agent is a voice- and text-enabled assistant that streamlines loan officer workflows. Fully integrated into our Digital Lending Platform, it uses natural language to create contacts, retrieve loan details, run borrower scenarios, and send emails—boosti

August Demo Day: AutomatIQ Borrower Income Analysis by Cotality

AutomatIQ Borrower Income Analysis Multiple income sources? Calculate self-employed income? That’s easy. With a streamlined interface and productivity gains of up to 100%, AutomatIQ Borrower Income Analysis’ all-in-one solution helps quickly qualify borrowers and reduces the risk of loan repurchases

August Demo Day: Developer Platform by Dark Matter

Developer Platform The Developer Platform offers access to a fully open API ecosystem. By providing external developers with self-service access to documentation, code samples, and integration guides, the portal eliminates barriers to innovation—empowering clients and partners to build on Empower wi

FHFA doubles GSE funding allowance for low-income housing tax credits

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be allowed to double their annual investments in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties from $2 billion to $4 billion, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday.  The move, which is intended to advance the affordable housing missions of the

Abandoned mortgage apps are on the upswing. Homebuyer confusion could be the culprit

Mortgage applications don’t always fail with a formal rejection — many simply stall. A report released last month by Cotality found that homebuyer hesitation often predicts loan fallout, even without an official withdrawal. As a result, the property analytics firm found that 16% of buyers “ghosted”

California affordable housing programs face new legal challenge

Hundreds of affordable housing programs across California may be in legal jeopardy after a new federal lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of one of the state’s most widely used housing tools. The suit — filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco and first reported by CalMatters — targets

UBS will pay $300M to settle Credit Suisse case

UBS Group said on Monday that it will pay $300 million to settle lingering obligations tied to a Credit Suisse deal with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the sales of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). UBS inherited the obligations when it acquired Credit Suisse in a 2023 rescue

Rocket revamps real estate arm, moves home search to Redfin

Rocket Companies has begun to reshape Rocket Homes, its real estate subsidiary, following the closing of its acquisition of Redfin. The changes include sunsetting Rocket Homes’ search portal, consolidating agent networks and executing layoffs. Users who visit the Rocket Homes website are now met wit

Douglas Elliman doesn’t want private listings to be the norm

While some brokerages are leaning into the use of private listing networks, luxury firm Douglas Elliman said it does not want private listing networks to become the norm. “At Douglas Elliman, we have a long- standing commitment to offering clients greater choice and flexibility while continuing to p

LPT Realty, Aperture Global book their spot on the Nasdaq ticker

Cloud-based brokerage LPT Realty and its luxury spinoff Aperture Global Real Estate on Monday announced their reservation of a combined Nasdaq stock ticker as they prepare for an initial public offering. “One step closer to our IPO,” Michael Valdes, the CEO of LPT International, wrote in an Instagra

Mortgage rates hit lowest levels of 2025

Following the surprising jobs report released on Friday, the 10-year yield dipped slightly on Monday. As a result, mortgage rates have reached a new low for 2025, with Mortgage Daily News reporting a rate of 6.57%. Remarkably, we haven’t seen a single Fed rate cut this year! The bond market influenc

Baird & Warner launches image services division amid VHT Studios closure

Baird & Warner Real Estate has launched an internal Image Services division to provide real estate marketing visuals in response to the abrupt closure of VHT Studios. The new unit will be led by Shannon Lange — former area sales and account manager for VHT Studios and Matterport — and a licensed rea

How to write a lead-winning real estate agent bio in 7 steps (+ examples)

As a real estate agent, it’s easy to assume your listings speak for themselves, but buyers and sellers still want to know who they’re working with. A well-written agent bio helps you build credibility, make a lasting impression on prospective clients and turns curious browsers into serious leads. Yo

HECM endorsements rise to highest level since February

The reverse mortgage market appeared to recover in July after dipping in June, according to Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsement data compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI) that was released late last week. HECM endorsements rose 5.6% in July to 2,369 loans, the highest level recorde