NAR appoints Leslie Nettleford-Freeman to lead legal affairs, brand protection

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has named Leslie Nettleford-Freeman as its new associate general counsel and vice president of legal affairs and brand protection. In her newly created role, she will focus on strengthening the organization’s trademark defense and intellectual property stra

Mortgage prognosticator Barry Habib joins Fannie Mae’s board

Barry Habib, the founder and CEO of MBS Highway and a go-to source for mortgage industry predictions, has been named to Fannie Mae‘s board of directors.A recent filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that Habib had been appointed to the board effective July 21. “The appointme

Century 21 grows its presence in Baltimore

Century 21 Real Estate has added a new affiliate in the Baltimore area. Advance Realty Bel Air is now operating as Century 21 Advance Realty.Founded in 2005 by Terry Berkeridge, the brokerage was acquired in 2020 by Patrick Campbell, who originally joined the company in 2009. Campbell, a longtime sa

MoxiWorks promotes Dave Greenbaum to chief customer officer

MoxiWorks has promoted Dave Greenbaum to chief customer officer, a newly established executive role that will oversee the companyh’s customer experience strategy.Greenbaum, who previously served as vice president of customer engagement, will report to CEO Eric Elfman.His expanded responsibilities in

Lamacchia Realty opens first Rhode Island office

Lamacchia Realty has opened its first Rhode Island office following the acquisition of Tirrell Realty, a longstanding brokerage based in Riverside, Rhode Island.The deal marks Lamacchia‘s 11th acquisition in New England over the past two years and expands its footprint in the Providence-area housing

New home sales show why residential construction is in a recession

In today’s report, new home sales fell short of sales estimates and experienced negative sales revisions, while inventory levels increased, which explains why residential construction is in a recession. However, today’s data doesn’t indicate a crash in new home sales. Instead, it highlights my conce

Baird & Warner, Goosehead Insurance enter franchise partnership

Texas-based Goosehead Insurance and Baird & Warner Real Estate have launched a new franchise partnership that will embed home insurance options directly into the real estate transaction process.The venture — named Adaptive Insurance Agency — offers homebuyers access to a broad selection of insurance

The top 10 reverse mortgage LOs in the country

On Wednesday, Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) brought you a ranking of the top five reverse mortgage loan originators in America. Today, we’ll round out the rest of the top 10 based on data from mortgage recruiting software provider Modex.#6: Jacob Flax, Caliver Beach Mortgage, $76.17 millionThe third

Home prices are higher than ever, but seller profits have slipped

U.S. homeowners earned a median profit of 50% on home sales in the second quarter of 2025, according to an ATTOM analysis released this week.That figure marked a slight uptick from the 48.9% figure in the first quarter, but it was down from 55.6% during the second quarter of last year.Median home sa

8 clever real estate copywriting tips top agents use (+ AI prompts)

I know, I know – you’re a real estate agent, not a copywriter, but hear me out. Just like people eat with their eyes first, the same goes for real estate. People will first be attracted to pictures, and then the real “taste” will be what they read from you. When people view a listing, they will see

Most home shoppers are seeking out a new city

More than half of home shoppers nationwide are looking for properties outside of their current metro areas — continuing a trend that has intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic even as signs of moderation have appeared in recent quarters.Realtor.com‘s report for the second quarter of 2025 shows that

Texas AG under scrutiny for potential mortgage fraud

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela — who own three homes in Texas — are facing similar accusations of mortgage fraud as the ones President Donald Trump levied against Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York AG Letitia James.According to records assessed by The Associated Pres

PennyMac, the top dog in correspondent, says its broker business is booming

PennyMac Financial Services Inc. (PFSI) on Tuesday reported net income of $136.5 million for Q2 2025 on revenue of $444.7 million, which executives attributed to big strides made in the broker channel and a servicing portfolio that has surpassed $700 billion UPB. During the earnings call, CEO and Ch

eXp team leader David Brooke on how to overcome industry myths

On this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast, host Tracey Velt sits down with David Brooke — founder of the Brooke Team at eXp Realty — for a candid conversation about the challenges and rewards of team leadership in today’s real estate landscape.From navigating team turnover and agent burnout

Final Offer joins LeadingRE preferred vendor program

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE) has added digital listing and offer negotiation platform Final Offer to its Solutions Group — a curated program of preferred business resources available to its global network of 550-plus real estate firms.Final Offer provides tools that allow l

Homebuilders are weathering the trade war — for now

The enormous scale of the trade war initiated by President Donald Trump has the potential to upend practically every aspect of the economy, and the most vulnerable space in the real estate industry is homebuilding.Trump has targeted a number of key trading partners for homebuilders — including Canad

Most Americans retire without a savings withdrawal plan

Almost two-thirds of Americans say they worry more about running out of money in retirement than about dying — and for many, that fear may become a reality.According to a survey from retirement technology firm IRALogix, about half of America’s retirees don’t take any systematic approach to withdrawi

Michigan title agents suspended over alleged mismanagement of escrow funds

Two Oakland County, Michigan, title insurance agents have had their licenses suspended following allegations of misappropriating millions in escrow funds.The agents are also accused of failing to cooperate with auditors and a state investigation — as well as contributing to at least one homeowner’s

Bipartisan legislation aims to expand ADU financing

A bipartisan bill introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to address the nation’s housing shortage by expanding financing options for accessory dwelling units (ADUs).Reps. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) unveiled H.R. 4568 — the Supporting Upgraded Prope

HomeStreet to sell $794M in Ginnie Mae MSRs

Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank has agreed to sell its $794 million Ginnie Mae loan servicing portfolio to an undisclosed “experienced” buyer, the company announced in a regulatory filing. The transaction is scheduled to close on August 1. “As HomeStreet carried this servicing portfolio at current mar