Century 21 expands yet again — this time in Northern California

Century 21 Real Estate has announced a new affiliation with Kobetz Realty Inc., a full-service brokerage based in Ukiah, California.The move expands Century 21‘s presence in Mendocino County and the surrounding region.Founded in 2020 by broker/owner Benjamin Kobetz, the firm will now operate as Cent

Federal Reserve watchdog investigates efforts to dismantle CFPB

As Trump administration officials press ahead with their efforts to dismantle and defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Reserve Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is reportedly opening an investigation into moves to fire the vast majority of CFPB and attempted cancel

EliseAI to integrate conversational AI into Zillow Rentals listings

EliseAI is finalizing a partnership with Zillow Rentals to embed its conversational artificial intelligence (AI) technology directly into multifamily rental listings on the Zillow platform.The integration is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2025.Branded as AI Assist, Powered by EliseAI, th

Partner Real Estate soars to new heights among mega teams

Partner Real Estate is on the rise — and making its presence felt. The Los Angeles-based independent brokerage achieved its best-ever placement in the 2025 RealTrends rankings, coming in at No. 13 among mega teams by closed sales volume.For Rudy Kusuma, CEO of the team, the distinction represents mo

Nevada senator accelerates criticism of Republican federal lands proposal

As Republican lawmakers continue to press ahead with a proposal to sell wide swaths of federal land, one official in a state that would be impacted is ramping up her opposition to plans from both the Trump administration and her congressional colleagues.Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Neva

Lower to settle LO poaching dispute with Residential Wholesale Mortgage

Ohio-based digital mortgage lender Lower and Residential Wholesale Mortgage (RWM) have moved to settle a poaching lawsuit filed earlier this year in federal court in Texas.A two-page notice filed by Lower on May 16 offered few details about the settlement, but it signals the end of a brief legal bat

MLS PIN settlement gains preliminary approval … again

The settlement agreement between MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) and the Nosalek commission lawsuit plaintiffs has been granted preliminary approval for a second time.Judge Patti B. Saris of U.S. District Court in Boston granted preliminary approval to the fourth amended settlement agreem

Diane Tomb out, Chris Morton in as CEO of ALTA

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has appointed Chris Morton as its new CEO effective immediately, the organization announced Tuesday.Morton, who previously served as ALTA’s senior vice president of public affairs and chief advocacy officer, succeeds Diane Tomb, who filled the seat for the

The feud between Robert Reffkin, Zillow rages on

There are still three more weeks before Zillow’s new listing standards policy goes into effect, but Compass CEO Robert Reffkin is not wasting time pushing back against the policy.In a LinkedIn post on Monday, Reffkin claimed that Zillow no longer displays all MLS listings to prospective homebuyers. 

These suburbs saw the largest increases in renters during the pandemic

The wave of migration set off by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed home prices through the roof in towns that had previously been relatively sleepy. While data shows that some narratives at the time proved to be a bit overstated, there’s no question that it reshaped housing markets across the country.A r

CFPB enforcement head resigns, citing ‘no intention to enforce the law’

Cara Petersen, who has served as the principal deputy enforcement director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since late 2017, resigned this week with a letter that’s highly critical of the enforcement posture at the bureau under the new administration of President Donald Trump.Peter

Judge rejects bid to block NYC broker fee reform

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to block a landmark New York City law that will shift responsibility for paying broker fees from renters to landlords — clearing the way for the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act to take effect on Wednesday.U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Abrams den

How to navigate a successful brokerage acquisition

In the wake of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement, RealTrends Consulting co-founder Steve Murray predicted a new wave of industry consolidation. “Almost any time in history the U.S. federal government gets involved in this kind of litigation against

House Democrats call for more action on US housing crisis

As the economic situation for many Americans continues to evolve due in part to the cost of housing, one Democratic member of the House of Representatives used her time on the floor Tuesday to call for more action to address rising housing expenses.Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) on Tuesday introduced a

Former CFO sues Real Brokerage, alleges discrimination

The former chief financial officer of cloud-based real estate firm The Real Brokerage has filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was pushed out of the company after becoming pregnant and taking maternity leave.Michelle Ressler, who was relieved of her role as CFO in April, claims in the suit that Real

Rocket Pro announces partnership with Vetted VA

Rocket Pro is partnering with Vetted VA, which provides education to veterans and training to loan officers to give veterans better access to home loan benefits.The partnership, announced on Tuesday at The Gathering by HousingWire, will involve the training of Rocket staff and LOs by Vetted VA so th

‘No legitimate justification’: California broker sues NAR over ‘anticompetitive’ dues

A California real estate broker is suing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) over a policy that forces brokers to pay dues for agents who aren’t members of their state, local or national Realtor associations.John Diaz, who’s based in Modesto, claims that NAR’s Variable Dues Formula (VDF) poli

RARE, a Canadian brokerage featured on reality TV, enters the US market

Canadian-based RARE Real Estate has launched operations in South Florida, marking its official entry into the U.S. market.The move is part of a broader expansion strategy by the fast-growing brokerage, which gained recent attention through its feature on the Amazon reality series “Luxe Listings Toro

Reverse mortgage performance was largely steady in May

Despite a raft of what might seem like contradictory economic data points and a challenged housing market, the reverse mortgage industry largely proceeded as normal based on key performance metrics for May 2025.Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements dropped by 1% in May to 2,296 loans,

‘It was love at first sight!’ Inside Rocket’s pursuit of Redfin, Mr. Cooper

Glenn Kelman’s wife was starting to get worried. The Redfin founder and CEO’s behavior was unusual lately. He was staying up late into the night exchanging texts with someone.But there was no other woman. Kelman was group texting Varun Krishna, the CEO of Rocket Companies, and Jay Bray, the CEO of M