Mat Ishbia: GSEs acting ‘private’ in conservatorship could be best of both worlds

Mat Ishbia, the president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), said last week he doesn’t think that releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship is a major focus for the Trump administration — and he isn’t sure “whether it should be.” One thing he is confident about: If ending th

Top Florida real estate team joins Compass

The Tinka Ellington Group — a prominent real estate team specializing in coastal and waterfront properties in South Florida — has joined Compass.Led by Ellington, the group has closed more than $254 million in sales and brings 25-plus years of combined real estate experience. The seven-member team s

The proprietary reverse mortgage landscape is getting crowded

The broader mortgage industry and the reverse mortgage subset have worked through a period of elevated interest rates for longer than anyone may have been expecting. Following a post-pandemic boom in volume fueled by Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) refinances, higher rates have served to rest

How important is public transit for aging in place?

As the preference to age in place continues to dominate among those planning out their later lives, people actually living with the preference may find they need to make adjustments to certain parts of their routines to accommodate costs, access services and maintain social relationships.One key too

This NYC mayoral candidate wants to make property taxes a core election issue

The mayoral campaign in New York City is in full swing, and candidates are aiming to inject their campaigns with hot-button topics that could resonate with voters in a closely watched election. To that end, an independent candidate is training his eye on the issue of property taxes, a sensitive one

Ginger Wilcox’s leadership formula at BHGRE: trust, adaptability, growth

Before she ever stepped into the role of president at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Ginger Wilcox had lived nearly every side of the real estate business. She previously worked as an agent, learning the intense demands of serving clients through one of life’s biggest financial decisions. She

Developer sues Denver over requirement to pay into affordable housing fund

As many local governments continue to face challenges in bolstering their housing stock, one developer is taking action against Denver over a requirement to pay into the city’s dedicated affordable housing fund.The company, redT Homes, states that it’s the Denver area’s “only residential real estate

Americans tapped $25B in home equity in Q1. That hasn’t happened since 2008

U.S. homeowners tapped nearly $25 billion in home equity through second-lien mortgages during the first quarter of 2025 — the largest volume for this period in 17 years, according to the ICE Mortgage Technology‘s newest Mortgage Monitor report. That marks a 22% increase compared to the same quarter

Top Connecticut team returns to Coldwell Banker Realty

Coldwell Banker Realty is welcoming another top-producing team. The Anywhere–owned brokerage announced Monday that the Fowler Sakey Team is making the move from William Raveis to Coldwell Banker.The Connecticut-based team will be joining the Fairfield Coldwell Banker Realty office. “We are thrilled

Mortgage rates unfazed by crazy economic headlines

In one of the most chaotic weeks for economic headlines of the year, mortgage rates remained relatively stable, which is a stark contrast to the madness caused by the Godzilla tariffs a few weeks ago. Can this stability last? Despite elevated rates, having fewer wild fluctuations on a day-to-day bas

The HELPER Act promises to open up housing opportunities and give the real estate business a much-needed lift 

A firefighter and his pregnant wife were unable to buy a two-bedroom home in the neighborhood where they grew up; two teachers had dashed dreams of owning their bungalow near the school where they work. These are just two examples of the heartbreaking scenarios you hear about in the real estate busi

Updated list of Bill Pulte’s actions that impact FHFA, GSEs

Below is a timeline of the actions or reports related to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte that have impacted the regulator or the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since Pulte was announced as President Donald Trump’s nominee for the role in

MISMO reverse mortgage workgroup chair on ‘building a bridge to the mainland’

The dedicated reverse mortgage development workgroup inside the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) has been working diligently for much of the past year to develop holistic support for reverse programs across new and existing MISMO subscribers. It’s also working to publish

NAHB: Remodeling for aging in place fell in Q1 but receptivity remains high

Roughly 56% of professional home remodelers in the U.S. reported taking on projects to facilitate a customer’s aging-in-place goals, according to findings from the National Association of Home Builders‘ (NAHB) Q1 2025 Remodeling Market Index (RMI).The survey first added questions related to aging in

Tech Pulse: Fannie Mae targets fraud, DirectOffer launches AI assistant

Welcome to Tech Pulse — a new weekly series rounding up the latest in technology, including tools, integrations and trends impacting mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week:Fannie Mae partners with Palantir to detect, prevent mortgage fraudFannie Mae has teamed up with Palantir Tech

Study suggests banks are avoiding mortgages in California wildfire zones

Following the wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles area at the start of the year, a new study has emerged that suggests banks with physical locations are less likely to extend mortgages to impacted residents, while online lenders are continuing to be active.First reported by the The Washington

Inflation is almost at 2%. Will that prompt a Fed rate cut?

The good news is the preferred measure of inflation for the Federal Reserve keeps trending downward. The bad news is that the economic backdrop that could lead to lower rates keeps getting more complicated.According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Personal Consumptio

New platform aims to ease California down payment burden

Zown, a real estate platform that offers upfront financial help to homebuyers, is expanding into California with a goal to ease the burden of down payments and elevated home prices.The service has launched in the Golden State after gaining traction in Canada, where it supported more than 250 homebuy

Sun Belt holds long-term housing edge even as pandemic boomtowns struggle

The U.S. housing market is telling two very different stories as pandemic-era boomtowns are cooling rapidly while the Sun Belt’s long-term growth outlook remains strong, according to John Burns Research & Consulting.A surge in available homes is reshaping the market in regions that saw the fastest g

How Bill Pulte has reshaped FHFA and the GSEs

A key decision maker in the federal housing apparatus, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) oversees the regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and the Federal Home Loan Banks.But Bill Pulte has been anything but a conventional FHFA director (pardon the term, s