Seattle’s housing shortage exposes a familiar gulf between state, local leaders

Large metro areas across the U.S. are seemingly facing the same obstacle — a shortage of housing inventory that is clashing with rising population levels, which serves to push the cost of living beyond reasonable levels of affordability for many. One area that’s representative of this dynamic is Sea

Brookfield takes controlling stake in Angel Oak

Canadian investment powerhouse Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has agreed to buy a majority stake in Angel Oak Companies, the holding company for a non-QM lender and investor that manages more than $18 billion in mortgage assets.Brookfield will take a 50.1% stake in Angel Oak, offering its own inve

Gibson plaintiffs claim to have proof that Weichert, eXp conducted reverse auctions

The Gibson plaintiffs have been barred from intervening in the Hooper commission lawsuit. But that hasn’t stopped them from further attempts to dissuade Judge Mark H. Cohen from approving the settlements reached by eXp World Holdings and Weichert Realtors. In a filing on Monday, the Gibson plaintiff

HUD cuts 90% of its website content, citing low traffic and poor user experience

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week unveiled a new website, explaining that as much as 90% of the material from the former site has been cut to eliminate redundancies and “streamline” the user experience.“Providing the best and highest quality service to rural, triba

Former executive sues Appraisal Institute, alleging wrongful termination

A former executive with the Appraisal Institute (AI) is suing the trade group, alleging that she was fired after she uncovered and reported that it knowingly reported incorrect exam grades for appraisers seeking a license.Alissa Akins, who served as AI’s director of education and publications, claim

Frost-Lindner joins Christie’s International Real Estate in Utah

The Frost-Lindner Team, one of northern Utah’s leading luxury real estate groups, has joined Christie’s International Real Estate in Park City, Utah, the company announced.Led by Jamison Frost and Valen Lindner, the team has closed more than $1 billion in career sales and is known for representing s

RentSpree, Docusign announce tech partnership for rental transactions

RentSpree, a rental software provider, has partnered with Docusign to simplify and expedite rental transactions for real estate professionals, the companies announced Monday.The integration will allow agents and brokers to access RentSpree’s rental tools — such as tenant screening, rental applicatio

Florida’s housing affordability crisis is reaching a breaking point

Florida’s long-standing reputation as America’s affordable sunshine paradise is rapidly dimming under the weight of skyrocketing housing costs, unsustainable insurance premiums and crumbling infrastructure, according to a new report from real estate analytics firm Cotality.The study reveals a state

Reverse mortgage software pioneer Jerry Wagner has died

Late last week in an email update to its members, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) announced that reverse mortgage software pioneer Jerry Wagner, founder of Ibis Software, died in February.Prior to embarking on his forays into the reverse mortgage industry, Wagner served as

Gibson plaintiffs denied motion to intervene in eXp, Weichert commission settlements

Plaintiffs in a high-profile commission lawsuit have been denied a motion to intervene in eXp World Holdings’ and Weichert Realtors’ settlement in a separate case.Plaintiffs in the combined Gibson/Umpa suit argued that the settlement agreed to by the brokerages in the Hooper suit is a “sweetheart de

Democratic lawmakers introduce bill to boost housing vouchers for growing cities

A coalition of bicameral Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives have introduced a new bill on Monday that seeks to update the formula for determining the allocation of affordable housing vouchers to growing cities.Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a member of the Senate Banking

California housing advocates seek exemption from landmark environmental law

As much of the nation continues to reckon with critical shortages to housing inventory that exacerbate affordability woes, housing advocates in California are seeking to exempt homebuilding projects in urban areas from being subjected to a key climate law that critics say has slowed construction.Las

Rocket’s ‘Apple of homeownership’ flywheel is getting more complex

Rocket Companies’ industry-shaking plan to acquire Mr. Cooper in a $9.4 billion deal comes just weeks after the Detroit-based lender announced its acquisition of real estate brokerage Redfin for $1.75 billion.Rocket CEO Varun Krishna and Mr. Cooper CEO Jay Bray — who is slated to report to Krishna a

Home price signals continue to weaken for 2025

There are three big trends in the spring 2025 housing market:Supply continues to build. This is measurable in both the total unsold inventory and the number of new listings each week. Because each week we have 8–15% more sellers than last year, the total inventory will continue to build unless and u

Treasury Department plans to cut thousands of employees

Elon Musk and his team in the White House reportedly plan to lay off a substantial portion of employees in the U.S. Department of Treasury as part of their ongoing effort to reduce the federal workforce.In a court filing Tuesday surfaced by Bloomberg Law, the Treasury’s Deputy Assistant Secretary Tr

New home sales report shows completed units could be a problem

Today’s report on new home sales reveals a slight shortfall in sales estimates. However, it also emphasizes a more critical issue: the currently elevated supply of new homes. This surplus has significantly contributed to the stagnation of housing permits for some time. By addressing and reducing the

Fitch Ratings assesses home equity investments amid wider scrutiny

As the scrutiny of home equity investment (HEI) products has accelerated, credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings this week released a report explaining its approach to such products, reiterating that it does not rate them.While some other ratings agencies have opted to provide assessments for such prod

Pulte terminates SPCPs, issues recision of UDAP bulletin in slew of orders

In a series of posts to his account on social media platform X, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte published housing orders that terminate special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) and rescinds a 2024 advisory bulletin detailing the agency’s enforcement against unfair or decepti

Understanding NAR’s new ‘delayed marketing’ policy for listings

The National Association of Realtors‘ Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which requires agents to put a listing on the MLS within one business day, will remain in place, NAR announced Tuesday. But the trade group is also offering an additional option to home sellers — a delayed marketing exemption peri

Gene Hackman’s death highlights the need for longevity planning, MIT researcher says

The current concept of retirement planning in the U.S. is “dangerously incomplete,” and the recent high-profile deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa illustrate why longevity planning needs a more central role in the conversation.Joseph Coughlin, the director of the Massachusetts I