Equity Union expands into Nevada with first market outside California

Equity Union Real Estate has expanded into Nevada, marking the independent brokerage’s first market outside California as it continues its national growth strategy. The company recently was named the fastest-growing brokerage, by five year transaction side percentage, in the country on the 2026 Real

High prices, hesitant demand weigh on June new home sales

New home sales posted a modest increase in June but were down from a year earlier, while prices also fell year over year, further suggesting that the 2026 spring selling season fell short of expectations.  According to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data, single-family new home sales ticked up 1.

Why homebuilders aren’t building more homes

Today, the new home sales data perfectly explains why housing permits are near cycle lows and why we can’t get any traction on building more homes in America, as we have been basically stuck in one sales range for 10 years. If I take away the surge in new home sales early in COVID and the lows in 20

Miami Realtors + RWorld expands into Treasure Coast with new merger

Miami Realtors + RWorld has completed its second merger in just over two months, joining with Martin County Realtors of the Treasure Coast to create a single association and multiple listing (MLS) service spanning five counties in southeast Florida. The merger expands the organization to approximate

Mortgage defaults level off in June, FHA new defaults down 15%

New mortgage default activity remained stable in June, with new defaults among Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers falling 15% from a year earlier, marking the largest annual decline in more than four years. That’s according to Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) latest First Look Mortgage

The silence after the breach is the part you control

A ransomware group posts a lender’s name on a dark web leak site. Terabytes of loan files,  Social Security numbers, bank account details, employee records. The clock the public sees starts there. The clock that matters started weeks or months earlier, the day the intrusion was detected. And in the

Non-agency is not subprime. The mortgage industry needs to start acting like it.

In the mortgage industry, no word carries more stigma than subprime. For anyone who lived through 2008, it brings up memories of falling home values, rising foreclosures and a financial system that nearly came apart at the seams. Pinning that same reputation on non-QM lending is a mistake the indust

Execution is the edge mortgage banks can control

When rates surged and the mortgage market shifted almost overnight, lenders were forced into difficult decisions. Growth plans changed. Costs were reassessed. Teams had to adapt quickly to a different operating reality. At Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, that moment reinforced a simple truth: While mar

House subcommittee probes Compass MRED private listing network deal

A House Judiciary subcommittee is pressing Compass International Holdings and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) to explain their nationwide private listing network partnership, citing concerns that the arrangement could limit transparency, reduce competition and harm homebuyers and sellers. The House

Pulte banks on build-to-order pivot as margins find a floor

The market-driven forces for greater homebuilder margins, sales pace and efficiency in 2026 take a variety of shapes, sizes, risks and opportunistic tactics. For PulteGroup, a key margin-enhancing strategy is leveraging improved build-cycles and a balanced sales pace to swell its mix of build-to-ord

House passes bill to ease banking regulations

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation that would make a series of changes to federal banking regulations, including easing certain capital, supervisory and merger requirements for community banks and other smaller financial institutions. The bill is sponsored by House Commi

NAR Q2 strategic plan update targets MLS rules, lawsuits, training

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its second-quarter update on the 2026-2028 strategic plan on Wednesday outlining progress on lobbying, legal strategy, MLS guidance, technology and education designed to protect member businesses and reinforce the value of membership. NAR CEO Nykia

Michigan’s Whitmer steps up, signs single-stair reform into law

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took a big step toward clearing the path for developers to build smaller apartment buildings more affordably. Whitmer signed Michigan’s single-stair legislation into law this week, a green light for developers to build multifamily housing up to six stories more economically, wi

Housing Market Spotlight: Lower-priced metros show greater resilience as demand softens

Transaction activity slowed across much of the housing market as mortgage rates remained elevated, but metros where homes remain within reach of buyers continued outperforming higher-priced markets. Mortgage rates remained above 6.64% for most of the week, creating another headwind for housing deman

Nick Janovsky joins SERHANT. as Tampa luxury sales director

SERHANT. appointed Nick Janovsky director of luxury sales for Tampa, St. Petersburg and the Gulf Beaches, the company announced on Wednesday. Based in St. Petersburg, Janovsky brings more than $250 million in career sales volume across 340-plus transactions, according to the announcement. He was a t

The architecture of trust in the age of AI

By the time my morning stroll took me past a window of USD-priced for-sale notices for flats in the fashionable Palermo district of Buenos Aires, I was no longer surprised. This is what a deficit of trust looks like. But what gives? You’re reading HousingWire and not a travel blog. Home listings in

For better building codes, a more deliberate course is overdue

Building codes are ripe for change as policy analysts and the housing reform movement at large move beyond land use and zoning alone. After working through several hundred hours of building code reviews in Minnesota over the past decade, reforms are needed, even with our robust local adoption proces

Will Trump’s new Canadian tariffs add cost risk for builders?

On Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, raising questions about the potential impacts on homebuilders and residential construction costs.  The tariffs, which would take effect in 30 days if the United States and Canada can’t negotiate an agreement,

D.R. Horton bets operating rigor will outperform uncertain demand

Few homebuilding enterprises look so voraciously at other homebuilding operators’ share of new-home sales in any given arena as present and future opportunity as does D.R. Horton. When those Horton flags flap in the dry summer wind, you can almost hear them as lips smacking in anticipation of a good

The JMG acquisition gives teams leverage, but not equal valuations

When Keller Williams announced its acquisition of the Jason Mitchell Group (JMG) earlier this month, Steve Murray, the co-founder of RealTrends Consulting, felt it was an historical moment for real estate companies with models similar to JMG, such as Mark Spain Real Estate, PLACE or Robert Slack Gro