A poor man’s 1031 exchange

A lot of real estate investors know the power of a traditional 1031 exchange. Sell one investment property, roll the proceeds into another, and defer the capital gains taxes. It is one of the most valuable tools in real estate investing. But what many smaller investors do not realize is that there i

Continued Iran conflict raises mortgage rate risk into late 2026

The conflict with Iran continues to be a threat to mortgage rates, and even today, 100 days into this conflict, Iran shot missiles at Israel and President Trump is trying to stop Israel from firing back, pushing oil prices up 3% late Sunday. This made me think: what if everyone is wrong on the timel

Housing demand stays positive with mortgage rates near 2026 highs

Despite rising mortgage rates, the conflict in the Middle East pushing oil prices higher and headlines that say AI is going to take all the jobs, housing demand remains positive year over year. It sounds strange, but for the most part, especially if we take the snowstorm data away from early in the

Boston’s international business boom equals more demand for housing

For Boston real estate agents scanning for the next wave of demand, the most important market signal may not come through mortgage rates or listings — but from where multinational corporations decide to plant their flag. Boston has been named the top U.S. city for foreign multinational business acti

Trump says Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac IPO still on the table

President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is still considering a public offering of shares in mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite naming the government’s top housing regulator to temporarily lead the nation’s intelligence agencies. Bloomberg reported that whi

Akron looks to deflate minimum lot size rules to spur infill

Leaders in Akron, a heartland city nearly 40 miles south of Cleveland, hope to shed the city’s “Rust Belt” label and drive its emerging revival by making it easier to build new homes. To achieve the objective, planners believe they’re on the verge of eliminating minimum lot sizes to counteract a shr

Mortgage Forward to acquire First Federal Bank’s TPO division

Mortgage Forward announced Friday that it has agreed to acquire the third-party origination (TPO) division of First Federal Bank, including QRL Financial, in a deal the companies say will expand Mortgage Forward’s national mortgage lending platform and broaden its product offerings. The companies co

Nest Egg Protection Act would raise capital gains tax exclusion for senior home sellers

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) has introduced federal legislation that would temporarily raise the capital gains tax exclusion to $1 million for senior homeowners who sell their longtime primary residences. The move aims to ease tax burdens on older Americans and free up inventory for younger home

Drees Homes bets on operational leadership for next century

[Image (left to right): Scott Drees, Midwest Regional President, Barbara Drees Jones, VP Marketing, David Drees, Chairman, Alexa Drees Walker, Director of Midwest Design Centers. Drawing: Maggie Goldstone] The resonant image of a German immigrant’s handiwork – a brick Cape Cod house built on a shoes

Synergy One to merge with APM; Steve Majerus named president

American Pacific Mortgage (APM) has closed a merger deal to bring Synergy One Lending under its umbrella as a DBA, creating a mortgage production platform with roughly $14 billion in annual volume, the companies announced Friday. The combination of the two California-based lenders aims to scale thei

HUD seeks feedback on FHA minimum property requirements

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is seeking public feedback on whether the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s property requirements for single-family homes should be updated to better reflect current market conditions and reduce barriers to homeownership. In a request f

Former DC housing official pleads guilty to mortgage fraud

A former employee of the District of Columbia Housing Authority who later became a real estate developer has pleaded guilty to federal charges — stemming from a yearslong scheme to secure millions of dollars in financing from private mortgage lenders. The announcement was made by the office of Jeani

Zillow’s MRED feed remains safe, but Realtracs showdown nears June 8 deadline

A federal judge in Chicago has extended Zillow’s temporary restraining order against Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) in the listing portal giant’s antitrust lawsuit against the Chicagoland MLS and Compass International Holdings.  On Thursday morning, Zillow filed a motion to extend its temporary res

Berkshire Taylor Morrison deal puts vertical integration in focus

Berkshire Hathaway’s planned acquisition of Taylor Morrison has opened the door for us to explore a set of uber-themed questions: about homebuilders’ present and future valuations, leadership and scale, and to the question that public homebuilder boards may now be asking: whether to build toward gre

Ten years after: Schaefer Homes revs up its engines for growth

After spending much of its first decade laying the groundwork for growth, Maryland-based Schaefer Homes emerged as the eighth-fastest-growing homebuilder by residential sales volume in HousingWire’s inaugural HousingWire Homebuilder Rankings.  Jim Schaefer, CEO of Schaefer Homes, founded the company

NALHFA: HUD cuts would worsen housing affordability challenges

Affordable housing advocates are warning that proposed reductions to several key U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs could make it harder for communities to address persistent affordability challenges and expand housing supply. The National Association of Local Housing Fi

Secondary mortgage market waits for data, creates workarounds amid shift to alternative credit scores

Mortgage lenders are rolling out new credit scoring models, but in the secondary market, investors and credit rating agencies are awaiting additional performance data while developing workarounds to keep loans moving through the system. Susan Hosterman, senior director for North America RMBS and cov

Achieve expands fixed-rate HELOC with $700,000 cap

Achieve has expanded its fixed-rate home equity line of credit (HELOC) program, raising the maximum loan amount to $700,000 and lowering its lowest available annual percentage rate to 5.5% for qualified borrowers, the digital personal finance company said Wednesday. The changes, which took effect Ju

HECM broker rankings hold steady in March as Atlantic Avenue stays at No. 1

The country’s largest reverse mortgage brokerages based on February activity continued to set the pace in March across the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) space, according to endorsement data released Thursday by Reverse Market Insight (RMI) and published by HECMWorld.com. The top five broker

Newfi integrates Prudent AI for non-QM income analysis

Newfi Lending has integrated Prudent AI’s income analysis engine into its broker portal, giving brokers near real-time calculations for non-QM loans and cutting bank-statement turn times from roughly 72 hours to as little as three, the companies announced Wednesday. The new IncomeIQ portal, built on