Shake it off! NAR looks to dismiss Taylor Swift copyright claim

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is hoping to shake off a copyright lawsuit involving photos of an estate belonging to Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift’s fiancé. The trade association filed a motion to dismiss the copyright lawsuit on Friday.  Originally filed in U.S. District Court in Missouri

Meet MVRK Real Estate, the latest brokerage launched by a mortgage executive

Florida’s real estate brokerage scene has a new face. Earlier this month, John Motowidlak, the founder and CEO of national mortgage firm Mpire Financial, announced the launch of a new brokerage firm MVRK Real Estate. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., as of Monday, Motowidlak said the firm had 10 agent

DOJ probe into Powell prompts bipartisan backlash

Following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s disclosure on Sunday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued grand jury subpoenas to the central bank, the investigation has triggered political backlash on Capitol Hill. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said

DOJ opens criminal investigation into Federal Reserve and Powell

The Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment over Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Congressional testimony last summer, Powell said Sunday. The testimony was about the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of its D.C. headquarters, but

The impact of lower mortgage rates on housing inventory

Year-over-year housing inventory growth has slowed to single digits, from 33% at one point last year to 9.99%. 2026 is off and running, and we had another crazy week of housing headlines, from Trump announcing a ban on Wall Street investors buying single-family homes to directing the GSEs to buy mor

December jobs data continues to support lower mortgage rates

Jobs Friday came and went without much reaction in bond yields because the labor market isn’t breaking, nor is it getting stronger. Mortgage rates dropped into the 5s for a short time on Friday as a result of Trump’s earlier announcement directing the GSEs to buy $200 billion in mortgage backed secu

WSJ: DOJ leadership halted antitrust review of Compass–Anywhere deal

News that the proposed merger between Compass and Anywhere would close this week came as a surprise to many in the industry, especially those who were anticipating a robust antitrust review of the deal. Several news outlets are reporting that antitrust regulators were blocked from a deeper investiga

Real estate leaders weigh in on potential ban on large investors

President Donald Trump announced plans to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes earlier this week, arguing the move would ease competition for families and improve housing affordability. The proposal has reignited a long-running debate over the role Wall Street-backed lan

Elon Musk says retirement savings could become ‘irrelevant’

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, stoked debate about the future of retirement savings by saying that in the coming years, traditional retirement planning could become “irrelevant” amid technological advances. “One side recommendation I have is: Don’t worry about squirreling money

Sharp decline in mortgage rates revives hopes of a refi surge, LOs say

Mortgage rates briefly fell below 6% on Friday for the first time in nearly three years — driven by President Donald Trump’s proposed $200 billion push in the secondary market. If they stay that low, they are expected to spur refinance activity.  Historically, a 22–basis-point decline in the 30-year

Housing starts fall to lowest point since 2020, led by a stall in the Sun Belt

Residential construction fell to its lowest point since May 2020, according to an October U.S. Census Bureau report that was delayed by last year’s government shutdown. Widening air pockets of demand over the past year led to an overbuild of speculative homebuilder inventory in — formerly booming —

Mortgage rates drop below 6% following Trump’s MBS announcement

It finally happened today: We got mortgage rates under 6% for a short time. Can we get some traction for that level? Well, one aspect of the mortgage-rate story really improved today; we had a monster day in mortgage spreads, improving overnight to push rates down over 20 basis points without much h

ATTOM: Home affordability stays strained across the country

Homes remained less affordable than historic norms in nearly every U.S. county at the end of 2025, despite modest improvements late in the year, according to ATTOM’s latest U.S. Home Affordability Report, released Thursday. In 586 of the 594 counties analyzed (or 99%), median-priced single-family ho

What Trump’s $200B MBS proposal means for mortgage spreads, rates

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac quietly increased their purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in 2025, helping push mortgage spreads lower toward the year’s end. Most analysts, however, were not expecting further meaningful tightening in the near term — at least until this week. That changed Thur

Cotality’s Thom Malone on Trump’s proposed institutional investor ban

Housing professionals across the country raised their eyebrows earlier this week when President Donald Trump said he would look to stop large institutional investors from buying homes, citing increased affordability pressures on the typical American consumer. Cotality principal economist Thom Malone

Modest jobs gain in December signals even cooler labor market

The U.S. labor market continues to slow with the economy adding just 50,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in December, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  In addition to the modest jobs gain, the November jobs number was revised downward to 56,000, which is 8,000

Compass-Anywhere merger closing imminent, brokers share plans to compete

Despite initial estimates calling for a summer or even fall 2026 close for the Compass–Anywhere merger, the two companies have indicated the transaction could close as soon as this Friday.  This news came after shareholders at both firms overwhelmingly voted to approve the merger at special meetings

Trump directs GSEs to buy $200B in MBS to push mortgage rates lower

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is directing representatives at the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS), a move he said is intended to bring mortgage rates down. “Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in m

Unexpected retirement expenses can strain senior homeowners

A new analysis from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College finds that nearly all retirees face surprise costs each year — from roof repairs to dental work — and a large share lack the cash to absorb even one year of these expenses. The result can be financial stress, forced asset sales

Toll Brothers announces Karl Mistry as new CEO, Doug Yearley to become Executive Chairman

Toll Brothers announced on Wednesday that Karl Mistry will be the company’s next CEO, replacing Doug Yearley, who will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of the Board on March 30.  Mistry will take the helm at a time when Toll Brothers is leaning on its resilient, high-income buyers to nav