Has homeownership become a luxury good?

Homeownership is the top means by which the typical American accumulates and builds wealth, and that has never been truer than today. Homeowners are the winners in today’s housing market, experiencing large gains in home equity across the board. These gains allow homeowners to make all-cash purchase

Ohio housing markets tighten as inventory drops 24% below national average

Ohio recorded 2.1 months of supply in the week ending Nov. 28, compared to 2.8 nationally, with Columbus leading price cuts at 51.6% while maintaining the state’s highest median price at $384,900. The statewide data reflects activity across Ohio’s 10 tracked metros, with Columbus, Cleveland-Elyria-M

Atlas VMS integrating AI review tool into AIM-Port platform

Atlas VMS is integrating HomeVision’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven collateral underwriting and appraisal review technology into AIM-Port, the company’s appraisal order management system. The company says the move is intended to reduce manual review work for lenders and appraisal management co

Tech100 2025 winners drive AI innovation in mortgage and real estate

As nominations for the 2026 Tech100 awards continue to come in, HousingWire is spotlighting last year’s winners to showcase how they’ve continued to innovate and influence the mortgage and real estate industries. This installment features companies that modernize valuations, transform agent workflow

PulteGroup forecasts longer-lasting home design trends for 2026

PulteGroup expects design trends to stay in fashion longer, and forecasts that multigenerational living, a focus on wellness, and an emphasis on quality will have a big impact on home design trends in 2026.  The homebuilder released a 2026 Design Trends Forecast on Thursday that highlights a growing

Kind Lending appoints Brett Stubbs as CFO

Kind Lending announced on Thursday that Brett Stubbs was appointed as the company’s chief financial officer. Stubbs’s appointment, effective Oct. 9, is a part of a planned transition plan involving Gary Fabian, who served as CFO since the company’s founding in 2020. Fabian will retire at the end of

Smarter infrastructure funding strategies for homebuilders

Adding up the new math of paying for growth As U.S. homebuilders and residential developers continue to navigate high carrying costs, affordability headwinds, and cautious consumer sentiment, a strategic reckoning is underway. Teams are retooling cost models, tightening assumptions, and searching fo

AD Mortgage opens $417M securitization to investors

Florida-based AD Mortgage, which specializes in nonqualified mortgages (non-QMs) for self-employed borrowers and real estate investors, on Thursday announced the launch of a $417.15 million pool of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The transaction is the 28th issued by the company that

Why it’s too easy to say ‘no’ to new-home development in America

It’s homebuilders’ last push, and their business and channel partners operate through friction on every front. Scarce, costly capital Slow approvals and entitlement drag Workforce constraints and generational handoffs Climate-driven costs and insurance uncertainty Buyer fear, hesitation, and confusi

Luxury home sellers offering more creative concessions

Luxury home sellers are offering more and increasingly creative concessions in 2025, according to The Agency’s annual Red Paper, a comprehensive wealth and real estate market report. A survey of The Agency brokers saw more than 60% reporting more concessions this year compared to 2024. “Concessions

Louisiana again tops the chart for outbound moves

If the continued slow pace of existing home sales wasn’t enough to convince you that fewer Americans are moving, Atlas Van Lines’ 2025 Migration Patterns Study would like you to consider its findings. Published on Wednesday, the report found that overall mobility in the U.S. is low, which the study

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac limit public housing data releases

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have curtailed the public release of their economic and housing data, prompting questions about the potential impact to the mortgage market that relies on the data, according to reporting by Inman. Fannie Mae did not release its National Housing Survey in November, marking

Redfin defends climate risk transparency after Zillow removes data

While Zillow made waves earlier this week after removing climate risk data, which was supplied by First Street Technologies, from its listings, Redfin has taken a different approach. In a post on LinkedIn, Redfin’s chief economist Daryl Fairweather wrote that her firm had made the choice to continue

Housing affordability dominates California gubernatorial race

California has made significant efforts to address housing affordability through numerous new laws under Gov. Gavin Newsom. Candidates seeking to replace the term-limited Newsom, however, act as if little has been accomplished. The laws lacked swift, decisive enforcement to push the affordable goal,

Senate Democrats warn CFPB shutdown could disrupt prime interest rates

U.S. Senate Democrats sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director Russell Vought raising concerns that any “efforts to shutter the agency” could disrupt the publication of average prime offer rates (APOR), a key benchmark in the mortgage market. The CFPB manually cal

Former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra lands new consumer watchdog role

Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a previous member of the Federal Trade Commission, has landed a new job. According to reporting from Bloomberg on Tuesday, a coalition of Democratic state prosecutors called The Progressive State Leaders Committee (

Bright MLS projects 2026 as reset year, not a rebound

Bright MLS expects the U.S. housing market to enter a transitional period in 2026, with slightly lower mortgage rates and rising inventory offering some relief to buyers but not enough to fuel a full recovery. The nation’s largest multiple listing service (MLS) released its annual forecast Wednesday

Pennymac TPO offers temporary relief on credit report fees

Pennymac TPO is waiving a $99 credit report fee charged at closing for loans submitted through its POWER+ portal in December, the lender announced Wednesday. “Qualified credit report fee waivers will be paid by Pennymac at closing—no action required by the partner,” the company said in a notice to b

Bayview closes acquisition of Guild, taking lender private

Bayview Asset Management has closed its acquisition of Guild Holdings Company, the parent of Guild Mortgage, in a deal that takes the lender private and removes it from the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction was finalized on November 28, according to a new 8-K filing. Under the agreement, shar

Making the 7-day refi reality: Modernizing mortgage appraisals

For many borrowers, the appraisal is the most stressful step in a refinance: part mystery, part high-stakes hurdle. Will the home appraise high enough? Will it delay closing? What actually determines the final value? Lenders can help ease these concerns by adopting the right combination of technolog