Dermot Buffini discusses brokerage leadership, real estate market shifts

Dermot Buffini, the CEO of Buffini & Co., joined this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast for a conversation on the evolving challenges for real estate leaders.Speaking with host Tracey Velt at HousingWire’s The Gathering, Buffini addressed the pressures that brokers and team leaders face ami

Aspiring buyers turn to Realtors first in their home searches: survey

A national survey released by NeighborWorks America found that prospective homebuyers overwhelmingly turn to Realtors first when seeking information about the homebuying process — outpacing friends, family and online searches.According to the poll, 41% of respondents who plan to buy a home in the ne

New Home Co. acquires Landsea, forming a top 25 homebuilder

New Home Co. has completed a previously announced acquisition of Landsea Homes, the companies announced Wednesday. The deal creates a top-25 national homebuilder based on the number of new homes sold in 2024.Matthew Zaist, who currently serves as president and CEO of New Home, will led the combined

Survey shows buyers gaining leverage as real estate market slows

The housing market continued to cool in May, with buyer leverage increasing across many regions of the country, according to a new survey from The Real Brokerage.Real’s May 2025 Agent Survey — which polled more than 260 real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada — points to softening trans

More pets than kids: The increased role of animals in real estate

As American demographics shift, so do the priorities of homebuyers, and pets are playing an increased role in real estate decisions.“Did you know there are more households with pets than children?” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Re

Bill White Jr. returns to Baird & Warner as VP of broker relations

Baird & Warner has named Bill White Jr. as its new vice president of broker relations for mortgage and title services, marking his return to the firm after several years at Compass. In his new role, White will act as the primary liaison between real estate agents, attorneys and loan officers to supp

Powell: Fed is reviewing Basel III, supplemental leverage ratio rules

During a second straight day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is reviewing the Basel III rules (also known as the “Basel Endgame”), which would significantly increase bank capital requirements and could impact the mortgage industry, if implement

Beeline Title completes milestone crypto real estate deal

Beeline Title Holdings, a subsidiary of Beeline Holdings Inc., has closed what it says is one of the first residential real estate transactions funded through the sale of a cryptocurrency token backed by real property.The company described the deal as a milestone in merging decentralized finance wit

Homebuyers finally catch a break with more inventory

Homebuyers in 2025 are finally getting some good news. Active housing inventory is returning to the levels we experienced before the pandemic, which means the chaotic and unhealthy housing market of the last several years is finally a thing of the past. As someone who was concerned about home prices

15 commission lawsuit settlements gain final approval

In a move that’s unsurprising, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough has granted final approval to 15 more commission lawsuit settlement agreements.Bough granted final approval to settlements negotiated in the Gibson and Keel suits during a joint hearing on Tuesday afternoon. The settling defendan

Record-high home equity provides opportunity for the reverse mortgage industry

Soaring prices and increasingly strained affordability have made things difficult for prospective buyers shopping for their first home. But for households that own their home already, rising prices have been a wealth bonanza.That’s evident in data from the annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report

Home prices are still climbing, but the pace is slowing

Home prices continue to outpace last year, but at a pace that’s slowing down.The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index for April rose 2.7% year over year, a deceleration from 3.37% in March, 3.9% in February and 4.1% in January. It’s the first data for the Case-Shiller that includes the period

Christie’s affiliate adds five top agents in Northern California

Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno, the largest locally owned and operated independent real estate brokerage in Northern California, is continuing its growth with the addition of five top-producing agents — formerly with Intero Real Estate Services — to its South Santa Clara County operatio

Volly’s new tech tool aims to improve collaboration between lenders, agents

Williston Financial Group (WFG) announced the release of a new digital tool through subsidiary Volly that aims to enhance collaboration between mortgage loan officers and real estate agents.The new feature, known as Volly Network Connections, is part of the company’s broader marketing suite and offe

Does Zillow’s policy really restrict Compass’s business?

While the more attention-grabbing parts of Compass’s complaint in its suit against Zillow included late night calls between Robert Reffkin and “co-conspirator” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, and a tense meeting with Zillow executives, the complaint also detailed the business impacts Compass is feeling as

CFPB cuts short monitoring of BofA mortgage practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cut short a five-year agreement with Bank of America over the bank’s alleged submissions of false mortgage data. The agreement was supposed to be in place through at least November 2028.In a filing made public Monday, the CFPB said the bank “fulfilled

Jerome Powell says the Fed isn’t budging on interest rates

The Federal Reserve has come under renewed fire from the Trump administration in recent weeks as the president and key housing officials battle with Chair Jerome Powell over the direction of interest rates.On Tuesday, while speaking to members of the House Financial Services Committee, Powell was re

Four charts that perfectly illustrate the housing affordability crisis

Look at all the variables at play in the housing market and it’s hard not to feel pessimistic about the affordability crisis.Mortgage payments continue to increase thanks to high mortgage rates, home insurance premiums are on the rise in markets vulnerable to natural disasters and the rent is still

Why it’s time to rethink the appraisal default in home equity lending 

With mortgage rates still hovering near multi-decade highs, homeowners are opting to hold onto their ultra-low first mortgages. Instead of refinancing, they’re tapping into their equity through home equity loans and HELOCs to finance renovations, cover tuition, or consolidate high-interest debt. Len

House passes abusive trigger leads ban

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) late Monday, bringing a national ban on abusive trigger leads one step closer to reality. The move was widely applauded by mortgage trade groups.The House’s action follows the U.S. Senate’s approva