The pandemic made housing less affordable, but not in the obvious places

The housing affordability crisis often conjures images of coastal urban cities with acute housing supply shortages and heavy land-use regulations. While these places do tend to have the highest home prices, it’s not where costs are rising the most.That’s according to a sprawling new study from JPMor

Compass agents have a battle plan against CCP, Zillow

The countdown is on to Zillow’s new listing standards policy, which bans publicly marketed private listings. While it’s possible for agents at any firm to end up with a banned listing, most industry observers expect that agents at Compass — a vocal critic of the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) and Zi

Senate version of GOP tax bill makes key changes to housing, federal lands sections

Following its passage in the House of Representatives, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy bill that includes tax reform provisions with major implications for the federal budget deficit — is going through a series of pronounced changes during the reco

Century 21 CEO talks industry consolidation, filling market gaps

As the real estate industry faces unprecedented transformation, Century 21 Real Estate has stayed active through aggressive franchise growth, market consolidation and engagement with evolving homebuyer demographics.In an in-depth conversation with HousingWire, Century 21 CEO Mike Miedler opened up a

Another telemarketing suit hits the docket, this time against Compass

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits against real estate companies are beginning to pile up again. Plaintiff Jessica Murch filed a TCPA suit against Compass and Compass Washington on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon.“The Plaintiff brings this action to enforce the

ERA Real Estate affiliate expands in Pennsylvania

Mountain Realty ERA Powered has acquired Miller & Associates Real Estate, an independent brokerage based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.The newly merged firm will operate under the Mountain Realty ERA Powered name, with a combined total of 34 agents across two offices.The acquisition expands Mountain R

Coldwell Banker Realty adds California agent, team members

Erick Fernandez — founder of the real estate group EF Homes — has joined Coldwell Banker Realty’s office in Aptos, California, marking a shift from his prior affiliation with Keller Williams.He brings more than two decades of business experience and is accompanied by EF Homes team members Laif McCle

How to think about home prices for the rest of 2025

The story for the housing market over the past three years has been, “Home sales are down, home prices are up.” Because inventory was so restricted after the pandemic, prices pushed higher even as demand weakened. That story may finally be inverting as unsold inventory of homes is now great enough t

HomeServices of America welcomes yet another new executive

HomeServices of America has announced the addition of another new executive to its roster. On Monday, the firm announced the appointment of Renee Gonzales as its new vice president of core services integrations.In this newly created role, Gonzales will focus on accelerating the business growth and o

Massachusetts set to bar home sellers from requiring inspection waivers

Massachusetts homebuyers will soon be protected from being pressured into waiving home inspections under new regulation. The policy, put forth by the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), prohibits sellers and their agents from requiring or encouraging buyers to waive

Robert Reffkin continues his digital crusade against Zillow, Clear Cooperation

Tensions between Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and Zillow are continuing to build in the lead up to Zillow’s new listing standards going into effect later this month.Reffkin followed up last week’s LinkedIn post claiming that Zillow no longer displays all MLS listings to prospective homebuyers, with tw

IRS stipulation could have consequences for seniors in a declining stock market

Growing fears of a retirement crisis in the U.S. are no secret as Americans face a future that potentially includes fewer Social Security benefits. But the uncertainty of Social Security is not the only thing that seniors should consider as they seek to safeguard their financial well-being.Over the

Opendoor will pay $39M to settle pricing algorithm lawsuit

Opendoor has agreed to pay $39 million to settle a lawsuit that alleges the company misled investors about the reliability of its pricing technology, according to court documents filed Friday.The proposed settlement — filed in federal court in Arizona and first reported by Reuters — must still be ap

How to make the most of real estate testimonials to attract new clients

Imagine if you could bottle the enthusiasm your clients have for working with you and use it to capture new business. That’s where real estate testimonials come into play. We all know that getting testimonials is an important part of building a business, yet it’s often a forgotten step in the proces

Frank Martell moves on from loanDepot, takes CEO role at SmartRent

Former loanDepot CEO Frank Martell has officially moved on. SmartRent Inc., a provider of smart community technology solutions for the rental housing industry, on Monday announced that Martell will take on the roles of president and CEO effective immediately.Martell, who has been a member of SmartRe

Low-fee brokerage firms could give sellers considerable savings: CPC

Consumers listing a $400,000 property for sale could save up to $10,000 in broker fees by using a “low-fee” brokerage firm, according to a report published Monday by the Consumer Policy Center (CPC).The report, written by CPC fellows Stephen Brobeck and Wendy Glich, examined both flat-fee brokers (w

Down payments are getting smaller as buyers scoop up FHA, VA loans

As of April 2025, the typical U.S. homebuyer’s down payment was $62,468, down roughly 1% on a yearly basis and the first annual decline in nearly two years.That’s according to a new report from Redfin that’s based on an analysis of records across 40 of the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas.In pe

Elevated mortgage rates aren’t discouraging homebuyers

Why aren’t home sales crashing as they did in 2022? Right now we have elevated mortgage rates, trade war uncertainty, rising property taxes and home insurance, terrible consumer confidence data and a downgrade of the government’s debt, among other factors. But, housing demand continues to hold up, s

Seattle housing market wrestles with crippling affordability concerns

On the surface, Seattle’s housing market looks like any other in the country.The inventory of single-family homes for sale is up substantially year over year. New listings are up slightly, sales remain subdued and home prices aren’t moving much. That’s the story in the majority of housing markets.Bu

Comfortable city living usually requires a six-figure salary

Homeownership in many of America’s largest cities now demands a six-figure salary to sustain a comfortable lifestyle — with some regions requiring more than $300,000 annually.A new analysis by GOBankingRates ranked the top 50 U.S. cities by the income necessary to afford a comfortable standard of li