Qualia enhances wire fraud protection system with new features

Real estate closing platform Qualia announced on Wednesday a series of security upgrades to its platform. These enhancements are exclusive to Qualia’s Shield solution, a wire fraud detection system designed for title and escrow professionals.The upgrades start with added protection for low-risk wire

Bright MLS debunks DC housing market social media posts

A viral Instagram post this week claims that a wave of new inventory is hitting the Washington, D.C., housing market after large numbers of federal employee layoffs were announced. Bright MLS has addressed these claims this week with relevant data.Social media posts suggest that more than 4,000 home

Chris Franquemont returns to Rate after move to CrossCountry

Denver-based loan originator Chris Franquemont announced on Wednesday his return to Guaranteed Rate as producing branch manager. His return follows a brief stint with CrossCountry Mortgage.Chris FranquemontFranquemont returns to Guaranteed Rate after a one-year stint as CrossCountry Mortgage’s senio

The 9 top real estate lead generation companies for 2025

Want to close more deals? Then you can’t rely solely on your sphere of influence and networking to meet new clients and build your pipeline. Our team of experienced real estate agents reviewed the top real estate lead generation companies to help you get more real estate leads. These lead gen compan

California insurance commissioner rejects State Farm’s request for 22% rate increase

On Friday, California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara rejected State Farm’s request for “emergency” rate increases, going against the recommendation of his staff experts.The request from State Farm involved insurance rate increases that would have gone into effect on May 1, 2025. The proposed in

Australia, New Zealand-based reverse pros share insights

Reverse mortgage industry conferences are often seen as an effective way for professionals to meet up, discuss best practices from across their markets and assess the regulatory environment at entities like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and within the states.Occasionally, U.S.-based rever

Homebuyers are adjusting to the new normal of 7% mortgage rates

As the 2025 spring homebuying season approaches — and the tone is set for what the rest of the year could look like — the long-term costs of a home loan are inching lower even as fears of inflation, unemployment and tariffs loom large.HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed that 30-year fixed rat

What will it take to rekindle the senior housing market?

The oldest baby boomers are poised to turn 80 years old this year, which could bring the market of dedicated senior housing from a place of oversupply to a shortage. This is according to a report published this week by the Wall Street Journal.The projected aging of the U.S. population shows that by

Gary Keller warns of unpredictability in the housing market

Gary Keller, Jay Papasan and Jason Abrams took to the stage at the KW Family Reunion on Tuesday to discuss the housing market and current economic trends as they do every year. But while the three Keller Williams executives did their usual forecasting for the year, they also acknowledged far more ro

Illinois lawmakers renew push for home construction tax credits

A bill that has been introduced multiple times to the Illinois Legislature since 2020 is poised for a new revival as the state continues to seek ways to address its shortage of affordable housing stock, according to reporting by Northern Public Radio.The Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit Act, first in

All-cash home purchases have become less popular, Redfin says

Homebuyers can purchase properties in full with cash, eliminating the need for a mortgage application. But last year, only one-third of buyers purchased homes with cash, representing a three-year low point.In total, 700,445 homes in 2024 were purchased with cash, which is down from 760,914 in 2023.R

Fitch Ratings: U.S. home prices are stabilizing, but 85% of markets are overvalued

In the third quarter of 2024, Fitch Ratings estimates that national home prices were overvalued by 11.1% on a population-weighted average basis. This marked a decrease of 50 basis points from the previous quarter’s figure of 11.6%, according to a report released Tuesday.Fitch noted that the S&P Core

More women file civil suits against the Alexander brothers over sexual assault allegations

Eleven more women have filed civile lawsuits against one or more of the Alexander brothers, adding to the mountain of legal woes facing Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander over alleged sexual misconduct.Along with state and federal criminal sex trafficking charges, the new complaints bring the number of kn

Blue states lead the way for highest property taxes

Property taxes are a thorn in the side of some U.S. homeowners, depending on the state or region. As home prices and property values rise in 2025, rising property taxes are impacting some places more than others.Personal finance website WalletHub released its 2025 Property Taxes by State report on M

Final Offer acquires off-market listings platform Private Collection

A month after launching its new Private Exclusive Listings (PX) feature, agent-driven offer, negotiation and collaboration platform Final Offer has acquired Private Collection, a source of listing information for off-market properties. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Final Offer said

DeSantis wants to ban property taxes in Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he wants to eliminate property taxes in the state. In a post on X, the governor said that taxing land/property “is the more oppressive and ineffective” form of taxation.“Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 6

Stavvy integrates with Encompass Partner Connect platform

Boston-based fintech Stavvy announced a new integration using the latest Encompass Partner Connect Application Programming Interface (API) framework from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for mortgage technology.In an exclusive interview with HousingWire, Kosta Ligris, CEO and founder of Stavvy, expla

6 time management hacks to help agents sell more homes in 2025

A majority of agents believe 2025 is going to be a great year for the housing market. Around 85% have an optimistic outlook, and 70% believe the market will be more stable, according to a new survey from Clever Real Estate.   Although agents are split on whether it’s going to be a buyers or a seller

Windsor Mortgage CEO explores technology services, coaching in the wholesale market

In the most recent episode of the Power House podcast, host and HousingWire President Diego Sanchez sits down with Chris Vinson, CEO of Windsor Mortgage, a division of Plains Commerce Bank. The conversation covers Windsor’s growth and success in recent years, including its focus on wholesale lending

Win some, lose some: Appraisers wrestle with the CFPB’s dismantling

Some housing industry professionals have cheered the Trump administration’s actions to disable the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but appraisers have mixed feelings about it.On one hand, they welcome the end of the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Interagency Task Force,