Mortgage rates dip below 7% after retail sales surprise

This Valentine’s weekend brought an unexpected gift to the housing market as a weaker-than-expected retail sales report sent the 10-year yield tumbling, bringing mortgage rates down to under 7%. Although it’s a welcome decline, we’re still seeing rates considerably higher than the near-6% levels we

HUD to cut 50% of its workforce in latest Trump purge

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the latest housing agency to be targeted by the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts. On Thursday night, Bloomberg Law reported that HUD’s union president told the publication that HUD plans to “discharge 50% of its workforce.”“Ant

As White House scrutinizes HUD programs, union leaders offer a waste target

The White House has reportedly solicited information from staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to justify the existence of various contracts. According to reporting by NPR, a spreadsheet was sent to employees, asking them to assess the importance of contracts, whether

Executive shakeups continue at Douglas Elliman

The C-suite shakeups at Douglas Elliman are still going. Last week, an internal memo informed Douglas Elliman agents and employees that Stephen Kotler was stepping down as the CEO of the brokerage’s western region, as first reported by The Real Deal. Kotler will remain at the firm, joining his son M

Housing supply hits five-year high, but buyers aren’t playing ball

Nationwide housing inventory showed a glimmer of recovery toward the end of 2024. But these new listings aren’t attracting buyers, and pending home sales dropped 4.2% month over month in January.That finding comes from two Redfin reports released on Thursday. Each tell similar stories, albeit from d

Could government funding scrutiny come for reverse mortgage programs?

Housing leaders are naturally interested in knowing how recent cost-cutting efforts by the federal government could be focused upon the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its wide array of programs, including reverse mortgages.In the first Trump administration, housing offici

Legal experts weigh in on the CFPB and the future of regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may have yet another new director in Jonathan McKernan, but the bureau is still effectively shut down thanks to actions taken by McKernan’s two most recent predecessors, Scott Bessent and Russell Vought, who both served as acting director. While enforc

One in 10 ‘gray divorce’ couples finance split with housing wealth

New data from U.K.-based financial services firm Legal & General shows that as many as 11% of all couples over the age of 50 use their real estate wealth — either through the proceeds of a home sale or a home equity release product — to finance the costs of divorce.“The research, which explored the

Julie Kheyfets on home renovation trends: Demand is approaching 2022 levels

In this week’s episode of the Top of Mind podcast, host Mike Simonsen is joined by Block Renovation CEO Julie Kheyfets. The duo explore current and upcoming trends in the home renovation market.This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To start the conversation, Simonsen and Kheyfets di

loanDepot enhances home equity access with two new product options

California-based mortgage lender loanDepot on Wednesday announced the expansion of its equityFREEDOM portfolio to provide nearly 50 million U.S. homeowners with access to their tappable home equity.The expansion adds 10- and 30-year fixed-term options to the company’s existing 20-year fixed-rate hom

What’s the fuss over Realtor-owned MLSs opening the door to all agents?

In some states, the door has been open for many years to real estate agents who want to access their local MLS without being a Realtor. But controversy has been rising of late after actions by associations in Phoenix and Austin. (Image generated by AI through Midjourney)In 1994, the National Associa

Will higher inflation and mortgage rates create a recession?

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in with inflation higher than expected today, particularly in the month-to-month data, which caused the 10-year yield to spike sharply within seconds after the report. This is what I discussed on today’s episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast — that there are ri

Rising inflation deals blow to potential interest rate cuts

The housing market is starved for relief on mortgage rates, but hope for the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates just took a huge blow.The reading of the consumer price index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics came in unexpectedly high, showing a 3% rise for the 12-month period ending in J

Zillow is still in the red, but its major revenue streams are rising

Rental listings have been a consistent high-growth revenue stream for Zillow since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And the company has struck a deal that it believes can push that growth even higher.On its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call on Tuesday evening, Zillow announced a partnersh

Oregon reverse mortgage bill that could halt proprietary business may be amended

The Oregon state senate’s Committee on Housing Development held a hearing last week on a piece of proposed legislation that seeks to limit the amount of equity a reverse mortgage lender can receive after the sale or transfer of a property.Industry representatives contend that if enacted, the bill co

LendingTree: Salt Lake City is the top major metro for families

Families are becoming more strategic when choosing a city to live in. And some cities are better equipped to promote the concept of family homeownership.Online marketplace LendingTree released a study this week that identified the best major metropolitan areas for families in 2025. The study utilize

Despite aging-in-place preferences, senior support services are in short supply

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Older Americans want to age in place in their own homes, and they also want to remain in their current communities. But these desires could clash with a reality that many communities across the country simply don’t have the resources to supp

Mortgage credit availability jumped 2.5% in January

Mortgage credit availability ramped up in January, according to a report released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that analyzed data from ICE Mortgage Technology.The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased by 250 basis points (bps) on a monthly basis to 99.0 in Ja

The crucial role of community lending in our nation’s economy

Our economy faces many challenges – persistent high mortgage interest rates, a declining rate of existing home sales, elevated costs for basic goods and services, labor market imbalances, and rising health care costs to name just a few. As a new Administration takes over, dozens of policy prescripti

Florida struggles with affordable housing despite bulking up construction

Despite bolstering its construction activities and the availability of single-family homes, the state of Florida continues to endure shortages in its affordable housing stock that impact the workforce and retirees living on fixed incomes.This is according to a 2024 annual report from the University