Treasury Department plans to cut thousands of employees

Elon Musk and his team in the White House reportedly plan to lay off a substantial portion of employees in the U.S. Department of Treasury as part of their ongoing effort to reduce the federal workforce.In a court filing Tuesday surfaced by Bloomberg Law, the Treasury’s Deputy Assistant Secretary Tr

New home sales report shows completed units could be a problem

Today’s report on new home sales reveals a slight shortfall in sales estimates. However, it also emphasizes a more critical issue: the currently elevated supply of new homes. This surplus has significantly contributed to the stagnation of housing permits for some time. By addressing and reducing the

Fitch Ratings assesses home equity investments amid wider scrutiny

As the scrutiny of home equity investment (HEI) products has accelerated, credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings this week released a report explaining its approach to such products, reiterating that it does not rate them.While some other ratings agencies have opted to provide assessments for such prod

Pulte terminates SPCPs, issues recision of UDAP bulletin in slew of orders

In a series of posts to his account on social media platform X, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte published housing orders that terminate special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) and rescinds a 2024 advisory bulletin detailing the agency’s enforcement against unfair or decepti

Understanding NAR’s new ‘delayed marketing’ policy for listings

The National Association of Realtors‘ Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which requires agents to put a listing on the MLS within one business day, will remain in place, NAR announced Tuesday. But the trade group is also offering an additional option to home sellers — a delayed marketing exemption peri

Gene Hackman’s death highlights the need for longevity planning, MIT researcher says

The current concept of retirement planning in the U.S. is “dangerously incomplete,” and the recent high-profile deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa illustrate why longevity planning needs a more central role in the conversation.Joseph Coughlin, the director of the Massachusetts I

Covius, FoxyAI partner on AI-driven property valuations

Covius has partnered with FoxyAI to integrate advanced property valuation analytics into its online auction platform, RealtyBid.The collaboration will provide users with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven insights, including condition-adjusted property valuations and projected returns on renovation

Atlas Real Estate taps Eric Thorsen as chief investment officer

Denver-based Atlas Real Estate has appointed Eric Thorsen as its chief investment officer. Thorsen will lead the firm’s investment strategy, oversee acquisitions and asset management, and guide capital allocation as the company expands its portfolio of single-family rental (SFR) and build-to-rent pr

Pulte won’t cut conforming loan limits for Fannie, Freddie

FHFA Director Bill Pulte said Tuesday that he won’t cut the conforming loan limits for loans bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ending speculation that the Trump administration would look to substantially shrink the size of the two GSEs through limiting the size of loans they could buy. This is a

Michigan AG, former CFPB director say diminished agency puts consumers at risk

Given court decisions in prior years that limit Michigan’s ability to enforce consumer protection laws, the state is reliant on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for regulatory enforcement. This would leave Michigan consumers vulnerable if the agency is severely scaled back or closed a

HUD, DHS seek to stop undocumented immigrants from using federal housing programs

After signing a new interagency memorandum of understanding (MOU), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will collaborate in an attempt to keep undocumented immigrants in the U.S. illegally from accessing housing programs funded by U.S. t

Fannie Mae’s title waiver pilot program, one year later

In March 2024, Fannie Mae launched a title waiver pilot program that allowed approved lenders to use an automated title review process to assess title risk during loan manufacturing and prior to loan purchase. The pilot is limited to certain refinance loans with loan-to-value ratios less than 80% in

Price reductions: 6 things to consider before lowering the price

Before rushing to a price reduction for your real estate listing, it’s important to take a step back and evaluate all the factors that could be affecting the sale. Is the home being marketed effectively? Does it show well? Is the seller being flexible with showings? Have seasonal trends been taken i

HUD cancels HECM-related tech contract under direction of DOGE

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has moved to cancel a contract that involves a technology service for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counselors, according to a review of the contract details on government websites and an announcement from the National Reverse Mortg

Brad Clayton, Steve Murray launch FIJI MarketPlace for brokerage valuations

Brad Clayton of ClaytonWolf and Steve Murray of RTC Consulting have teamed up to launch FIJI MarketPlace. The industry veterans describe it as an AI-driven platform for real estate team and brokerage valuations and sales. According to their announcement, FIJI MarketPlace users will be able to drasti

Seniors could be disadvantaged by new in-person Social Security requirement

Following initial reactions by trade groups and senior advocacy organizations to a new in-person identity verification requirement from the Social Security Administration (SSA), others are weighing in about the potential challenges that older Americans could face if the requirement is fully implemen

Southern states had the highest mortgage denial rates in 2023: NAR

Prospective buyers face numerous obstacles on their journey to homeownership, with access to credit often serving as a major hurdle.Mortgage denial rates vary significantly across the U.S., with some states seeing far higher rejection rates than others, according to a new report from the National As

Bessent floats adding GSEs to sovereign wealth fund

As the second Trump administration contemplates the potential establishment of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) — a state-owned investment fund that typically invests in real and financial assets like stocks, bonds, real estate or alternative investments — the Treasury secretary is reportedly contempla

Trump softens stance on reciprocal tariffs, but threat to homebuilders remains

President Donald Trump appears to be softening his stance on his most dramatic tariff proposal, but it’s not much relief to homebuilders.According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the administration is considering a scaled-back version of its so-called reciprocal tariffs, which

Weekly pending home sales finally exceed 2024

After a very disappointing first quarter with home sales failing to climb over 2024’s already anemic levels, signs are finally emerging in March that we’ve turned the corner to have some growth.This week’s pending home sales count came in at just under 69,000 single-family homes, which was 2.3% grea