Why is housing inventory growth slowing down in 2026?

After the release of the March existing home sales report, which missed estimates, the fact that housing inventory growth is slowing down has caught some people off guard. States like Florida, which some people said would see worse-than-2008 housing inventory increases in 2026, are already negative

UWM, Mat Ishbia sued after Michigan State football coach’s harassment fallout

Brenda Tracy, who reported sexual harassment against former Michigan State University head football coach Mel Tucker, is suing United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) and CEO Mat Ishbia. Tracy claims the mortgage lender and its chief executive inserted themselves into a matter that was “none of their busine

As policy uncertainty rattles older investors, how can reverse mortgage pros respond?

Retirement planning has long required navigating many financial risks — from outliving savings to market volatility and rising health care costs. But new research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College finds that uncertainty surrounding federal policy has sharply intensified these

How to Protest Your Property Taxes

It’s property-tax season in Texas, and if you disagree with the valuation of your property, you have the right to protest. The standard deadline to file a protest is May 15 or no later than the 30th day after your notice of appraised value was mailed to you. The Texas Real Estate Research Center pub

How to create a real estate agent development plan when you’ve hit a plateau

You’re experienced. You’ve closed deals, navigated tough transactions and built a book of business. But your production hasn’t meaningfully changed. One month is strong, the next is quiet. No matter how many hours you put in, it’s hard to build consistent momentum. This is where a lot of agents stal

Interactive dashboards: A move from optional to essential

Mortgage servicers and their partners need dashboards for speed and transparency. Interactive dashboards are a practical application of business intelligence (BI) technology, designed to make data accessible and actionable for day-to-day decisions. Microsoft Power BI and similar platforms allow user

Is housing inventory about to turn negative year over year?

Is housing inventory about to go negative? Since mid-June 2025 I’ve been writing that housing market dynamics have shifted, which we could already see in our HousingWire data while it might take other sources six to nine months to show that. This shift should create some negative year-over-year inve

As retirement slips further away, workers prioritize stability and senior home equity

America’s workers are clinging to their jobs at a decade-low quit rate of 2%, driven by fear rather than fulfillment, new data shows. The research from Economist Enterprise surveyed 2,063 full-time employed Americans ages 18 to 62 across industries, including energy, manufacturing, media, financial

FBI: Cybercrime losses topped $20.8B in 2025, real estate fraud hit $275M

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 1,008,597 complaints of cyber-enabled crime in 2025, with reported losses surpassing $20.8 billion — a 26% increase from the previous year. Real estate fraud alone accounted for 12,368 complaints and $275.1 million in losses, showing a continu

Texas builder breaks ground on first community with Japanese firm

Amid the growing presence of Japanese capital in American homebuilding, Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp. (HHP), a leading Japanese developer, recently expanded its operations in the United States via a joint venture with Dallas-based Bridge Tower Homes. The two parties announced a joint v

Unison faces more legal trouble over allegedly deceptive home equity agreements

A newly filed class-action lawsuit accuses home equity investment (HEI) company Unison of misleading homeowners and structuring its products in ways that leave customers with far less equity than expected. The complaint, filed April 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado by plaint

Virginia cities gain new tools to increase affordable housing supply

For Virginia state Sen. Jeremy McPike, the third attempt was the charm for a bill that lets municipalities rezone to encourage affordable housing. It just took a new governor. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed into law this week a measure giving every city and county in Virginia the authority to adopt

Why the hiring rate matters more than unemployment for the housing market

After painful delays following last fall’s government shutdown, labor market data is finally back on a consistent pace. Last week we filled in hiring, quits and layoffs from the BLS JOLTS report for February, plus unemployment numbers for March and the latest initial claims for the first week of Apr

Top Century 21 firm expands into Michigan

Century 21 Circle — ranked among Century 21’s top 10 companies globally — has entered the Michigan market by bringing on the Sparta-based Kelley Real Estate Group. Company leaders said the move reflects trends across Midwest markets surrounding Lake Michigan, where relocation patterns, second homebu

NAR settles Tuccori homebuyer commission case for $52.25M

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) agreed to a proposed settlement that would resolve nationwide homebuyer commission lawsuit claims in the Tuccori homebuyer lawsuit. The agreement, announced Friday and subject to court approval, is structured as an opt-in component of the Tuccori master set

New American Funding adds One Goal Mortgage to grow Nebraska, Iowa footprint

New American Funding (NAF) expanded its Midwest footprint with the launch of One Goal Mortgage powered by NAF, a new branch serving the Omaha, Nebraska, metro area and southwest Iowa, the company announced this week. The move gives the California-based independent mortgage lender its first physical

When it comes to pre-marketing strategies, how are Compass, eXp and Zillow different?

With more companies signing on to pre-marketing platforms, it appears that the new trend of pre-marketing listings is here to stay, at least for the moment. While the notion of a coming soon listing is nothing new, with numerous MLSs across the country offering some variation of this status, more an

Human expertise in an AI world: Why partnership still wins

The conversation around artificial intelligence has largely defaulted to one of two extremes: AI as an existential threat to human work, or AI as a magic button that solves every operational problem automatically. In practice, neither framing holds up. The organizations gaining the most ground right

Virginia YIGBY bill puts Spanberger housing agenda on the line

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until Monday to sign or veto legislation that would make her state one of the few that allow faith-based organizations to build affordable housing on their properties by overriding local zoning limits. Spanberger faces pressure from local governments and a small

PAM appraisal platform targets AMC fees, seeks to give lenders more control

A new appraisal management platform is aiming to upend the traditional role of appraisal management companies (AMCs) by allowing mortgage lenders to oversee the process internally while maintaining regulatory compliance. The platform, known as PAM, or Private Asset & Management Group LLC, is designe