California steps up reform to join the single-stair bandwagon

California lawmakers have been at the forefront of zoning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability. New legislation filed Tuesday would put the state on the path to joining single-stair reform that other states and cities have already adopted. Assemblymember Alex Lee’s newly filed bill p

Residential contractors remain AI-skeptical early on, report finds

The use of artificial intelligence in residential contracting is still in its early stages, with only a minority of contractors fully integrating AI into their workflows. That said, interest in leveraging new technologies is steadily increasing across the industry. That was one of the main findings

The rumors aren’t true. Housing market crash unlikely despite war, high rates

A U.S. housing market crash remains extremely unlikely in 2026 even as the war in Iran strains buyer psychology, according to Logan Mohtashami, lead economic analyst for HousingWire. The conflict with Iran has sent mortgage rates higher over the last five weeks, from a low of 5.99% to a high of 6.64

Mortgage rates level off, but is 6.5% the new normal?

Mortgage rates have soared in the past month, but market participants appeared to take a wait-and-see approach this week as they contemplate further price increases for home loans. On Monday, Mortgage News Daily reported that 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.43%, down 4 basis points in the past week.

DataTrace on AI’s reality, risk and responsibility in title search

DataTrace has released a new white paper examining how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping title workflows and where trusted data infrastructure remains essential. The paper, “Title Search Automation: Reality, Risk, and Responsibility of AI,” finds that while AI can improve speed and workflow

Real Brokerage adds 65-agent Equity Realty Group in Phoenix

The Real Brokerage Inc. added Arizona real estate leader Randy Anaya and his 65-agent team, Equity Realty Group, expanding the company’s footprint in Phoenix’s Southwest Valley, the company announced. Equity Realty Group, founded in 2009 as an independent brokerage, is known across Avondale, Goodyea

A new study says private listings beat the MLS. Here’s what it left out

Let me be straight with you. A research report is floating around out there from the University of Georgia, and some people in our industry are using it to make the case that private listings, homes sold off the MLS without full public exposure, actually get sellers a better price. The report is 56

The hidden cost of mortgage tech: How workflow fragmentation is driving the “interoperability tax”

The cost problem lenders can’t automate away Mortgage lenders have spent years investing in automation, yet one metric continues to resist improvement: cost per loan. New tools promise faster processing, better decisioning and improved borrower experiences. For many lenders, however, those gains hav

Verification first: Why mortgage lending must rethink income — and how it actually works

For decades, mortgage underwriting has followed the same basic structure: verify income, review credit, apply ratios, and make a decision. The tools have improved. The thinking largely hasn’t. Automated systems like Desktop Underwriter and Loan Product Advisor can process loans faster than ever. But

Nationwide Mortgage Bankers taps Herrera as president of Hispanic homeownership division

Americasa, a division of Nationwide Mortgage Bankers (NMB), has promoted Yasser Valdes Herrera to president. Since December 2023, he has been based in Miami and has served as vice president of Americasa, a Spanish-language mortgage platform helping the Hispanic community achieve homeownership. “Yass

HousingWire Mortgage Rankings: How top LOs dominated government lending in 2025

Loan officer Jason Smith, a U.S. Navy veteran who spent five years as an air traffic controller, entered the mortgage business 21 years ago. Reflecting on the similarities between the two careers, he said that he “didn’t have that epiphany until years later that you have to be in control of the situ

A capital-light, local model could power this off-site builder’s plan to scale

While numerous firms in the residential off-site construction space push the limits of innovation, one company is distinguishing itself through a deeply localized approach to expansion across North America. Massachusetts-based Reframe Systems is betting that its microfactory concept, which relies on

Trending: employer housing benefits narrow affordability gaps

A growing number of private sector employers have quietly begun offering workers a benefit that helps them live closer to the office at a price they can afford. As housing costs soar, it has been policymakers nationwide who’ve hogged the headlines, zeroing in on zoning reform and regulatory rollback

Click n’ Close appoints Delores Lopez chief operating officer

Click n’ Close announced its appointment of Delores Lopez as chief operating officer, effective Monday. In this role, Lopez will lead operations, drive scalable growth initiatives and implement operational strategy across the organization — reporting to company President Ian Kimball. “I’m pleased to

Reverse Focus acquires Apiro Marketing to broaden mortgage services

Redding, California-based Reverse Focus announced April 3 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Apiro Marketing as it looks to expand beyond reverse mortgages and deepen its marketing and content offerings for the broader U.S. mortgage industry. Reverse Focus operates a marketin

Largest NYC Coldwell Banker affiliate launches new, independent firm called MYNY

Coldwell Banker Reliable Real Estate — formerly the largest Coldwell Banker franchise affiliate in New York City — has launched a new independent brokerage, MYNY. The company is now in its 20th year in business, with 18 of those spent under the Coldwell Banker banner. Office locations include Brookl

ICE Mortgage Monitor shows serious delinquencies up 25% in four-month span

Mortgage delinquency rates are increasing modestly from historic low points as declining cure rates push more borrowers into serious distress, even as affordability has improved on a year-over-year basis, according to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)’s April 2026 Mortgage Monitor. The report, which d

Presupposition is the mistake:  Why housing marketing doesn’t meet the bar

Though I’ve never taken a marketing class, I remember fellow students quoting the famous Philip Kotler, who said that marketing is “the creation of demand.”  Simplistic to be sure, but a useful shorthand for that many-splendored thing that many of us do for a living.  We market to create demand, whi

How is the housing market weathering war-time economics?

War-time economics have, of course, sent gas prices skyrocketing, but have also pushed mortgage rates higher over the last five weeks, from a low of 5.99% to a high of 6.64%. Rates have fallen a bit recently, but higher rates have slowed some of the housing data down. In the past, mortgage rates abo

So far, 2026 job growth is better than 2025 

As crazy as this may sound, the jobs data in 2026 has improved from the levels of 2025. That’s how low the bar was this year for growth and today’s jobs report reaffirmed that. Now, with a bar so low we can all trip over it, context is key. Over the last six months of job creation, we averaged 15,00