Mortgage rates now closer to 7% than 6% as the Iran war escalates

Two weeks ago on CNBC, I talked about how the housing market was poised for growth for the first time in years — unless mortgage rates shot up due to the war with Iran. Mortgage rates were sub 6% before the war and today they hit 6.62%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is a big move. It’s unfo

Bill Pulte targets Letitia James with new criminal referrals

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte is again targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James, this time filing criminal referrals with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over alleged insurance fraud. The referrals were sent to two U.S. attorneys — Jason Reding Quinones of t

The GSEs updated their rules for condo loans. Will they be helpful or harmful?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last week enacted updates to condominium project standards and property insurance rules for one- to four-unit properties and larger developments, aiming to lower costs for homeowners. The moves have been met with mixed opinions from mortgage professionals. The updates, whi

Fort Worth growth resets the Dallas-Fort Worth housing map

For the past decade, Dallas-Fort Worth’s housing story has been written in bold letters along the U.S. 75 corridor – Frisco, McKinney, Plano and every patch of land north of there that could support a rooftop and a Starbucks. The northeast corner became a symbol of Texas growth: prices soared, commu

‘Six-figure limit’ aims to halt Social Security trust fund insolvency

With the Social Security trust fund less than seven years from insolvency — at which point a 24% across-the-board benefit cut could be triggered — a new proposal suggests capping annual payouts for the nation’s wealthiest retirees. A white paper released by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Bu

Did the industry build a machine for reverse steering and call it seller choice?

Five major deals in five days. That’s what happened last week in real estate, and I don’t think anyone has fully processed what just happened. Zillow Preview signed almost 30 brokerages. eXp signed deals with Realtor.com, Homes.com and ComeHome.com. Compass already had its Redfin partnership locked

Newsom warns cities of lawsuits over California SB 79 law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening legal action against cities and counties that do not comply with a 2025 housing reform law that allows higher density near public transit. During a Wednesday press conference, Newsom said his administration has warned 15 cities and counties that they have

RealTrends Verified Tampa team returns to eXp Realty

A high-producing Tampa real estate team has returned to eXp Realty after a stint with another brokerage. Maximum Tampa Group — led by Yulia Olivo and Jennifer Rivera — will now operate as FIG Team Maximum Tampa in collaboration with Veronica Figueroa’s FIG Team. The move comes after Maximum Tampa Gr

CMLS warns pre marketing could fragment the housing market

The Council of MLS (CMLS), the trade organization for multiple listing services, is pushing back against the rhetoric currently circulating the housing industry that “sellers benefit when their listings are not broadly exposed, that listing brokerages have a fiduciary duty to withhold facts from oth

Century 21 CEO: Adding Latino agents is key to serving ‘70% of net new homebuyers’

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 70% of net new homebuyers between now and 2050 will be Latino — a statistic that Century 21 CEO Mike Miedler said should guide recruiting efforts across the industry. “If we’re going to serve those communities, we also have to get more Hispanic real estate profes

Insurance is having a growing impact on condo affordability

On Wednesday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adopted extensive changes to their requirements for approvals of condominium projects that are eligible for their loan purchase.  The changes created more flexibility and affordability with respect to replacement cost and deductible requirements for condo ins

Regional markets back demand resilience as rate pressure builds

Regional market data is reinforcing the same story playing out nationally: Housing demand is holding up across major metros, even as mortgage rates move closer to levels that have historically pressured activity. That national backdrop remains surprisingly firm. Weekly pending sales rose to 71,230,

Antitrust lawsuit against NAR faces dismissal

A magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, is recommending that the court dismiss the Zea antitrust lawsuit filed against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and several local Realtor associations and MLSs.  Filed in August, the lawsuit claims that the defendants e

Former Fannie Mae CEO Hugh Frater joins Better board

Better Home & Finance Holding Co. announced Wednesday that it has appointed Hugh Frater, a founding partner of BlackRock and former CEO of Fannie Mae, to its board of directors as the company leans further into its Tinman AI mortgage platform. Frater, whose role became effective March 23, brings exp

TransUnion launches tool to bolster Realtor safety, fight fraud

As real estate professionals face growing threats from title fraud and in-person safety risks, TransUnion is introducing a mobile solution that consolidates tools for verifying identities and checking criminal backgrounds. TruLookup for Real Estate allows agents to validate property ownership, condu

States push back on buyer agreements as new laws challenge NAR rules

Mississippi has joined Alabama in creating a law that states that buyers agents and brokers are not required to obtain a signed buyer agency agreement prior to touring a property with a prospective buyer.  Earlier this month, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2713 into law. Under t

US Mortgage hit with class-action suit over May 2025 data breach

A former US Mortgage Corp. employee has filed a class-action complaint against the company following a data breach that occurred in May 2025, claiming that the incident could have been avoided if not for the company’s negligence. Richard Bernich, who brought the suit individually and on behalf of a

KB Home pivots to its build-to-order strengths, but not without risk

KB Home’s fiscal Q1 2026 results showed weaker revenue and margin performance alongside a strategic shift that management asserts will improve predictability and profitability later this year. Quarterly revenue was $1.08 billion, down nearly 23% year over year. The average selling price fell 3% sequ

One group drove U.S. homeownership gains in 2025 — and it wasn’t who you think

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) released its annual State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, revealing that Hispanic households added a net gain of 441,000 owner-households in 2025, the largest single-year increase since the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting

11 tips for pricing homes in a low-turnover market

Pricing a home is always a unique challenge for real estate agents, but it can be especially daunting in a low-turnover market. The current real estate turnover rate, or the rate at which homes change hands, is at its lowest rate in 30 years, according to a Redfin analysis. One of the main reasons i