Better names Barry Feierstein as new COO

Better Home & Finance Holding Co. announced Friday the appointment of Barry Feierstein as the company’s chief operating officer. In his new role, Feierstein will oversee Better’s corporate operations. “We’re thrilled to have Barry on board as Better’s new COO. His background brings a rare combinatio

Renovated homes are still a draw, but the edge is fading

Renovated homes continue to attract more online interest and sell faster than other older properties — but their long-standing fix-and-flip advantage has narrowed sharply as higher mortgage rates reshape buyer behavior, according to a new Realtor.com report. The analysis builds on earlier research s

Poll finds broad support for independent Social Security commission

A recent Cato Institute survey of 2,000 adults found strong bipartisan support for creating an independent, nonpartisan commission with authority to address Social Security’s long-term funding shortfall. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they favor Congress establishing such a body, reflecting

Dwight Schar, founder of NVR Inc., has died

Dwight Schar, the founder and former executive chairman and CEO of NVR Inc., has died, according to posts on LinkedIn.  James Honeycutt, managing partner at Credo Construction, discussed Schar’s legacy in a post on Thursday afternoon.  “Mr. Schar wasn’t flashy or dismissive — just calm, kind, and ve

Distressed property auctions outperform traditional REO sales

Auction.com released its 2025 Disposition Strategy Report on Wednesday, showing that distressed property sales at auction have increasingly outperformed traditional retail real estate sales over the past two years. The report analyzed more than 390,000 distressed property dispositions from January 2

Google’s MLS listings via HouseCanary reignites IDX policy debate

The news that Google is now displaying property listings in mobile search results for homes in certain markets, powered by a partnership with HouseCanary subsidiary ComeHome, has perhaps unsurprisingly sparked a bit of a debate online.  As with Zillow’s announcement of its app integration with ChatG

J.P. Morgan: Credit card debt a retirement hurdle for many

Nearly half of retirement plan participants carry credit card debt, a factor that increases the likelihood they’ll take a loan from their retirement accounts, according to a new report from J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The “Retirement by the Numbers” study found that high credit card balances are l

Will federal AI regulations override state housing efforts?

President Donald Trump’s new executive order that creates a single federal framework for artificial intelligence (AI) is reverberating throughout the housing industry. While states have been moving to regulate AI tools used in home pricing, marketing, tenant screening and mortgage decisions, the new

Exclusive: UWM’s Blake Kolo breaks down the strategy behind the Two Harbors deal

The move by United Wholesale Mortgage’s (UWM) parent company to acquire Two Harbors Investment Corp. for $1.3 billion — the first acquisition in its history — marks a shift towards a more balanced business model between origination and servicing for the nation’s top mortgage lender. UWM will continu

Matic says home insurance market stabilized in 2025

Despite years of sharp price increases, the home insurance market showed signs of stabilization in 2025, according to Matic‘s annual year-end trends and predictions report. The report, released Thursday, is based on proprietary data from properties quoted and insured through Matic. It examines devel

AD Mortgage survey reveals positive 2026 outlook from brokers

AD Mortgage on Thursday released its first Mortgage Professionals Pulse Report & 2026 Outlook, which offers a glimpse into broker sentiment, performance, challenges and expectations based on a survey of more than 300 mortgage professionals nationwide. The survey, conducted in late November and early

Century 21 expands presence in Idaho

Century 21 Real Estate has expanded its presence in Idaho’s Magic Valley through the affiliation of Twin Falls-based Gateway Real Estate. The brokerage — now operating as Century 21 Gateway — has been owned and operated since 2010 by Nathan Lyda, a Twin Falls native. Lyda entered the real estate ind

ERA Real Estate affiliate announces North Texas acquisition

ERA Real Estate affiliate Sprout Realty ERA Powered announced its acquisition of Dallas-based 24Fifteen Realty, expanding its presence into the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and neighboring Waco, Texas. The acquisition includes two offices and nearly 100 agents. Following the transaction, the brokerag

Why Texas builders are betting on backup batteries for new homes

On March 4, 2025, a windstorm cut across Texas and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Outside Dallas-Fort Worth, the pattern was the same as the storm swept through one of Lennar‘s new communities: the grid went down, the neighborhood went dark. But 46 homes in that same community—

Supreme Court denies REX’s request to rehear petition

The Supreme Court will not be taking up Real Estate Exchange (REX)’s appeal of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in REX’s long-running antitrust suit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Zillow. The nation’s highest court denied REX’s rehearing request in a ruling on Monday.

ICE taps Bob Hart to lead mortgage technology division

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Tuesday named Bob Hart as president of its ICE Mortgage Technology division. Hart will succeed Tim Bowler, who will transition to ICE’s fixed income and data services division, where he will focus on index development and financial institution infrastructure. The l

Midwest dominates Zillow’s most popular housing markets of 2025

Home shoppers in 2025 gravitated toward more affordable, midsized U.S. cities, with Midwestern markets accounting for most of the country’s most popular places to buy, according to new data released by Zillow. Rockford, Illinois, ranked as the most popular housing market in the country, moving up fr

Why the Fed isn’t worried about the jobs data

The unemployment rate reached 4.6% today!  Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve perceives current conditions as stable, allowing for a policy stance slightly above neutral since labor market deterioration has not yet occurred. Since late 2022, I have consistently argued that the Fed shifted its approac

Freddie Mac appoints Kenny Smith as new CEO

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday that its board of directors has selected Kenny M. Smith as the company’s CEO. The move is effective Wednesday and Smith will also serve as a member of the board. Michael Hutchins, who assumed the interim CEO role in March 2025 following the departure of Diana Reid, will

Home improvement contractors remain cautiously optimistic

Even as higher material costs, labor constraints, economic uncertainty, and spottier consumer spending trends weigh on current renovation and remodeling projects, home improvement contractors remain optimistic. The Q4 Contractor Activity Tracker, released by The Farnsworth Group and Home Improvement