Why it’s too easy to say ‘no’ to new-home development in America

It’s homebuilders’ last push, and their business and channel partners operate through friction on every front. Scarce, costly capital Slow approvals and entitlement drag Workforce constraints and generational handoffs Climate-driven costs and insurance uncertainty Buyer fear, hesitation, and confusi

Luxury home sellers offering more creative concessions

Luxury home sellers are offering more and increasingly creative concessions in 2025, according to The Agency’s annual Red Paper, a comprehensive wealth and real estate market report. A survey of The Agency brokers saw more than 60% reporting more concessions this year compared to 2024. “Concessions

Louisiana again tops the chart for outbound moves

If the continued slow pace of existing home sales wasn’t enough to convince you that fewer Americans are moving, Atlas Van Lines’ 2025 Migration Patterns Study would like you to consider its findings. Published on Wednesday, the report found that overall mobility in the U.S. is low, which the study

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac limit public housing data releases

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have curtailed the public release of their economic and housing data, prompting questions about the potential impact to the mortgage market that relies on the data, according to reporting by Inman. Fannie Mae did not release its National Housing Survey in November, marking

Redfin defends climate risk transparency after Zillow removes data

While Zillow made waves earlier this week after removing climate risk data, which was supplied by First Street Technologies, from its listings, Redfin has taken a different approach. In a post on LinkedIn, Redfin’s chief economist Daryl Fairweather wrote that her firm had made the choice to continue

Housing affordability dominates California gubernatorial race

California has made significant efforts to address housing affordability through numerous new laws under Gov. Gavin Newsom. Candidates seeking to replace the term-limited Newsom, however, act as if little has been accomplished. The laws lacked swift, decisive enforcement to push the affordable goal,

Senate Democrats warn CFPB shutdown could disrupt prime interest rates

U.S. Senate Democrats sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director Russell Vought raising concerns that any “efforts to shutter the agency” could disrupt the publication of average prime offer rates (APOR), a key benchmark in the mortgage market. The CFPB manually cal

Former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra lands new consumer watchdog role

Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a previous member of the Federal Trade Commission, has landed a new job. According to reporting from Bloomberg on Tuesday, a coalition of Democratic state prosecutors called The Progressive State Leaders Committee (

Bright MLS projects 2026 as reset year, not a rebound

Bright MLS expects the U.S. housing market to enter a transitional period in 2026, with slightly lower mortgage rates and rising inventory offering some relief to buyers but not enough to fuel a full recovery. The nation’s largest multiple listing service (MLS) released its annual forecast Wednesday

Pennymac TPO offers temporary relief on credit report fees

Pennymac TPO is waiving a $99 credit report fee charged at closing for loans submitted through its POWER+ portal in December, the lender announced Wednesday. “Qualified credit report fee waivers will be paid by Pennymac at closing—no action required by the partner,” the company said in a notice to b

Bayview closes acquisition of Guild, taking lender private

Bayview Asset Management has closed its acquisition of Guild Holdings Company, the parent of Guild Mortgage, in a deal that takes the lender private and removes it from the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction was finalized on November 28, according to a new 8-K filing. Under the agreement, shar

Making the 7-day refi reality: Modernizing mortgage appraisals

For many borrowers, the appraisal is the most stressful step in a refinance: part mystery, part high-stakes hurdle. Will the home appraise high enough? Will it delay closing? What actually determines the final value? Lenders can help ease these concerns by adopting the right combination of technolog

The new battlefront in lending: Payment intelligence, buyer retention, and the capital rails that will decide 2026 purchase winners 

For the past decade, rate marketing has been the dominant gravitational force in mortgage acquisition. Whoever shouted the lowest 30-year fixed rate the loudest won the most attention. But attention has never been the same as intent, and intent has never been the same as a closed loan. What’s happen

What real estate can learn from LEGO’s reinvention

Just in time for the holidays, Troy Palmquist looks at how this legacy manufacturer bounced back from a market downturn and how agents can, too A few weeks ago, on a podcast, I was asked which brands I admire most. Without hesitation, I said LEGO. The toy company has an incredible comeback story, fr

Lubbock inventory climbs to 8.1 months, marking Texas’s deepest buyer market

The Lubbock metro housing market has emerged as Texas’s deepest buyer’s market, with inventory levels reaching 8.1 months of supply as of Nov. 22, 2025. This marks a stark departure from the state’s overall 3.6 months of inventory, positioning the West Texas metro as an outlier in an otherwise balan

Toledo housing inventory jumps 46% as Midwest markets recalibrate

Toledo’s single-family home inventory surged to 1,150 active listings for the week ending Nov. 22, 2025, marking a 46% increase from 787 homes a year earlier. The dramatic inventory expansion coincides with widespread price adjustments, as 38.3% of active listings reduced their asking prices during

Are mortgage buydowns a lifeline or a risk for new homebuyers?

The debate over the large builders’ elevated use of mortgage buydowns — and the potential risks to buyers — isn’t new. Reigniting the argument, a recent report from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) asserts that mortgage buydowns among the large builders are artificially inflating new home pri

Pine Bluff’s low prices are not speeding up home sales

Pine Bluff’s housing market reveals a stark disconnect between affordability and buyer interest, with 34.4% of active listings taking price cuts while homes sit on the market for a median 91 days. The metro’s $139,950 median list price represents less than half Arkansas’s $315,000 statewide figure,

Connecticut governor signs bill to tackle affordable housing shortage

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) on Wednesday signed a housing bill aimed at addressing the state’s shortage of affordable housing. H.B. 5002, a “much-debated” bill, according to CT Insider, passed during a special session in early November. The bill is a compromise from the version that Lamont had v

High-end metros see price drops, longer selling times

Pricier metropolitan areas are posting a noticeable slowdown as high-end homes take longer to sell. The top 10% of metro markets — those with median prices above $666,464 — recorded a 2.5% year-over-year price decline in October, HousingWire Data shows. Average home prices in these metros fell from