Washington agents now face limits on private listings

On Thursday morning, real estate professionals in Washington state woke up having to comply with a new law requiring them to publicly market their residential real estate listings to all consumers, unless the seller can show doing so would negatively impact their health or safety. The statute, forme

The responsible AI framework every mortgage lender needs before going live

Every technology adoption cycle reaches a point where the question shifts from “should we?” to “how fast can we?” In mortgage lending, AI has reached that moment. Lenders are deploying AI tools for document processing, income analysis, borrower communication and, increasingly, credit decisioning. Th

How to study for the real estate exam: AI-powered strategies that work

Every year, thousands of aspiring real estate agents complete their pre-licensing education only to discover that earning course credit and passing the licensing exam are not the same thing. Industry estimates suggest that only about 50% to 60% of candidates pass the real estate licensing exam on th

The danger of the single-bureau blind spot: Why the 30-year mortgage demands the Tri-Merge Standard

As mortgage originators navigate one of the tightest margin environments in a generation, the pressure to slash operational costs has reached a fever pitch. In response, a polarizing debate has emerged across the industry: Can lenders safely cut corners on credit data to achieve short-term line-item

AppFolio launches connector for Realm-X AI suite and Anthropic’s Claude

AppFolio has announced a new integration between its Realm-X AI platform and Anthropic’s Claude, enabling property management professionals to trigger and execute operational tasks directly through Claude while maintaining AppFolio’s built-in compliance, accounting and workflow safeguards. The new a

Illinois Gov. Pritzker’s sweeping housing reform package hits a wall

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push to reshape the state’s housing landscape ended with nary a whimper last week, with no votes as National Homeownership Month began. His sweeping Building Up Illinois Developments plan stalled before the legislature adjourned, leaving the most ambitious housing propo

MLSs compete on rules and partnerships as listing control shifts

From teaming up with brokerages to expand private listing networks nationwide, to opening up membership to real estate professionals outside of their traditional service area, to launching joint ventures supplying listing input and distribution technology, MLSs are employing a variety of diverse str

Homebuilders’ spring toolbox: Incentives rose, but conversion stayed weak

Part of this is telling you what you already know. So, make sure you get to the second part. A string of better-than-expected quarters for new-home development players following the pandemic’s onset in 2020 had to end sometime. It did. The first half of 2026 delivered a worse-than-expected spring se

MBA launches forum for reverse mortgages, senior lending

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Tuesday announced the launch of a new member forum dedicated to reverse mortgages and other senior-focused mortgage products. The Senior Mortgage Solutions Network (SMSN) will provide MBA members a venue to discuss emerging trends, policy developments and bu

2026 The Thousand: eXp team provides ‘Anchor’ for military families

When Kelli Salter launched Anchor Real Estate in 2020, the military spouse and real estate professional was searching for a better way to serve members of the armed forces who form the backbone of the Jacksonville, North Carolina, housing market. Six years later, that decision has helped propel Anch

MISMO updates PaVS procurement dataset for UAD 3.6

MISMO, the real estate finance industry’s standards organization, released an update to its Property and Valuation Services (PaVS) Procurement Dataset Specification on Tuesday, aiming to modernize how valuation services are ordered across the mortgage ecosystem. The updated specification replaces le

The verification layer financial systems forgot to build

For decades, financial systems operated on a quiet assumption: most information entering the system was fundamentally real. Documents might arrive incomplete. Borrowers might omit details. Fraud existed at the margins. But lending infrastructure was built around a world where verification happened s

Just don’t: Why AI-generated marketing content is a regulatory minefield for mortgage lenders

Marketers have long used endorsements and testimonials in their ads. Even though it goes by multiple names, this is a playbook dating back centuries. You have something to sell.  You borrow the trust of a known personality.  You sell more product. For years, influencer marketing and user-generated c

Many older Americans stuck in homes that no longer fit

The nation’s housing shortage is often framed as a challenge for first-time buyers and growing families. But another group is increasingly feeling the impact — older homeowners who want to downsize yet find themselves with few practical options. Across the country, many seniors remain in large famil

Class Valuation adds Makena InstaPlan ahead of UAD 3.6 shift

Class Valuation has partnered with Makena to provide appraisers with new mobile data-collection tools ahead of the mortgage industry’s transition to the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 standards later this year. The appraisal management company announced last week that appraisers working through

May rent trends run sideways as multifamily supply stays strong

Policymakers have been making the case that more supply is a better check on housing costs than rent stabilization. May apartment rental data backs up that narrative. Rents ticked up modestly last month, the fifth consecutive month of sequential growth. But May’s reading was the lowest for that mont

Mortgage and real estate battle for the top of the funnel

Like many mortgage professionals, Vipul Hapani can see the wave of industry consolidation forming on the horizon and knows it is only a matter of time before it reaches his shores. As the broker-owner of Waxhaw, North Carolina-based Vema Mortgage—the third-largest brokerage originator in the U.S. in

HUD pilots robotics-built housing and automated permitting

A pair of ultra-modest, little-noticed funding opportunities from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development may signal a new strategy taking shape in Washington. The Builder’s Daily has learned that HUD recently opened applications for two new demonstration programs totaling $13 million t

Top agent Kris Zacuto joins Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California

Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California has expanded its presence in the Silicon Beach and South Bay luxury markets with the addition of luxury real estate adviser Kris Zacuto as director of luxury estates. Zacuto brings more than a decade of experience in luxury real estate and mor

Sotheby’s International Realty names Marissa Ghesquiere regional president

Marissa Ghesquiere has been appointed as regional president for the East Coast and Central regions at Sotheby’s International Realty Inc. It’s a newly created role for the firm in which Ghesquiere will oversee brokerage operations across several key markets while continuing to lead the firm’s East S