In the newest episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sits down with author and investment banker Chris Whalen to explore the potential pitfalls of ending the federal conservatorships of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.This inter

Rapid changes in mortgage rates have left many would-be homebuyers asking: Is now a good time to buy? Will prices go up or down? Will mortgage rates and affordability improve or get worse? There is no “perfect” time to buy, of course. But there are specific factors homebuyers should weigh as they de

Many older Americans say they have no plans to sell their homes. What does this mean for younger generations who are looking to enter the homeownership phase of life? (Image generated by AI in Midjourney)There are two particular ways for people to interpret the phrase “silver tsunami” in the context

Anywhere brand Century 21 is growing its presence in Massachusetts. On Thursday, the Century 21 Custom Home Realty affiliate announced its acquisition of Mansfield, Massachusetts-based Monarch Realty Group.The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Through this acquisition, the firm now boa

Tim Nelson, reverse department manager at VIP Mortgage, is a 35-year veteran of the mortgage business, and he has been solely focused on reverse mortgages for the past 15 years.Nelson recently sat down with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) to share perspectives on what it was like to move

Mortgage rates fell this week and they are now far from the levels widely discussed after the election. With the final jobs report for 2024, mortgage rates made a nice move lower today, and it’s been a positive story this week. We discussed this possibility in last week’s Housing Market Tracker: Wil

The Masiello copycat commission lawsuit plaintiff and Realty ONE Group Arizona have filed a joint motion to dismiss the brokerage defendant from the suit with prejudice. The motion was filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.According to the motion, the desire to dismiss the suit comes f

The New York City Council this week narrowly passed a housing plan backed by Mayor Eric Adams (D) known as “City of Yes,” which calls for the construction of 82,000 new homes over the next 15 years in the Big Apple. The passage of the plan has been characterized as some of the city’s most significan

Real estate agents are no strangers to going out of their way to help their local communities. According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Community Aid and Real Estate (CARE) Report published in May, nearly 70% of all NAR members reported that they volunteered at least eight hours a mo

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday announced two new key responses to its ongoing disaster recovery efforts in the wake of an accelerating trend of extreme weather events. These include an extension of a foreclosure moratorium for victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as a

Real estate agents often make the mistake of believing their clients will remember them forever — but they don’t. It’s up to us as agents to stay engaged and stay in contact with our clients. Building on existing relationships is the quickest and easiest way to keep your pipeline filled with active

Brokerage giant eXp Realty is adding a superstar agent to its ranks. The company announced the recruitment of Phoenix-based agent Joshua Smith, a high producer who closed 297 transactions in 2023. Smith is the latest addition to eXp Realty’s expanding global agent network. According to the brokerage

Sam Valverde, who stepped down as acting president of Ginnie Mae on Nov. 30, will join Freddie Mac as vice president of mission and community engagement in the government-sponsored enterprise’s single-family acquisitions division. The move is effective Monday.With more than 20 years of experience in

Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.Are you looking to add a dose of inspiration, humor and expertise to your Instagram feed? From luxury property tours to laugh-out-loud real estate memes, the

Vetted by HousingWire  |  Our editors independently review the products we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.For decades, referrals have been the backbone of a real estate agent’s business. But in an era where nearly everything begins with a Google search, the way b

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements continued to decline in the 2024 fiscal year from a recent peak observed in 2022, while the HECM line of credit continued its dominance as a payment option. Single women were the single largest cohort served by the HECM program.This is according to

In this week’s episode of the Power House podcast, Mr. Cooper CEO Jay Bray joins HousingWire president Diego Sanchez for a conversation centered on balanced servicing and origination activities in the mortgage space.The duo explore Mr. Cooper’s growth initiatives, artificial intelligence (AI) usage

Even in a divided Congress, there is bipartisan support for learning more about how artificial intelligence, and especially gen AI, is being leveraged in the housing and banking industries. Two bipartisan measures introduced this week would address concerns about how banks use AI in property valuati

A recent study authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that the integration of health, social services and community-based support systems must be improved to better accommodate the desires of older Americans to age in place in their homes.By

Compass created quite the buzz earlier this week when it announced its acquisition of Christie’s International Real Estate and @properties for a total of $444 million in cash and stocks. But executives say this move should not have come as a surprise.“Robert [Reffkin] and Kalani [Reelitz] have share