It’s been one week since the NAR settlement changes went into effect. Did the changes affect any of the housing data we track every week? Since the buyer’s commission payout isn’t as transparent as before, I have been anticipating delays in the home-buying process as people adapted to the new rules.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday announced an agreement with Harris County, Texas, to settle allegations of discrimination based on race and national origin in its “design and operation of its Post Disaster Relocation and Buyout Program.”While the county is party

The new home sales report had such a big beat today that many people had to double-check the numbers — and I get it. The estimates were for 623,000 but the sales came in at 739,000. This isn’t my first rodeo with new home sales data and I believe these numbers will be revised lower, but a beat is a

The Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to take aim at alleged antitrust violations in the real estate industry.The DOJ filed a civil suit against RealPage on Friday, claiming that the company’s YieldStar and AI revenue management (AIRM) software allowed multifamily landlords to artificially infla

Montana’s unique Reverse Annuity Mortgage (RAM) program is a state-sponsored reverse mortgage, with lower interest rates and proceeds along with a higher minimum qualifying age that distinguishes it from the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program through the Federal Housing Administration (F

RE/MAX and Inside Real Estate are expanding their partnership. The firms announced the expansion on Tuesday at the RE/MAX Broker Owner Conference.The expanded partnership will bring the BoldTrail platform to all RE/MAX-owned brokerages across the U.S. and Canada.The strategic partnership between Ins

Aging in place is seen as a leading “social barrier“ to healthy aging in America in 2024, according to a new survey conducted by Alignment Health. The survey was first reported by McKnights Senior Living.“As more seniors choose to live independently and longer in their own homes, aging in place brin

The latest data reflected in the Agent Movement Index (AMI) for July 2024 indicates a notable shift in the real estate agent landscape, highlighting a cooling trend in agent movement and an emerging caution in the market.Key observations from July 2024 AMI:Halting of agent growth: The recent trend o

In the newest episode of the RealTrending podcast, host Tracey Velt chats with Ryan Michaelis, chief growth strategist at Worth Clark Realty, about business growth through recruitment, flat-fee models for agents and the effects of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) settlement on buyers and

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) this week published a final rule in the Federal Register that outlines housing goals for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and seeks to establish yearly standards to meet the goals.The proposed goals for 2025 through 2027

Three days before the new business practice changes mandated by the settlement of the National Association of Realtors‘ commission lawsuit went into effect, HousingWire caught up with top real estate coach Skye Michiels to talk about how his agents are handling the big changes.Michiels, the former h

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has settled a case with Florida-based Fay Servicing over illegal conduct in foreclosures. The deal includes a $2 million fine and potential limitations to the CEO’s compensation. A company spokesperson wrote to HousingWire that “Fay continues to strong

Doing the right thing is easy in theory, but often the hardest in practice. Our family established Baird & Warner more than a century ago with a mission to serve buyers and sellers with transparency and integrity, and we’ve endured many changes in our industry during this time. Sometimes, our choice

Plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Gibson copycat commission lawsuit are seeking $36.8 million, or one-third of the $110.6 million total settlement in the case, according to documents filed on Tuesday.This amount is only for the Gibson suit, which was combined with the Umpa suit in April, as the settlemen

David Heilman, principal for HomeGrown Financial in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, didn’t feel like he had to shake up his approach to working with seniors when he became involved in the reverse mortgage industry. Having experience in the health care field prior to entering the mortgage business, i

In conjunction with National Senior Citizens Day on Wednesday, the New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection is circulating a series of tips that aim to help older adults avoid financial scams and exploitation. One way that bad actors may try to take advantage of older Americans

Mortgage rates have been on a declining trend, but demand slowed down last week largely due to fewer refinance applications, an indication that the industry should not expect a mini refi boom yet.Mortgage applications dropped 10.1% for the week ending Aug. 16 compared to the previous week, according

A U.S. District Court judge in Texas on Tuesday blocked a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule banning noncompete agreements, which are commonly used in the mortgage and real estate industries.Judge Ada E. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted plaintiff Ryan LLC,

Mortgage rates have moved lower in recent months, but Fannie Mae economists said Wednesday that this won’t be enough to increase the number of homes sold in the foreseeable future.Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group downgraded its forecasts for 2024 and 2025 home sales based on