Mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 7.2% year over year in November, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s (MBA) builder application survey that was released Tuesday. Applications decreased by 12% from October 2024. “Applications to purchase newly built homes h

Looking for a career change in 2025? In this article, we’ll show you how to become a real estate agent in California — taking you through the process step-by-step, detailing the costs, and sharing the best schools to help you get started. You’ll begin by completing 135 California real estate course

As the reverse mortgage industry prepares to say goodbye to the tumultuous year that is 2024, positive news for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program — which backs most of the country’s reverse mortgages — helps give a sense of overall health for t

The COVID-19 pandemic turned a number of nontraditional cities into housing market hotspots. While some of those markets have since seen a reversal of fortunes, 2025 may bring a few more surprises.That’s according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) which predicts metropo

Despite rising home prices and mortgage rates, second-home investors overtook a select group of vacation real estate markets. This week, online marketplace Pacaso highlighted counties in New Jersey, Florida and Massachusetts as leading markets for sales of luxury vacation homes.Pacaso’s report revea

As the year draws to a close, available unsold inventory of homes on the market is nearly 27% greater than a year ago. Almost every market in the country has more homes available now than at the end of 2023. Ten states have more inventory unsold than in 2019, which was the last sort of “normal” year

The past year had its fair share of ups and downs for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. The family-run brokerage firm recorded some legal wins and losses, developed new tools for agents and clients, and navigated one of the slowest years for home sales in nearly three decades.According to Hoby Hann

Older homeowners have an overwhelming preference to age in place, but these circumstances can also come with unique challenges. Feelings of isolation and loneliness rank highly among these issues, but a recent study suggests that aging in place with a pet can make a big difference.The study, highlig

Flagstar Financial, the parent company of Flagstar Bank, announced on Friday the appointment of Lee Smith as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. Smith’s role will be effective Dec. 27.Per a company press release, Smith’s appointment follows the decision of current CFO Craig

The downfall of the Alexander brothers has become a drag on their former brokerage. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested information from Douglas Elliman about Oren and Tal Alexander’s time there, when the pair became star luxury real estate brokers. As reported by Bloomberg News, Douglas E

President-elect Donald Trump announced a flurry of nominees to his new administration leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, but notably absent from these announcements were picks to lead various financial regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This is according to r

Fix-and-flip investors took a hit in the third quarter of 2024 as flipped properties accounted for a smaller share of U.S. home sales compared to the previous quarter. Short-term real estate investors saw a 28.7% return on investment (ROI), down from 31.2% in Q2 2024, according to an Attom report re

The holiday season is here, and despite higher mortgage rates last week, housing demand is displaying some festive resilience. Typically, we expect a decrease in activity with elevated rates, but a seasonal boost is helping the purchase application data over the last month. Additionally, our pending

In this week’s episode of the Power House podcast, HousingWire President Diego Sanchez sits down with Terry Schmidt, CEO of San Diego-based Guild Mortgage, to discuss the company’s recent acquisitions, reverse mortgages and the use of artificial intelligence for mortgage originators.This interview h

Looking to for a career change in 2025? In this article, we’ll show you how to get a real estate license in Massachusetts, walking you through the steps you’ll need to take, the costs involved, and the best schools to help you prepare for the Massachusetts real estate exam. To begin, you’ll need to

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) this week published a proposal for Ginnie Mae to develop a new mortgage securitization product that could boost the availability of private capital liquidity sources into the market, particularly in periods of stress for the U.S. economy.Importantly, the associ

The Batton homebuyer commission lawsuits are not the only ones getting updated complaints. On Thursday, James Lutz, the lead plaintiff in the Lutz homebuyer commission suit in Florida, filed a second amended complaint.This updated complaint adds 31 new plaintiffs to the suit, including many familiar

The recent CoreLogic Homeowner Equity Insights report for Q3 shows a continued positive trend of a lack of underwater mortgages in America today. Underwater mortgages — where borrowers owe more on their home than what it is worth — pose a risk of foreclosure and hinder people from selling their home