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 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 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

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

The Center for American Progress (CAP) recently put out a plan aimed at lowering housing costs nationwide by increasing construction and making homebuilding more affordable through federal efforts. The “Build, Baby, Build” proposal, published by CAP on Nov. 17, targets the nation’s estimated housing

Selling houses in an uncertain market, as we find ourselves in today, is challenging. Maybe we should stop trying to sell the house and instead focus on the positive impact it will have on our buyers’ lives. This is the approach Mars Inc. used to sell its Snickers bar. The ad campaign “You’re not yo

Trying to improve housing affordability and ease the path of development faces many hurdles that don’t always involve lawmakers. Voters can make or break efforts through ballot measures and referendums. Colorado’s small towns and Denver suburbs have become test cases in how far “not-in-my-backyard”

The nation’s top-ranked mega team, the Jason Mitchell Group (JMG) has surpassed 1,300 agents, according to an announcement last Wednesday. This represents a 36% increase in agent count over the past year. The team attributed this growth to the firm’s business-to-business referral opportunities, whic

The one thing that’s unambiguous right now in residential development and new construction is that the $80-to-$100 billion homebuilders throughout the U.S. draw on to site and build the new homes they plan to sell in 2026 and each year beyond is harder to get and more expensive to finance. National

FirstClose, a fintech provider of data and workflow technology for mortgage and home equity lenders, announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Adam Nicholson as director of professional services. Nicholson, who has spent more than a decade leading implementation and professional service teams in th

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, is the leading candidate to be the next Federal Reserve chair, advisers and allies of President Donald Trump told Bloomberg, as the deadline for a new Fed governor approaches. Trump has voiced his opposition to the current Fed lea

Monthly payments for new and existing homes are now nearly equal, amid a trend of stagnating prices and increased use of mortgage buydowns among builders.  That was one of the main findings from Realtor.com’s Q3 New Construction Report. According to the report, buyers purchasing a new home last quar

Former East Polk County Association of Realtors (EPCAR) CEO Jennifer Garula-Mers has been charged with grand theft after she allegedly stole over $81,000 from the trade association, leaving it “all but broke,” according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). The Florida-based Realtor associatio

As local governments face mounting pressure to streamline the review process for residential projects, a wave of AI-driven reforms is revealing how modern tools can shave days or weeks off approvals, potentially speeding up housing development. For 15-plus years, pressure has been growing on a shrin

California-based Lender Price has added its first reverse mortgage partner to its pricing and product eligibility (PPE) platform through an agreement with Finance of America (FOA).Lender Price Marketplace will provide brokers and lenders with live pricing for FOA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (H

National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) leadership may still have a divided view on the disclosure of referral fees, but one national real estate brokerage has come to a firm decision on where it stands. On Tuesday, eXp Realty announced that starting next Monday, Dec. 1, it will be implementing enha

Mortgage prepayments climbed to their highest level in three and a half years in October as lower interest rates prompted more borrowers to refinance, according to ICE Mortgage Technology’s First Look report. The single-month mortality rate, which measures prepayments, rose to 1.01%, up 16 basis poi

The baseline conforming loan limit is set to increase by 3.25% in 2026, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now authorized to purchase mortgages up to $832,750 for one-unit properties in most parts of the country, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The new limit, aligned with home-p

The housing market experienced a slightly positive shift mid-June and is ending 2025 on even more positive news. Existing home sales have shown four consecutive months of year-over-year growth and our total pending home sales data has just reached a multiyear high for this calendar week. By tracking