It’s not a commonly used phrase, but “cottage courts” could be an increasingly common reality in a country that continues to need novel solutions to address severe housing shortfalls. Some organizations and local officials see them as a potential path forward for older Americans seeking to age in pl

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week released a new report finding that mortgage companies often “create obstacles” for homeowners, leading to what it calls a “customer service doom loop” if a death or divorce impacts the original borrower of a mortgage loan.“Many homeowners rep

SUCCESS Real Estate in the Greater Boston area suddenly closed up shop this week. Over the weekend, broker-owner Steve Webster sent a note to his agents informing them that the brokerage was closing, according to a report by Boston 25 News.“At this moment, we will no longer be accepting any new busi

Government-owned company Ginnie Mae, which oversees the secondary mortgage market and provides a guarantee for a large segment of home loans, released a fiscal year 2024 financial report this week that shows positive results.“During FY24, Ginnie Mae’s mortgage-backed securities (MBS) program support

If you’re interested in becoming a real estate agent in New York, you’ll need to complete a 77-hour prelicensing course and pass the state exam. To help set you up for success on the New York real estate exam and in your new career, we rigorously reviewed the best online real estate courses in New Y

Rent prices have fluctuated alongside home prices in this year’s housing market. More inventory can bring down prices, but some renters still struggle to meet the rental price hikes found in new construction. Seattle-based brokerage Redfin released a report this week that highlighted a 1.5% increase

The report on the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) book of business inside the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund served as another positive development for the program. The estimated economic net worth of the HECM MMI stood at $17.4 million, up from $15.4 million last year, according to the

Mortgage rates haven’t moved much in the past week, but Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Reserve should give some clearer insights into where the market is headed at the end of the year.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is scheduled to announce its decision on the federal funds rate at 2 p.

It’s hard to imagine something more disruptive to a housing market than a hurricane.That’s what the Tampa Bay metro area was faced with in October with Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in the area as a Category 3 storm. Milton set a record for tornado warnings with 129, and hundreds of homes we

The reverse mortgage division of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. has honored a longtime professional in its ranks with a lifetime achievement award, in recognition of his 40-year career in the mortgage banking, real estate, homebuilding and title insurance industries.Pete Stebbins, 90, initially

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday announced a final rule governing the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan program. The rule applies existing protections for residential mortgages to borrowers who seek PACE loans to upgrade or renovate their homes through clean energy

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday released an update about the sales of non-performing loans (NPLs) through the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), saying the data has shown a steady drop in mortgage delinquencies since the start of COVID-19 pandemic.“The [NPL] sales program

The criminal charges against the Alexander brothers are now affecting Side’s civil lawsuit against them. Side has filed a preliminary injunction against Tal and Oren Alexander and their brokerage, Official Partners, that seeks to prevent them from dissipating, hiding or moving collateral for a loan

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