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

Given the Department of Justice’s ongoing legal battle with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Sue Yannaccone — the president and CEO of Anywhere Brands and Anywhere Advisors — knows that the legal landscape for real estate in 2025 will continue to be a challenge. But that isn’t what she wa

While the mortgage industry debates the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the incoming Trump administration, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study on Friday suggesting that a recapitalization of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) could benefit the U.S. Department o

A reauthorized version of the Older Americans Act (OAA), originally passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, has passed the Senate and is now making its way to the House of Representatives.This is according to announcements by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pe

Mortgage application and origination activity dropped by roughly one-third from 2022 to 2023 as high interest rates depressed broader industry activity. That’s according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a report released Frid

Planet Financial Group, the parent company of Planet Home Lending, completed the issuance of $475 million in senior unsecured notes this week, the latest mortgage company to raise debt in an oversubscribed transaction. The company’s initial target for the offering was $400 million. The notes, which

The Republican steering committee in the U.S. House of Representatives has selected Rep. French Hill to chair the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the entirety of the U.S. financial services industry including the housing, insurance, securities and banking sectors.The comm

Some housing professionals believe the market could normalize in 2025 after years of changes. Veterans United Home Loans — the nation’s largest producer of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans — thinks that mortgage rates and home-price growth could subside, but affordability issues may pe