Now that the Iran conflict is behind us and oil prices have fallen significantly, we can hopefully move into the second half of 2026 with less drama for housing. It would be great if the economic backdrop was less like an episode of 24 and more like Saved by the Bell. How did housing hold up with oi

Legislation moving through Congress would increase fees on U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, creating a new flashpoint for the mortgage industry. H.R. 6047, which would expand benefits for severely disabled veterans and survivors, would offset its costs by raising fees. The fee for the

A question has hovered over America’s publicly traded homebuilders as the price, pace and margins plot thickened on or about February 28, 2026. How big is big enough anymore, especially with the cloud of uncertainty that intensified on the day the Iran War began? Taylor Morrison Home Corp.‘s recentl

A decade after addressing a room full of real estate agents as a motivational speaker, Barry Long is being recognized as a 2026 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Fair Housing Champion. Home accessibility search standards that Long co-developed are being adopted by multiple listing services (MLS

You hear them in a conference session, jot them down in your notebook, and then weeks later you find yourself still thinking about them while walking the dog, sitting on an airplane or reading another industry headline (from HousingWire, of course). That happened to me with something Ron Leonhardt,

Homebuyers in Florida have filed a lawsuit against Compass challenging a transaction fee the brokerage charged them upon the close of their August 2024 home purchase.  Filed on Tuesday in Palm Beach County, Florida circuit court by plaintiffs Jeff and Melissa Efron, the suit accused Compass of “unfa

New York Attorney General Letitia James has charged a Queens resident with allegedly stealing the Brooklyn home and savings of a 92-year-old woman with dementia, in a case highlighting how deed theft continues to strip home equity and housing security from elderly homeowners in New York City. On Thu

Data makes it easier to do our jobs in real estate — but accuracy and trust are more important than ever. We live and work in an age of nearly instant information and timesaving technology. This has had a profound impact on those of us in the world of real estate. With the tools at our disposal, we

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has updated several home loan appraisal requirements, removing and revising certain Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs), the agency announced Thursday. The changes are now in effect and reflected in the revised VA Lenders Handbook. The agency said in a n

The modern battlefield offers a lesson in real estate vertical integration. Look around. Rocket bought Redfin. Compass combined with Anywhere to become the country’s largest brokerage, north of 340,000 agents. Zillow is fighting over listing access. Homes.com is still buying its way to portal releva

The American Real Estate Association (ARA) has added REMAX president and chief growth officer Chris Lim and investor Andrew Dodge to its board of directors, expanding its leadership, according to an announcement on Thursday.  As part of the move, ARA will provide all REMAX agents in the United State

Every piece of land worth buying is a race. A broker hears that a landowner might sell fifty acres, and within an hour, twenty buyers know about it. Whoever gets to a confident number first, the price the seller will actually accept, wins it. Everyone else is analyzing yields and preparing bids for

Homebuilding’s mid-year public company earnings season is now looking through the prism of the back half of 2026. Each of the sector’s players had better have put themselves in a good position for some heavy lifting and outperformance, rather than lugging around a forgettable first half. In that lig

Seasoned real estate agents are anchoring the residential market as buyers confront the toughest affordability environment in decades, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2026 Member Profile, published on Thursday. The annual report, based on 2025 transactions and trends, shows

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) are calling on Congress to shore up Social Security by lifting the cap on wages subject to payroll taxes. The proposal comes as policymakers and financial professionals warn of looming funding shortfalls and widespread confusion among

Buying a first home has gotten materially harder for young adults in most major U.S. metros since 2019, as home values have far outpaced income gains and higher mortgage rates push monthly payments out of reach, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of American Community Survey data. The s

JPMorgan Chase has named Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh as co-presidents effective immediately — the clearest step yet in the board’s planning for an eventual successor to CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon, who has led JPMorgan since 2006, remains as chairman and CEO. Over his tenure, he has reduced the bank’s

CoStar Group stockholders approved all proposals at the company’s annual meeting on Tuesday, including the reelection of eight director nominees and an advisory vote on a redesigned executive compensation plan, the company said in an announcement on Thursday. The vote gives CoStar leadership a gover

Qualia has expanded its wire fraud prevention platform, Qualia Shield, adding new automated verification capabilities designed to help title and escrow companies identify potential fraud during real estate transactions. Shield is integrated into the Qualia title and escrow operating system and autom

While their homebuyer commission lawsuit settlement agreements are still waiting for final approval, both HomeServices of America and Douglas Elliman notched legal wins this week in the homebuyer commission litigation saga.  In a ruling Tuesday, Florida-based District Court Judge K. Michael Moore de