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December 2025

Mortgage demand drops, but refi share reaches highest level since September

HWmember, Mike Fratantoni, Mortgage, Mortgage applications, Mortgage Bankers Association, Origination, Purchase Applications, Refinancing /

Mortgage applications decreased 3.8% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Dec. 12. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 5% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 4% from the previous week and was 86% higher than the […]

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Bridging the affordable housing gap: Why smarter data is the foundation for lasting solutions

Affordable housing, Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, HWmember, Opinion /

Securing rising living standards for all Americans depends on one basic necessity: affordable housing. Yet for millions of families, this goal feels further away than ever. In the United States, decades of rising costs, a constrained supply of homes, and structural barriers have created an affordable housing crisis that touches nearly every community.  The numbers

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A fifty year mortgage will not solve affordability. It only buys time we do not actually have.

Affordability, Affordable housing, Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage Rates, Opinion /

The recent interest in a fifty year mortgage says a lot about where the housing market is today. Buyers feel shut out, lenders are fighting for volume, and policymakers are searching for ways to make the math work. Extending the mortgage term to fifty years sounds like a bold solution, but it is really a

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ERA Real Estate affiliate announces North Texas acquisition

Anywhere, Brokerage, Dallas, Fort Worth, HWmember, Mergers and Acquisitions, Real Estate Agents, Texas /

ERA Real Estate affiliate Sprout Realty ERA Powered announced its acquisition of Dallas-based 24Fifteen Realty, expanding its presence into the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and neighboring Waco, Texas. The acquisition includes two offices and nearly 100 agents. Following the transaction, the brokerage will operate as 24Fifteen ERA Powered. Founded in 2018, 24Fifteen Realty is led by

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Why Texas builders are betting on backup batteries for new homes

Homebuilders, Homebuyers, Natural Disaster, Technology, The Builder's Daily /

On March 4, 2025, a windstorm cut across Texas and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Outside Dallas-Fort Worth, the pattern was the same as the storm swept through one of Lennar‘s new communities: the grid went down, the neighborhood went dark. But 46 homes in that same community—the ones with a

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Supreme Court denies REX’s request to rehear petition

HWmember, Lawsuit, Legal, National Association of Realtors, Real Estate, REX, Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court, Zillow /

The Supreme Court will not be taking up Real Estate Exchange (REX)’s appeal of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in REX’s long-running antitrust suit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Zillow. The nation’s highest court denied REX’s rehearing request in a ruling on Monday. No reason was given for its refusal.

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Ex-Fannie Mae data scientist alleges wrongful termination

Fannie Mae, Law and legal issues /

A former Fannie Mae data scientist manager says the company recently fired him shortly after he requested leave following a house fire. Processing Content William Bowser sued his former employer Sunday for violating labor laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, over his termination last month. The professional is also seeking unspecified back pay

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MBA presses FHFA to drop tri-merge credit report rule

Credit reporting, Industry News, Mortgage Bankers Association, Originations /

The Mortgage Bankers Association is standing firm on its initiatives to help lenders find credit-report cost relief with its latest call to eliminate the tri-merge purchase requirement for a segment of borrowers.  Processing Content In a letter addressed to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte in mid December, MBA requested that the regulator, which

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