April 2026

Minnesota zoning reform push for starter homes falters

A third go at trying to reboot starter-home construction in Minnesota is on life support at the state Legislature, with supporters scrambling to revive it before the session ends. High-profile zoning reform bills failed in a House committee and missed key Senate deadlines late last month, potentially dooming the effort as had happened over the […]

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The Group Real Estate’s Brandon Wells on AI ‘slop,’ independents’ edge

Brandon Wells, president and CEO of The Group Real Estate, doesn’t buy into the fear that artificial intelligence will replace real estate agents (AI). But he also doesn’t buy into most of the AI tools being sold to brokerages today. “I think there’s a lot of AI slop out there,” Wells said on the latest

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What if the housing shortage era is ending for some metros?

The Changing Landscape “This is not a forecast. A forecast is a prediction, the validity of which my ego and I are professionally responsible for. What I offer here is speculation – something that is likely enough to write about but not so likely that my ego hangs in the balance.” – George Friedman “When

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‘Off to the races’: Real, REMAX CEOs on tech and culture after acquisition

Just after announcing an $880 million acquisition of REMAX Holdings, Tamir Poleg, CEO of The Real Brokerage, described the deal as historic for the real estate industry — combining two companies whose leaders say share a common vision for an evolving business. In an interview with HousingWire, Poleg and REMAX Holdings CEO Erik Carlson said

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NEXA Lending denies loanDepot trade secrets lawsuit

NEXA Lending CEO Mike Kortas is dismissing claims that the company misappropriated trade secrets and confidential customer data after being sued by rival lender loanDepot in federal court. The complaint alleges that NEXA knowingly assisted two former loanDepot employees in taking proprietary information before leaving the company and using it to solicit borrowers. The lawsuit

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LA wildfire recovery aftermath draws Trump scrutiny

Donald Trump said last week that his administration will examine how banks are treating homeowners affected by the last year’s Los Angeles wildfires, singling out Wells Fargo for criticism after meetings with local officials. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he met with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County supervisor

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NEXA Lending hires Christopher Griffith to grow VA lending

NEXA Lending announced Monday that it has hired Christopher Griffith as the company looks to expand its focus on VA lending and loan officer development. Griffith, who is the owner and founder of Vetted VA, will focus on elevating performance across NEXA’s third-party origination (TPO) channel while advocating for a shift in how lenders approach

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Ginnie Mae to pause counting FHA TPP loans as delinquent

Ginnie Mae will temporarily exclude loans in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Trial Payment Plans (TPPs) from issuer delinquency calculations, responding to higher reported rates, the corporation announced last week.  In 2025, the FHA updated its single-family loss mitigation waterfall and reinstated required TPPs before certain workout options, such as partial claims, can be approved. Under

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Mortgage Rates Perfectly Unchanged to Start New Week

Despite the elevated volatility risk heading into the weekend, mortgage rates are starting the week in exactly the same territory compared to Friday afternoon. As always, our rate tracking refers to top-tier 30-year fixed rates for the average lender. The absence of meaningful movement in the underlying bond market is a testament to an increasingly

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California bills would pause mortgage payments in disasters

California bills would pause mortgage payments in disasters

Three wildfire-relief bills, including one that would let homeowners pause mortgage payments after a disaster declaration, cleared their respective California committees this month and are headed to formal votes.  Processing Content State Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, whose district includes some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the early-2025 Los Angeles wildfires, led proposals for all

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