Author name: Ricky Vasquez

State exams are becoming a revenue exercise

A familiar scene for many independent mortgage banks: an exam turns up issues, you coordinate with state regulators or the Multistate Mortgage Committee (MMC), and what starts as remediation becomes chaotic, especially in multistate reviews, where some states may proceed independently. Suddenly you are managing dozens of parallel negotiations, and the discussion shifts from fixes […]

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KW’s Sandra Howard: Why tough markets expose weak branding and how to prevent strategic drift

Companies that stay grounded in a clear identity are better positioned to make smart decisions than those that chase every new trend, said Keller Williams executive Sandra Howard — speaking at HousingWire’s The Gathering in Austin, Texas. Addressing an audience of real estate and mortgage leaders, she argued that most firms operate in the same

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CrossCountry raises bid for Two Harbors after rival offer from UWM

UWM Holding Corp. may not win the bid to acquire Two Harbors Investment Corp., but an unsolicited proposal for the real estate investment trust just forced CrossCountry Intermediate Holdco to raise its offering. Two Harbors announced Tuesday that it amended its merger agreement to increase the all-cash price CrossCountry will pay to $11.30 per share.

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The Gathering: Sue Yannaccone says scale can be a ‘super power’ as brokerages consolidate

As the real estate brokerage space continues to consolidate, creating large national firms with massive scale, critics have claimed this move will lead to a homogenization of formerly disparate brands.  However, Sue Yannaccone, who was recently promoted to chief operations officer of Compass International Holdings (CIH) the parent company of Compass, @properties, Christie’s International Real

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The Gathering 2026: Mortgage execs debate the hidden risks of credit score reform

Mortgage industry executives say the shift to new credit score models and lender choice could raise mortgage delinquencies, reshape pricing grids at the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and ultimately push costs back onto borrowers, even if the costs for scores fall on the front end. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner

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Bill targets Social Security earnings limits as retirement trends shift

A proposal in Congress to eliminate a rule that reduces Social Security benefits for working retirees comes as more Americans rethink what retirement looks like and opt for flexible, phased transitions instead of a hard stop. The Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act, introduced by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), would

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Reside outlines growth strategy at first event since acquisition

The recent Reside Oceanside Mastermind Conference in Florida marked the first major in-person gathering for the brokerage-agnostic coaching platform since it was acquired by Robert Palmer — who leads LPT Realty and its parent LPT Aperture Holdings. Attendees included team leaders, coaches and brokerage operators from across the U.S. and Canada. Palmer, who announced the

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Keller Williams names Christopher Brodhead chief revenue officer

Keller Williams Realty has hired Christopher Brodhead as chief revenue officer, a new role that will oversee revenue growth strategy across the real estate franchise’s ecosystem, according to an announcement on Tuesday In this role Brodhead will be responsible for aligning Keller Williams’ revenue-driving functions under a unified growth plan intended to support agents, franchises

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LPT Realty’s Robert Palmer on growth, mortgage independence

LPT Realty founder and CEO Robert Palmer took the stage Tuesday at HousingWire’s The Gathering in Austin, Texas — outlining growth strategy built on team empowerment, agent retention and a deliberate separation from mortgage origination. Palmer, who spent roughly 20 years in the mortgage business, has made a pointed decision not to attach a mortgage

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HUD rescinds FHA, USDA energy efficiency rule for new homes

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner said the agency is rescinding energy-efficiency requirements tied to loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Turner announced the move Tuesday at HousingWire’s The Gathering in Austin. A 2024 rule under the Biden administration had made new

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