Former Benchmark retail president Marty Preston has joined Rate’s profit and loss platform after evaluating more than 20 lenders, the company announced on Tuesday. Preston moves to Rate from Benchmark, where he most recently served as president of retail and division president. At Benchmark, he grew his production team from about $200 million to more […]
Marty Preston moves to Rate to run profit and loss platform Read More »
Rocket Pro is extending a key pricing incentive for mortgage brokers through May while also expanding its non-QM product offerings, moves aimed at helping brokers close more loans in a challenging housing market. The moves are part of the February 2026 promise the Detroit-based company made to its business partners: a “Power Play” announcement on
Rocket Pro extends 100 bps broker credit into May Read More »
A benchmark study tracking 8.2 million real estate conversations in AI search models finds that buyer behavior has changed faster than any channel in real estate marketing history. And portals are losing ground because of it. For the first time since AI search tracking began in 2024, Zillow‘s share of agent-discovery traffic declined year over
CoStar Group founder and CEO Andy Florance purchased over 70,000 securities belonging to his firm last Friday. A Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday shows that Florance purchased non-derivative securities from the open market. According to the filing, Florance acquired a total of 71,430 securities via two transactions, one which
CoStar CEO Andy Florance buys over 70,000 shares Read More »
Mortgage lenders are rushing to adopt AI, but many are repeating a familiar mistake: using new technology to accelerate old processes. Faster paper-pushing isn’t transformation. AI presents an opportunity to go further—but only if lenders approach it correctly. In mortgage lending, intelligent AI means removing the paper, moving beyond simple automation, orienting technology around measurable
Generic AI won’t fix mortgage lending. Intelligent AI will. Read More »
Nearly all veterans who have used a VA home loan, 98%, say they’re satisfied with the experience. Almost half say they couldn’t have purchased a home without it. And more than two-thirds of veterans and service members who don’t yet own a home call homeownership a major life milestone. The motivation is there. The benefit
Veterans cite upfront costs as top VA loan barrier in 2026 Read More »
UWM Holdings Corp. is challenging Two Harbors Investment Corp.’s board after it rejected a $12 per share acquisition proposal in favor of an $11.30 per share deal with CrossCountry Mortgage LLC, issuing a lengthy response that questioned the board’s analysis and process. In a statement on Monday, UWM said “the TWO Board’s interpretation of the numbers
UWM slams Two Harbors board over $12 offer rejection Read More »
“Where’s the upside here?” That’s the question Steve Murray, the co-founder of RealTrends Consulting, keeps coming back to as the industry digests The Real Brokerage’s acquisition of REMAX — and it’s the same question investors appeared to answer swiftly. On the day of the announcement, Real’s stock plunged to $2.02 per share, with trading volume
Real-REMAX deal: complementary models or culture clash? Read More »
The story of American homebuilding is mostly one of bootstrapped businesses. They mostly get forged in hard circumstances, with a single, almost instantaneous reckoning that there are no shortcuts to success … or even to being around in five years, fighting to achieve it. It requires leaders willing to take risks across land, capital, construction,
The Gathering takeaway: how Olivia Clarke Homes wins in DFW Read More »
Stanley Martin Homes announced on Monday that its $221 million, all-cash acquisition of United Homes Group Inc. had closed, immediately scaling its presence in several of the Southeast’s fastest-growing housing markets. With the deal, which was first announced in February, United Homes becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Stanley Martin, and its common stock has
Stanley Martin closes on its $221M United Homes acquisition Read More »