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Pritzker’s honor: Illinois housing reform fight intensifies

Affordability, Affordable housing, Housing Policy, HWmember, Policy, Residential Real Estate, The Builder's Daily, Zoning /

The fight over Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s sweeping housing reform agenda is intensifying as both sides harden their positions. Supporters and detractors by the thousands delivered their opening arguments Thursday at the first major hearing on Pritzker’s six-bill package. Pritzker’s BUILD plan seeks to lower costs by making construction easier and faster statewide. It would […]

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How two LOs helped champion proprietary reverse mortgage legislation in Tennessee

HWmember, Legislation, Mortgage, Nashville, Reverse, Reverse Mortgage Daily, Tennessee /

Proprietary reverse mortgages have gained a lot of traction over the past year and now account for more industry volume than federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). With the help of loan officers Nathan Guerrero and Jackson Matheson, Tennessee will soon join the list of states to allow private-label reverse mortgages. Guerrero, a reverse

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Meritage Q1 2026 shows why incentives are the new battlefield

Homebuilders, HWmember, Leadership, New Home Sales, Residential Real Estate, The Builder's Daily /

The mid-spring earnings cycle has produced a common-language reality check for America’s public homebuilders: the operating backdrop worsened faster than many management teams expected. In such a context of nearly-universal challenge, doing less-worse may count as a win. Meritage Homes’ Q1 2026 numbers serve as a case in point Orders fell 5% year over year,

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NYC launches new unit to combat deed theft 

HWmember, New York City, Real Estate Fraud, Regulatory, Title /

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has created the Office of Deed Theft Prevention, a new unit housed in the Department of Finance to coordinate citywide efforts to combat fraudulent property transfers, according to an announcement on Friday. “The theft of a home is the theft of a family’s future,” Mamdani said in a statement.

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First-time homebuyers’ shrinking presence — what it means for real estate agents

Affordability, Agent, Baby Boomer, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Compass, First-Time Homebuyers, Gen X, Gen Z, HWmember, Millennials, Mortgage Rates, Real Estate, REMAX /

The share of first-time homebuyers has fallen to 21% of all transactions — the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began tracking the data in 1981. For real estate agents, the shift is not a temporary blip. It’s a structural change reshaping how agents build their businesses, talk about value and prepare

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SoFi rolls out end-to-end digital HELOC experience, advisory council

HELOC, Home Equity, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Origination, Refinancing, SoFi /

SoFi Technologies this week unveiled a new fully digital home equity line of credit (HELOC) experience, expanding its push into mortgages as more homeowners choose to tap equity rather than move. The company said the new HELOC offering will allow members to access home equity through an end-to-end digital process within the SoFi platform, with

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The outlook for mortgage rates as DOJ clears Fed path for Warsh

Department of Justice, Federal Reserve, HWmember, Jerome Powell, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Regulatory, Trump administration /

Jerome Powell’s tenure as Federal Reserve chair is coming to an end as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has ended its investigation of alleged cost overruns on the Fed headquarters’ renovations. This paves the way for Kevin Warsh to head the Fed — maybe as soon as May. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, as

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Coldwell Banker: ‘Life doesn’t stop’ as comeback buyers return

Affordability, Agent, Brokerage, Coldwell Banker, First-Time Homebuyers, Home Prices, Home Sales, Homebuyers, HWmember, Mortgage Rates, Real Estate /

More than three years after mortgage rates began their climb from historic lows, a subtle but significant housing market shift is underway. Homeowners are finally letting go of sub-5% rates, “comeback buyers” are re-entering the search and regional markets are moving in opposite directions — all shaping what Coldwell Banker Real Estate calls a spring

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DOJ drops probe tied to Fed, potentially easing path for Warsh confirmation

Department of Justice, Federal Reserve, HWmember, Jerome Powell, Mortgage, Regulatory, Trump administration /

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday dropped its investigation into the Federal Reserve regarding Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony on the central bank’s headquarters renovation. The decision could ease the path for Kevin Warsh‘s confirmation as Powell’s successor. Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced that she’s closing the investigation and

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M/I Homes hews to its order pace; margins come under pressure

homebuilder, HWmember, Leadership, New Home Sales, Residential Real Estate, The Builder's Daily /

In its quarterly earnings report a few months ago, M/I Homes business executives said the top-15-ranked homebuilder would maintain a spec-heavy approach – carefully and methodically – to build sales momentum leading up to and into the spring selling season.  The latest quarterly financial and operational performance attests to M/I’s embrace of that strategy, as

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