ERA Real Estate has quietly transformed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) from a tactical growth tool into a pillar of franchise recruitment strategy — closing 24 deals worth more than $1.5 billion in sales volume across 2024 and 2025. Many of these deals were initiated not by legacy franchisees but by

Single-family home construction declined across every major geography in the second half of 2025 except for sparsely populated micro counties, according to the latest Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) from the National Association of Home Builders. The HBGI, released March 30 and delayed by last

A widely circulated statistic is shaping how agents talk to sellers — but the math behind it tells a very different story. Across the industry right now, many agents are being given a simple, powerful talking point: “94% of our sold homes were sold on the MLS.” On the surface, it sounds like a stron

Not long ago, many technology vendors were selling title professionals on a fairly simple idea: one platform, one vendor, every step of the workflow covered. It was an appealing proposition, and a number of providers invested heavily in trying to deliver on it. In fact, some still are. The concept m

Policy uncertainty is pushing older Americans to delay retirement, shift to conservative investments and boost their emergency savings, according to a new survey. The findings published last week by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College show 21% of respondents who’ve yet to retire are

Rory Golod has been named president of growth at Compass International Holdings (CIH), the parent company of Compass, Christie’s International Real Estate, @properties and the Anywhere brands. In this newly created role, Golod will be focused on driving agent success across the company’s unified tec

Austin city lawmakers bent on ensuring the Texas capital sustains momentum in a housing supply expansion that cuts into a home shortage and slows price growth took another step last week. Thursday, the Austin City Council approved a new package of land-use changes that would accelerate construction

There seem to be very few things that Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill can agree on these days, but one of them is that housing has become increasingly unaffordable for the average American. And with good reason: housing affordability is the worst it’s been in over 40 years – since the 1980

The U.S. homebuilding industry remains more fragmented than outsiders believe, even after years of consolidation. Lennar continues to be one of the biggest builders in the country, but size alone isn’t the main factor anymore; the next advantage comes from blending operational efficiency with custom

Baby boomers’ decades long control of U.S. housing wealth is not just locking out younger buyers, it’s forcing significant changes to a real estate agent’s job description. Top-producing agents told HousingWire the industry continues to pivot toward multi-generational advisory work. Academic researc

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has renewed TrustLink as an ALTA Elite Provider for 2026, extending the company’s status in a program that highlights vendors serving title and settlement firms’ operational and compliance needs, according to an ALTA announcement. ALTA’s Elite Provider prog

Citywide Home Mortgage, an affiliate of top-10 U.S. mortgage lender Rate, has promoted Robert Coomer to chief growth officer, tasking the veteran executive with accelerating the lender’s national expansion and branch partnership model. Coomer joined Citywide in April 2024 as executive vice president

Financial services firm Argyle has integrated its direct-source income, employment and asset verification tools into Vesta’s loan origination system, the companies announced Monday. The move aims to give mortgage lenders embedded access to real-time payroll and banking data inside the LOS. The integ

Artificial intelligence is transforming nearly every corner of the housing industry. Real estate professionals are using AI tools to streamline workflows, improve document processing and enhance compliance processes. The title industry is no exception. Title companies across the country are investin

Lenders have made meaningful progress in modernizing the closing process. eSignatures, hybrid eClosings, and remote online notarization have reduced friction at the signing table and improved the borrower experience where it is most visible.  That focus has paid off; digital closings move faster, re

As shocking as it may seem with all the crazy things that have happened in 2026 — AI labor disruption headlines, epic snowstorms and especially the Iran conflict — housing demand, even last week, still showed year-over-year growth with mortgage purchase applications data and our weekly pending home

It may come as a surprise amid the noise, negativity, and volatility in today’s new-home market that Florida remains one of the most dynamic homebuilding markets in the country. The housing landscape in the nation’s third-most-populous state shares a vertiginous, bumpy near-term outlook with other S

DeCaro Auctions has expanded its executive team as the luxury real estate auction firm seeks to grow its international platform. The appointments come after Mario Vargas was recently named CEO. “Luxury auctions are about more than marketing reach. They are about relationships, strategy and execution

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a bill into effect earlier this week that bans noncompete agreements across the state. The move marks a significant shift in employment law that will take effect on June 30, 2027. The measure prohibits contracts that restrict workers from joining or starting compe

BuildersUpdate.com has rolled out a “pay upon performance” model that shifts new-home marketing costs from upfront spend to a flat fee due only when a sale closes, aiming squarely at builders’ growing concern over wasted lead-gen dollars in a choppy demand and rate environment. Announced March 26, 2