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October 2025

Lower inks marketing deal with HomeSmart

Brokerage, HomeSmart International, HWmember, Lenders, LendingLife, Marketing, Mortgage, Origination, Partnerships /

Multichannel mortgage lender Lower has entered into a marketing agreement with real estate brokerage HomeSmart, giving the firm’s nationwide agent network access to Lower’s mortgage solutions. The announcement comes amid a growing wave of partnerships between lenders and brokerages, including Rocket Companies’ $1.75 billion all-stock acquisition of Redfin that closed in July. Earlier this year, Lower […]

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ARM, refinance activity buck the trend of declining mortgage demand

HWmember, Joel Kan, Mortgage, Mortgage applications, Mortgage Bankers Association, Mortgage Rates, Origination, Purchase Applications, Refinancing /

Mortgage applications decreased 0.3% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Oct. 17. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 0.2% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increased 4% from the previous week and was 81% higher than the same

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Are you ready for it? Realtor.com hit with Taylor Swift copyright claim

HWmember, Legal, MLS/Associations, Move, National Association of Realtors, News Corp., Real Estate, Realtor.com /

What do Realtor.com, CoStar, Zillow, and Taylor Swift have in common? One might think it would be something to do with multimillion dollar properties, but in fact it is copyright lawsuits.  On Monday, photographer Brynn Burns, who was responsible for a portfolio of photos of the estate where Travis Kelce proposed to Taylor Swift, filed

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Propy leans on acquisitions, AI to ‘modernize’ title

Artificial Intelligence, HWmember, Mergers and Acquisitions, Propy, Real Estate, Technology, Title, Title insurance /

Title and escrow company Propy says it is ready to revolutionize the title insurance industry. Central to this plan is a $100 million expansion, which includes the planned acquisitions of title firms nationwide, according to an announcement on Thursday.  Propy says, once acquired, it will upgrade the firms “to faster, safer and fully digital closings,

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Revive expands, renames agent AI platform

Artificial Intelligence, Home Sales, Homeownership, Lead Generation, Marketing, Real Estate, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Technology, Technology /

Renovation technology firm Revive has introduced new tools and features for its artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Revive AI. Leaders said enhancements are designed to give real estate professionals greater visibility into client activity, as well as more control over branding and outreach. The platform — formerly known as Revive Vision AI — will see updates

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The Texas law threatening to break the affordable housing equation

Contributors, Housing Market, Opinion, Real Estate, Texas /

A quiet change in Texas law this past spring could ignite a crisis in affordable housing – and send a chilling signal to investors nationwide. House Bill 21 (HB 21), passed in May, drastically rewrites the rules for how affordable housing partnerships in Texas qualify for property tax abatements. For years, those abatements have been

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Safety in real estate extends far beyond the physical

Contributors, Fair Housing, Opinion, Real Estate /

Agent safety in October, and every other month, remains a critical theme. The industry is rightly reminded each fall to take precautions during showings and open houses, and true safety extends well beyond physical well-being. For agents, particularly those navigating the complexities of the rental market, safety increasingly means protection against lawsuits, regulatory violations, and

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Purchase apps languish even though mortgage rates decline

Housing markets, LOAN PRODUCTS, Mortgage Rates, Originations /

A 5 basis point drop in conforming mortgage rates boosted loan refinance application volume this week, but overall activity was down from seven days’ prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Its Market Composite Index found application activity inched 0.3% lower on a seasonally adjusted basis from seven days prior and fell 0.2% on an unadjusted

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DOJ opposes CFPB union’s request for rehearing on firings

Litigation, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance, Trump administration /

Key insight: The Department of Justice filed a motion opposing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee union’s appeal of a DC Circuit ruling allowing the administration to fire hundreds of agency workers. What’s at stake: The CFPB employee union has been arguing that the administration is seeking to shut down the agency, something that only

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Mortgage exec calls AI hype a bubble as others weigh risks

Artificial Intelligence, Originations /

Artificial intelligence dominated the conversations at the 2025 Mortgage Bankers Association Annual conference in Las Vegas, but a top mortgage executive called the hype a bubble.  As lenders, servicers and vendors race to invest in AI and are touting their AI prowess alongside countless companies across the nation’s economy, Brian Woodring, chief information officer at

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