January 2026

Record defects plague mortgage closings as fraud risk dips

While the fourth quarter’s mortgage fraud risk rate fell 55 basis points from the prior three months, loans submitted during the period had a record average issues per transaction, the Fundingshield Wire Fraud Risk Report found. Processing Content The last three months of 2025 was a period where a near 9% increase in volume from […]

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Bank of America inches past estimates, buoyed by net interest income

Key Insight: Bank of America’s earnings narrowly surpassed Wall Street’s expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025. Supporting Data: BofA’s earnings per share reached $0.98 in last year’s final quarter, edging past analysts’ estimates of $0.96, according to S&P. Expert Quote: “While any number of risks continue, we are bullish on the U.S. economy in

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Titl raises .5M to modernize title with AI, blockchain

Titl raises $2.5M to modernize title with AI, blockchain

A title industry startup aiming to cut closing time and costs for homebuyers via blockchain technology finds itself on the receiving end of a new venture capital raise to support its expansion. Processing Content Titl, a Miami-based fintech, announced a seed funding round of $2.5 million, which was led by Cofounders Capital and FIT Ventures.

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The #1 Regret Sellers Have When They Don’t Use an Agent

The #1 Regret Sellers Have When They Don’t Use an Agent

Want to know the #1 thing homeowners regret when they sell without an agent? It’s that they didn’t price their house correctly for their current market. According to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), those sellers agree pricing their home effectively was the hardest part of the process. Top 5 Most

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Lower mortgage rates support steady new home sales

After a long delay caused by the government shutdown, we finally have a new home sales report for October! The report shows that lower mortgage rates, which are now moving toward 6%, are helping to keep new home sales steady, similar to what we see in the existing home sales market. New home sales are

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Cost of retirement comfort soars, leaving most far short

Retirement is widely portrayed as the reward for decades of work, but many Americans who have already stopped working say that promise is slipping out of reach. Rising costs and inadequate savings are reshaping expectations — and fueling fears — about life after work, according to findings from a recent Clever Real Estate survey. Clever

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Builders greet 2026 squeezed by policy flux and margin erosion

By the time the homebuilding industry reaches Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8, the stakes will be unmistakable. That date marks more than the unofficial kickoff to Spring Selling Season, for U.S. homebuilders large and small. It signals the point at which months of price capitulation, incentive layering, cost cutting, and balance-sheet triage either

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NAMB urges FHA to end lifetime mortgage insurance rule

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is urging the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to end its “life of loan” mortgage insurance rule and let borrowers cancel premiums once they’ve paid down their loan to 78% of their home’s value. NAMB believes the policy is outdated and unfair. Current rules mean that many FHA borrowers

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Luxury Presence raises $37M to push CRM platform development

Luxury Presence has raised $22 million in a Series C equity financing round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, and secured an additional $15 million in debt financing from J.P. Morgan. New funding will support development of Luxury Presence’s new artificial intelligence (AI)–driven customer relationship management platform — Presence CRM. “High-performing agents have years of business

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Top Houston agent leaves Compass for Douglas Elliman

Douglas Elliman has gained a top producing agent in Houston. On Tuesday, Dana Johnson announced that she was leaving Compass after six years to join Douglas Elliman. Johnson’s announcement comes less than a week after Compass announced it had closed its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate.  “At this stage of my career, I was looking

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