March 2026

January new home sales fall 17.6%, weather and rates in focus

After seeing an uptick in sales last year, the nationwide new home market experienced a sharp drop in new home sales activity in January, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Sales report released on Thursday. Economists say that this could be a momentary drop due to extreme weather conditions, or that the sales […]

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How policy uncertainty is reshaping senior retirement plans

Growing uncertainty over Social Security, Medicare and fiscal policy has left many older Americans more concerned about their financial futures — with some delaying retirement and shifting to more conservative investment strategies. Findings from a new survey analysis by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College offer critical insights for reverse mortgage professionals as

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BFS CEO Jackson maps a bigger role in homebuilding workflows

Builders FirstSource‘s decade-long strategic jag has expanded the construction giant beyond its traditional role as a building materials supplier, pitching itself as a full-service partner that can support homebuilders with planning, procurement, delivery, installation and digital project management. In a one-on-one interview with The Builder’s Daily, CEO Peter Jackson said the company’s acquisition strategy and technology

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The ground just shifted: coming soon listings are taking over real estate

At a time when real estate industry leaders seem to be more conflicted than ever, one idea has emerged that everyone from Homes.com to Zillow, to eXp Realty and Compass can agree on: pre-marketing coming soon listings. What does that mean for the MLSs and will it invite more federal scrutiny? The resurgence of coming soon

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Optimal Blue’s Mike Vough on borrowers staying rate anchored into 2026

Borrowers are still anchored to ultra-low, pandemic-era mortgage rates, a mindset that is influencing both purchase and refinance trends as the market heads into 2026. That’s according to Mike Vough, Optimal Blue‘s senior vice president of corporate strategy, who highlighted the company’s latest Market Advantage report in a conversation this week with HousingWire at the

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NAREB president calls for ‘optimistic underwriting’ to expand homeownership

Ashley Thomas III has assumed the presidency of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) — the nation’s oldest and largest Black real estate organization — with an agenda focused on expanding homeownership access. Thomas, a housing policy and wealth equity strategist with more than 25 years of experience across real estate, lending and

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Bank regulators unveil capital reforms to boost mortgage lending

Federal bank regulators on Thursday introduced proposals to overhaul capital rules, affecting how depositories treat mortgage assets. The package includes three measures: revisions to the Basel III framework for large, internationally active banks; changes to the Global Systemically Important Bank (GSIB) surcharge; and updates to the U.S. standardized approach. A broader Basel III proposal introduced in 2023

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Home flipping volume falls to 5-year low as profit margins hit 2008 levels

Home flipping activity slipped again in 2025 as investors completed 297,045 single-family home and condominium flips nationwide. That was the lowest annual total since 2020 and down 3.9% from 309,050 flips in 2024, according to ATTOM’s 2025 year-end U.S. Home Flipping Report. Flips made up 7.4% of all home sales in 2025, slightly below 7.6%

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Compass, Rocket, Redfin urge MLSs to allow seller-directed pre-marketing

Compass International Holdings, Redfin and Rocket Companies are urging MLSs to adopt policies that support pre-marketing and phased marketing distribution and to cease penalizing or punishing agents for carrying out “seller-directed marketing plans.”  The companies, which entered into a mutually exclusive deal to publish Compass coming soon listings on Redfin in late February 2026, made

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Basel reproposal’s impact on non-bank mortgage lenders

The reproposal of bank capital rules for mortgages appears to deliver on earlier signals, including looser servicing asset rules, additional loan-to-value ratio distinctions and accommodations for credit enhancement.   Processing Content But some fear there could be a catch in the small print of the new Basel III plan. “Capital rules are notoriously complex, but

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