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Author name: Ricky Vasquez

The hidden housing cost Washington can’t ignore: real estate fraud

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage Fraud, Opinion, Real Estate, Real Estate Fraud, Title, Title insurance /

Housing affordability is usually framed through numbers: mortgage rates, housing supply, construction costs and zoning restrictions. Washington debates the numbers, and families feel the squeeze. But there is another housing cost hiding in plain sight—real estate fraud. With Congress working on bipartisan housing solutions and the State of the Union address just around the corner, it’s […]

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Fix-and-flip investor sentiment climbs even as 2025 activity declines

Fix and Flip, Housing Market, HWmember, John Burns Research & Consulting, Kiavi, Real Estate Investing /

Investor sentiment in the fix-and-flip housing market improved at the end of 2025, even as overall transaction volume fell to its lowest level in a decade. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Kiavi and John Burns Research & Consulting. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Burns + Kiavi Fix and Flip Market

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VoicePilot lets CAR members draft forms by voice

Agent, Artificial Intelligence, California Association of Realtors, HWmember, MLS/Associations, Real Estate, Technology /

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) is teaming up with Ethica AI to provide members with access to VoicePilot through CAR’s subsidiary Real Estate Business Services (REBS), according to an announcement on Monday.  Ethica AI describes VoicePilot as an AI driven voice and workflow platform that helps real estate agents manage transactions, communications and client

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Spreads play the superhero as mortgage rates move below 6% again

Housing Market, Housing Market Data, HWmember, Mortgage Rates, Mortgage Rates Center /

After a weekend of crazy headlines and a stock sell-off on Monday morning, bond yields are close to hitting 4% again, but mortgage rates are back under 6% once again, which is the multiyear low in recent history. The biggest reason rates are under 6% isn’t just that the 2025 labor market produced the lowest

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Compass launches referral program for listing agents’ buyer leads

Brokerage, Compass, HWmember, Real Estate, Robert Reffkin /

Compass, the brokerage owned by Compass International Holdings, has launched a new program it says will help agents generate passive income while retaining control over how they manage their business. On Friday, the brokerage launched its Listing Agent Lead and Referral Program.  Under this program, every Compass real estate agent maintains their contact information on

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HUD reverse mortgage changes remain unclear

FHA, Ginnie Mae, HECM, HMBS, HUD, HWmember, Mortgage, Regulatory Compliance, Reverse, Reverse Mortgage Daily /

Nearly two months after three federal housing agencies wrapped up an extended public comment period about the future of two federal reverse mortgage programs, industry stakeholders are waiting to learn what they’ll do next. In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae announced a

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Karen Petrou, founder of Federal Financial Analytics, dies

Industry News, Obituaries, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance /

WASHINGTON — Karen Petrou, co-founder and managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics and a luminary of financial policy, died Saturday afternoon of liver cancer after a brief illness. She was 73. Processing Content Petrou wielded an outsized presence in Washington economic and regulatory circles, cultivated over the course of decades in the industry and through

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Rate will consider crypto, stablecoins in underwriting

Cryptocurrency, LOAN PRODUCTS, Originations /

Retail giant Rate is embracing cryptocurrency and stablecoins for prospective home buyers, who accumulated wealth in the digital assets.  Processing Content The Chicago-based lender is rolling out RateFi, a product allowing buyers to access purchase, refinance, second-home and investment property loans, without liquidating their crypto or stablecoin. The offering is Rate’s first step in a

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State bill could end tax break for large digital lenders

Industry News, Originations, Politics and policy, Wildfires /

A proposed Washington State bill that aims to replenish lost wildfire prevention funding could end up removing a tax break currently benefiting large digital lenders.  Processing Content Rep. Shaun Scott, a Democrat from the Seattle area, introduced state house bill 2089 to redefine existing regulations and limit the types of companies that could take advantage

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