Author name: Ricky Vasquez

The Price You Set Can Make (or Break) Your Sale

The Price You Set Can Make (or Break) Your Sale

There’s one decision you’re going to make when you sell that determines whether your house sells quickly, or it sits. Whether buyers make an offer, or scroll past it. Whether you walk away with the maximum return, or you end up cutting the price later. And that’s your asking price. The #1 Mistake Sellers Make […]

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Mixed-density housing keeps expanding as affordability reaches a breaking point

Housing affordability – and its impact on Americans’ quality of life – is becoming a market- and generation-defining issue. Higher interest rates, constrained inventory, rising land costs, and slower wage growth have combined to push homeownership further out of reach for many, especially first-time buyers, middle-income households, and those seeking new construction. At the same

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2025 housing starts fell 7%, but builders glimpse clues of an uptick

Single-family housing starts ticked up in December, but were down about 7.0% year-over-year in 2025. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), new residential construction is expected to stay relatively flat this year, but could rebound in 2027 if mortgage rates inch lower and pent-up demand enters the housing market.  Census data released

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Court says Equifax VOIE terms must be rewritten

A federal judge, accusing Equifax of gamesmanship in an antitrust suit, has ordered the company to revise agreements with customers of its electronic verification of income and employment business, The Work Number.  Processing Content U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy published his order Tuesday, dealing a blow to the credit reporting agency fighting a lawsuit

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Bank capital relief may not quickly shift mortgage market dynamics

Regulatory changes to how banks treat mortgage assets — anticipated this week by Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman — may have an impact on the mortgage market over time, analysts said. “The near-term impact on the mortgage market is likely to be somewhat limited,” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) analysts wrote in a report

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Kentucky bill would freeze property taxes for senior homeowners

A proposed constitutional amendment that would freeze property tax assessments for 65-and-older residents in Kentucky has cleared a state Senate committee — one of several efforts to limit rising tax bills for elderly homeowners. Senate Bill 51, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Nemes (R-Shepherdsville), would lock in the assessed value of a senior’s primary residence

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CEA analysis weighs CFPB’s economic impact

A new report from the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) estimates that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has imposed $237 billion to $369 billion in cumulative costs on U.S. consumers since its creation in 2011, largely through higher borrowing costs. For 2024 alone, the report estimates $24 billion to $38 billion in costs. The

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Housing starts rise to five-month high in broad increase

New residential construction in the US rose to a five-month high in December, as homebuilders boosted production to take advantage of lower borrowing costs. Processing Content Housing starts increased 6.2% to an annual pace of 1.4 million homes in December, according to figures released Wednesday by the government, which were delayed by fall’s federal shutdown.

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Fed’s Bowman says Basel proposal still on track for end of Q1

Key Insight: Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is racing ahead to publish Basel III for commentary before the end of the first quarter. She’s previously highlighted that changes will be introduced to the framework to encourage bank participation in mortgages. Expert Quote: “I’ve said for a number of months now that we

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