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Natural Disaster

California MBA urges guardrails for bill targeting wildfire-related forbearance

California, CMBA, Forbearance, Housing Market, HWmember, Legislation, Mortgage, Natural Disaster, Wildfire /

The California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA) testified on March 20 before the California Assembly Banking & Finance Committee during an oversight hearing on California Assembly Bill 238, which focuses on the effectiveness of mortgage forbearance and the broader challenges facing homeowners affected by the state’s January 2025 wildfires. AB 238 provides up to one year […]

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Hail risk to homes is on par on with major hurricane threats

Climate Change, Cotality, Homeowners insurance, Housing Market, Mortgage, Natural Disaster, Weather /

More than 43.5 million U.S. properties are at moderate or greater risk from hail damage, representing about $17.84 trillion in reconstruction cost value, according to Cotality’s 2026 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report released Tuesday. The report finds that hailstorms are emerging as one of the most financially destructive natural hazards for the housing market, with

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Estimates for insured losses from Winter Storm Fern top $4 billion

Housing Market, HWmember, Insurance, Natural Disaster, Tennessee, Texas, Weather /

Data and analytics firm Verisk said that insured losses to property and automobiles from Winter Storm Fern could reach $4 billion, according to an initial analysis released by the company on Tuesday. Another estimate from Karen Clark & Co. (KCC) is even higher. KCC reported that privately insured losses from Winter Storm Fern are estimated

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Trump executive order overrides Los Angeles wildfire rebuilding plan

California, Donald Trump, FEMA, Housing Market, HWmember, Los Angeles, Natural Disaster, Politics, Wildfire /

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an executive order that allows the federal government to override state and local regulations during recovery efforts from last year’s Los Angeles wildfires, arguing that California authorities have slowed rebuilding. The order directs federal agencies to bypass state and local permitting processes for federally funded disaster recovery projects, asserting

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Navigating recovery: Counseling and coaching options for homeowners after natural disasters

Contributors, Homeownership, HWmember, Mortgage, Natural Disaster, Opinion /

Natural disasters can upend lives in an instant, leaving homeowners to cope with emotional trauma and financial uncertainty. Mortgage lenders and housing professionals play a critical role in helping clients rebuild. By connecting survivors to counseling and financial coaching services, you can make recovery faster, safer, and more sustainable. Why recovery counseling matters The emotional

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Sonic Fire Tech launches infrasound wildfire defense system in California

California, HWmember, Natural Disaster, Technology, The Builder's Daily, Wildfire /

Sonic Fire Tech recently announced the commercial rollout of its Sonic Home Defense system, a wildfire defense system in California that extinguishes fires using inaudible, infrasound technology instead of water or chemicals.  The product has personal significance for Remington Hotchkis, chief commercialization officer at Sonic Fire Tech, whose family home in Altadena burned down in

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Why Texas builders are betting on backup batteries for new homes

Homebuilders, Homebuyers, Natural Disaster, Technology, The Builder's Daily /

On March 4, 2025, a windstorm cut across Texas and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Outside Dallas-Fort Worth, the pattern was the same as the storm swept through one of Lennar‘s new communities: the grid went down, the neighborhood went dark. But 46 homes in that same community—the ones with a

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Florida property insurance market is rebounding from 2022 low point

Flood insurance, Florida, Homebuyers, Homeowners insurance, Hurricane, HWmember, Natural Disaster, Real Estate /

ALIRT Insurance Research released a report this week finding that Florida’s homeowners insurance market has stabilized after years of financial strain — following legislative reforms adopted in late 2022 and early 2023. The 2025 Florida Domestic Property Insurer Market Update concludes that the market has rebounded from conditions in 2022, when litigation costs, rising losses

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Coalition presses for stronger federal flood response, eyes ROAD to Housing Act

Disaster Relief, FEMA, Flood, HWmember, Kentucky, National Flood Insurance Program, Natural Disaster, Ohio, Politics, Real Estate, Regulatory, Trump administration, Virginia, West Virginia /

A new multi-state coalition is warning that worsening floods across Appalachia — and the federal government’s uneven response — are heightening risks for communities, infrastructure and real estate markets across the region. The Appalachian Flood Resilience Coalition recently convened for the first time to examine Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding fights, stalled mitigation programs

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Community association leaders advocate on Capitol Hill

Affordability, Congress, Disaster Relief, Flood insurance, HOA, Homeowners insurance, HWmember, Natural Disaster, Politics, Real Estate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. /

Hundreds of community association leaders visited Capitol Hill this past Thursday for the Congressional Advocacy Summit hosted by the Community Associations Institute (CAI). More than 200 advocates from CAI — representing more than 77 million homeowners association, condominium and co-op residents — met with members of Congress and their staff to discuss federal issues in

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