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Opinion

Does lead diversion help buyers, or does it undermine agent accountability?

Agent, Contributors, Homes.com, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate, Real Estate Listings /

It’s a story of frustration that many buyers and agents can relate to. Buyers repeatedly reaching out to listing agents to see properties, only to receive no response. Calls go unanswered, questions linger and access to homes stalled. That frustration is real and deserves acknowledgment. Consumers should expect timely communication and professional conduct. Where the […]

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A blueprint for making housing more affordable 

Affordability, Affordable housing, Contributors, Housing Market, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion /

As we kick off the New Year, affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing the mortgage industry and the broader housing market. It continues to shape conversations among lenders, policymakers, and consumers alike. Affordability is not a rate problem Ask most people what’s wrong with housing affordability, and the answer comes quickly: rates are

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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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Fair housing is more than a compliance issue: It’s an opportunity to modernize the process.

Contributors, Fair Lending, Housing Market, HWmember, Opinion /

Fair housing is often discussed in broad terms but is perhaps not always clearly defined. At its core, Fair Housing (capital F and H) refers to an interwoven framework of federal, state, and local policies rooted in the Fair Housing Act that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial

Fair housing is more than a compliance issue: It’s an opportunity to modernize the process. Read More »

The $2–4% mortgage trap is freezing housing: Defeasance may be the way out

Contributors, Housing Crisis, Housing Market, Housing Market Data, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Real Estate /

For the past several years, the U.S. housing market has faced an unusual constraint: not a lack of  buyers, but a lack of sellers willing — or able — to move. Millions of homeowners remain “rate-locked,” holding mortgages originated in 2020–2022 at  interest rates between 2% and 4% (Federal Housing Finance Agency; Freddie Mac Primary 

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Why the fix-and-flip sector is poised for a breakout in 2026

Contributors, Fix and Flip, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Real Estate Investing, Sponsored /

Despite several years of volatility in the housing market, the fix-and-flip sector — where investors rehabilitate, reposition, and upgrade residential properties — has shown resilience and is poised for meaningful growth in 2026. While only recently becoming recognized as a formal institutionally rated asset class, the underlying strategy is anything but new. For decades, local

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Why 2026 might finally be the year homeowners let go of their 2–3 percent rates

Contributors, Housing Market Data, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Opinion /

For the last few years, many homeowners have felt like they were holding a winning hand, a two to three percent mortgage rate that seemed too good to ever give up. And honestly, who could blame them? Those rates were historic. The average 30 year fixed mortgage rate fell below 3 percent in 2020 and

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Trust is earned, not granted: The foundation of every successful mortgage relationship

Contributors, HWmember, Loan Officer, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

Trust is built through relationships. It is not automatic, it is not assumed, and it is never guaranteed — it is earned. Working for a well-respected company with a long history of service does not automatically make someone a Trusted Mortgage Advisor. Trust is personal. It belongs to the relationship between the loan officer and

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From military service to the built world: Why construction still struggles with accountability and visibility

Construction, Contributors, HWmember, Opinion /

Transitioning from military service to a civilian career is rarely straightforward. For me, it led to the built environment — an industry that, to my surprise, felt immediately familiar. Construction sites, development teams, and project organizations operate under pressures familiar to military units: tight timelines, limited resources, high stakes, and the need to coordinate across

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The spreadsheet trap: Why investor reporting still operates like it’s 2005

Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Technology /

Manually updating spreadsheets. Dealing with paper jams in the printer. Remember what office life was like in 2005? If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can find many of the same practices still in place in the investor’s reporting offices of loan servicers today.  But why haven’t these offices evolved with changing technology?  It’s partly cultural, but

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