Howard Hanna closes third acquisition in three months

It may be a new year, but Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is picking up right where it left off. On Wednesday, the family-owned brokerage announced its acquisition of Ohio-based Home Experts Realty.Founded in 2011, Home Experts Realty has grown to nearly 400 agents. The financial terms of the deal
Read MoreYounger generations are more likely to pursue home renovations this year

As high home prices continue to impact the market, many homeowners are deciding to stay put in their homes. But most still have plans to purse home renovations — and younger generations are leading this new focus on home improvement.Emmy Award-winning home improvement platform This Old House conduct
Read MoreAARP study highlights how tech can help with aging in place

Technology has a lot of potential to assist older people with the goal of aging in place. A new study from AARP and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) aims to make the case by arguing that tech can empower independence.Combining the work of a quantitative study from CTA and qualitative resear
Read MoreFirst American’s Xander Snyder on LA housing supply after the fires

What will happen to housing supply in the wake of the fires still burning in the LA area? Firefighters continue to battle the blazes that have already burned some 40,000 acres and killed at least 25 people, as of Wednesday. There are about 82,400 people in Los Angeles County that are still under eva
Read MoreHUD voucher recipient in Indiana will lose benefits after disclosing marijuana use

An Elkhart, Indiana, resident who is a beneficiary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assistance is poised to lose his benefits on Jan. 31 after disclosing on a form that he had ingested marijuana a single time, according to local reporting by a South Bend-based NBC affiliate.
Read MoreFTC seeks feedback on the largest single-family rental investors

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday issued a request for public comment about the largest owners and operators of single-family rental (SFR) homes. The FTC said it is seeking to understand more about how these “mega investors” have impacted home prices and rents across the country.In a 5
Read MoreRE/MAX hires Chris Lim as EVP and chief growth officer

RE/MAX on Wednesday announced that it has hired Chris Lim as executive vice president and chief growth officer. Lim, who has 22 years of leadership experience in the real estate industry, will officially step into his new role on Feb. 3.Lim will focus on fostering franchise growth in key U.S. region
Read MoreLA mayor issues order to expedite home construction amid wildfires

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order late on Monday that aims to speed up the rebuilding process in areas destroyed by the wildfires that have burned thousands of homes in Southern California.The order directs city agencies to expedite the building permitting process in affected ar
Read MoreConforming mortgage share hit record low in December

At the tail end of 2024, mortgage borrowers shifted their attention away from conforming mortgages and toward refinance opportunities. A report released Tuesday by Optimal Blue found that the conforming loan share sank to historic lows in December.Optimal Blue’s December 2024 Market Advantage report
Read MoreThe Supreme Court is out, so what’s next for NAR?

When the Supreme Court on Monday denied the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) petition to hear its appeal of a lower court’s ruling that allowed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reopen its long-running investigation, the trade group officially ran out of court options. But while it may seem
Read MoreNew FHFA final rule seeks to expand liquidity for FHLBank system

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday announced the publication of a new, final rule in the Federal Register seeking to expand liquidity for the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) system, which would be accomplished by adjusting the treatment of some short-term FHLBank investments.The r
Read MoreCyberbacker CEO arrested for giving marijuana to 8-year-old son

Move over, Hunter S. Thompson, and make way for Cyberbacker CEO Craig Goodliffe.According to a Fox News affiliate in Salt Lake City, Goodliffe was arrested in Ogden, Utah, last week for allegedly giving his 8-year-old son marijuana candy. This led to charges of child endangerment, purchase of a fire
Read MoreHere are the top reverse mortgage securities issuers for 2024

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) volume took a hit in 2024 and the HECM-backed Securities (HMBS) issuance market also saw overall reductions in output for the year, giving further context to a challenging period for the reverse mortgage industry broadly. Once again, total issuance was down in
Read MoreHow to become a real estate broker & launch a brokerage — Advice from a KW mega broker

When I started my first brokerage in my late twenties, I was full of ambition but had no idea what to expect. While I would like to say I knocked it out of the park on my first try, I had to make many mistakes before considering myself an expert. Despite the learning curve, becoming a broker has bee
Read MoreTexas homeowners lost $2 billion by not contesting their property taxes

Rising mortgage rates and home prices are already a strain on homeowners across the country. On top of that, a new study revealed that Texas homeowners have lost billions of dollars over the past three years in property tax payments.Property tax consulting company Ownwell conducted a study that anal
Read MoreAppraisers have new time adjustment requirements starting Feb. 4

Appraisers are getting more responsibilities.As of Feb. 4, appraisers will be required to submit a report that the market analysis they produced supports both the indicated overall market trend and market-derived time adjustments for changes in market conditions. They will also have to include an il
Read MoreUncertainty surrounds insurance pricing after wildfires

As wildfires continue to ravage the LA area a week after starting, the impact on insurance premiums and costs to rebuild are still very uncertain. Despina Buganski, head of North America personal lines for global insurance brokerage and consulting firm WTW, sat down with Reporter Sarah Wolak to talk
Read MoreHUD settles with PHH over alleged mortgage payment fees that violated FHA rules

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday announced that it has reached a settlement with PHH Mortgage Corp., a division of the Onity Group, over the alleged imposition of fees for borrowers making payments on their mortgages, which is in violation of Federal Housing Admin
Read MoreHere’s why Trump’s presidency is keeping agents up at night
The real estate industry went through a lot last year. The word “fear” plagued the minds of many industry professionals as the business underwent seismic shifts, and as President-elect Donald Trump enters office next week, these feelings still ring true for a sizable chunk of agents.This finding com
Read MoreWildfire damage with a reverse mortgage? Here’s what to do

It’s imperative for reverse mortgage borrowers to contact their insurance carrier if their property has been damaged in the ongoing Southern California wildfires, and to let their servicer know of anything that could impact their occupancy of their property due to the terms of Federal Housing Admini
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