Is NAR a positive force? 7 out of 10 real estate agents want to know

These increasingly uncertain attitudes among agents in March were a departure from brokers, who were more likely to tell Intel that they still view the National Association of Realtors positively. Continue reading

At long last — down payment assistance is finally cool

By making homeownership more affordable, Bernice Ross writes, DPA enhances the value agents bring to the table and plays a vital role in helping those who might otherwise be excluded from the housing market. Continue reading

2 Tampa-area Realtor organizations announce merger

Pinellas Realtor Organization / Central Pasco Realtor Organization approved their merger with Greater Tampa Realtors, forming a new group called Tampa Bay Realtors. Continue reading

Xome’s DIY platform lets investors sell homes without an agent

Homeowners can’t sell a primary residence through Xome’s seller portal without a listing agent, but can hire an agent on their own or ask Xome to match them with one. Continue reading

Compass CEO Robert Reffkin says the luxury market is back

The luxury market is back. That was Compass co-founder and CEO Robert Reffkin’s primary message during his latest appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” where he talked about home price trends, mortgage rates, and stock market ebbs and flows. Continue reading

US inventory rises to highest level since 2022 as new-home sales fall

Newly built homes available on the market rose to 480,000, representing a supply of 9.1 months at the current sales rate, up from an 8.5 month supply in March, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Continue reading

Mortgage rates staying below 2024 highs, but buyers indifferent

Bond market investors who fund most mortgages shrugged off hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller that he wants to see “several more months of good inflation data” before cutting rates. Continue reading

Zillow launches AI tool to stop fair housing discrimination

The Fair Housing Classifier is an open-source tool aimed at helping real estate, technology and civil rights organizations create smarter, fair-housing compliant chatbot and search functions for their websites. The code is available on GitHub. Continue reading