Editor’s note: this is part one of a two-part series—look for part two in our upcoming newsletters.
2025 was another whirlwind year for real estate, with industry professionals facing ups, downs and everything in between. The industry saw a lot of major developments, and it can be hard to keep track of everything—from historical tariffs and the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, to major consolidations amongst big-name brokerages in the industry.
Here’s a review of some of the major real estate events in government, associations and businesses throughout 2025:
Government upheaval – the good, the bad and the tariffs
- The Federal Reserve (Fed)
The Fed had an interesting 2025, as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) faced pressure from the Trump administration to lower interest rates throughout the year. The FOMC declined to lower rates through most of 2025, as members still voiced concerns over inflation and felt it wasn’t the time. In July, the FOMC again did not change rates, but instead faced two dissenting votes for the first time since 1993 as two members wanted to lower rates.
The time finally came in September for the first interest rate cut of the year, with the FOMC voting to lower rates by 0.25% due to the worsening job market conditions. Two more rate cuts occurred in October and December, both quarter-point reductions (0.25%), landing at 3.5% – 3.75% for the end of 2025. There were also dissenting votes in all three meetings, with Fed Governor Stephen Miran voting monthly to reduce rates even further and other governors (Jeffrey Schmid and Austan Goolsbee) wanting no change and to hold rates steady.
Other news at the Fed surrounded the controversy involving Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who was urged to resign by President Trump and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte in August over allegations of criminal mortgage fraud. Pulte also pushed to have Cook investigated for the allegations, sending a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that claimed Cook had “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
Trump then announced he was firing Cook following these allegations, claiming that through one of the laws involving the Fed, he had cause to remove Cook. Cook, however, stated she would not leave her position, saying she would refuse to resign and would carry out the remainder of her term. A federal appeals court then blocked the firing, with the White House saying it would appeal this decision. The Supreme Court then agreed to review the White House’s appeal, and decreed that pending its ruling, Cook can remain in her Fed position.
- Tariffs
President Trump’s tariffs were a big worry for many in the industry from the time they were announced at the beginning of 2025. The initial question before tariffs went into effect was how much they could impact the housing industry, specifically the construction segment.
There was also concern over inflation for consumers and how that could affect home-buying demand, and concern over an inflationary impact on prices of homebuilding materials and thereby home prices. Inflation readings starting in June began to show effects from tariffs, with inflation rising and economists saying it was making the housing market “sluggish.” Inflation saw more rises in 2025, of which there was partial or total attribution to tariffs.
- Housing legislation
As President Trump took office this year, he made many promises involving the housing market, which there have been speculation about throughout the year as the market and the economy evolved.
But as usual, some of the biggest legislative changes were percolating at the state level. Starting out the year, Alabama passed a notable law that contradicted the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) settlement, as it banned any requirement for a buyer agreement as a condition for showing a house. Louisiana proposed a similar law later on. Additionally, laws proposed that banned Realtor® membership requirements in two states (Alabama and Oregon) were knocked down, both losing steam before receiving full floor votes.
At the federal level, the so-called Big Beautiful Bill was also signed over the summer, with some stipulations for housing made inside the 887-page document. The bill raised the SALT tax cap—determning how much state and local taxes homeowners can deduct from their federal tax bill—to $40,000.
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs also voted to advance the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, a sprawling housing reform bill. The bill contains everything from direct financial support for homeowners and local governments, to requirements that certain housing agency heads testify annually before Congress, to reducing environmental reviews on certain projects.
Editor’s note: For regular coverage of housing and other legislation affecting real estate, check out RISMedia’s Legislative Round-Up series.
- The shutdown
The government faced what became the longest shutdown in U.S. history, with many aspects of the housing industry affected in the 43 days. Disruptions were faced in the mortgage industry, especially with the pause of the National Flood Insurance Program. As the shutdown persisted, many data reports were delayed, such as the jobs report and inflation measures, making the industry and consumers uneasy. The housing market surrounding D.C. faced several issues off the bat, with a lack of pay for government workers, pulling back buyer traffic. This occurred nationally as well, as the economy slowed and became uncertain for many.
NAR seeks a turnaround
- NAR
NAR has had an interesting past couple of years, and 2025 proved to be no exception. Beyond the legal and policy issues the association faced, it was also a topic of conversation in the final stretch of 2025 due to the filing of its Form 990 (its tax forms disclosing the organization’s financials). The organization’s financials were revealed to the public in December, which have continued to spark conversation as they are scrutinized by many in the industry, including a group of brokers who have publicly pushed for changes to restore trust in NAR.
- NAR’s competition
The American Real Estate Association came onto the scene in 2024, but did not make immediate waves, as the NAR alternative organization was just getting its footing. The organization continued to grow and build throughout 2025, coming out in September saying it had grown to 10,000 members and was still committed to expanding into a full-fledged association. Also in September, the association made the large announcement that it had partnered with Douglas Elliman to become the brokerage’s association, bringing 6,000-plus more agents into the fold. This brought the organization up to 26,600 total members.
The year of consolidation
- Compass and Anywhere
In one of the biggest merger moves in recent memory, Compass announced its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate in a deal expected to value the combined companies at over $10 billion. The merger expands Compass’s reach to about 120 countries and territories, and combines the resources of both large brands. The deal made waves in the market and sparked a lot of conversation.
The companies later stated they would be preserving their brands and presence in the market, maintaining their individual branding while sharing resources. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, according to the companies.
Compass was also briefly reported in March to be in “advanced talks” of acquiring HomeServices of America, but HomeServices later denied this report.
- Rocket fueled by Redfin
Rocket Companies made two key acquisitions this year: Redfin and Mr. Cooper. Rocket’s $1.75 billion all-stock acquisition of Redfin was announced in March, in order to position itself as a “hyper-scaled homeownership platform.” The deal was not without controversy, as a Redfin investor, Bruce Miller, sued Redfin and its board over the acquisition. Miller sought to stop the deal, alleging negligence and concealment and claiming that Redfin failed to “communicate accurate and truthful information” as it closed the deal. Despite the suit, the deal was completed in July.
Rocket also bought up mortgage servicer giant Mr. Cooper Group, a deal also announced in March, which is set to bring Rocket’s mortgage recapture capabilities to a combined servicing book of $2.1 trillion across nearly 10 million clients, representing one in every six mortgages in America. The $14.2 billion deal was completed in October, after being cleared to move forward by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in August.
- Keller Williams onboards private equity firm
Another notable move in the brokerage space was Keller Williams bringing on a private equity firm as an investor after being privately owned for 42 years. The firm Stone Point Capital—a Connecticut-based investment firm which claims $55 billion in assets—was said by the brokerage to be “investing capital to help fuel Keller Williams’ continued growth and innovation.” Keller Williams said it chose to take on an investor to adapt to the industry’s changing landscape and need for risk mitigation and strategic relationships.
- Douglas Elliman and Anywhere
A report by multiple media outlets in May claimed that Anywhere Real Estate was making a bid to acquire Douglas Elliman in a deal that would more than double Elliman’s stock price at the time. This deal, however, never materialized beyond initial reports. Elliman was later reportedly put under scrutiny and being investigated for insider trading over the reports of the deal, as the deal never occurred, but the news caused the brokerage’s stock to soar.
- CoStar acquisitions
CoStar made some moves this year with both the completion of its Matterport acquisition in March and the announcement of its acquisition of Australian real estate portal Domain in May. Domain is one of the largest real estate consumer websites in Australia. CoStar had to rival the News Corp-owned (Realtor.com® owner) Australian portal REA, however CoStar won out. The deal was set at $1.9 billion, and was completed in August.
- Other news
Other moves include mortgage lender Lower’s acquisition of real estate portal Movoto, seemingly following in the footsteps of the Rocket/Redfin deal. In addition, MLS giants Stellar MLS, California Regional MLS (CRMLS) and Bright MLS announced their Reciprocal MLS Access program to share data across the U.S.
