Clarissa Garza

In his second Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting as chairman, Kevin Warsh announced that the FOMC voted to maintain the federal funds rate at 3.5% – 3.75%, marking the fifth consecutive meeting that has left rates unchanged. During a press conference following the committee meeting, Warsh said he wouldn’t characterize this as a “pause”…

U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough has appointed two “special masters”—third parties granted significant authority over witnesses, evidence and testimony—to audit JND Legal Administration’s billing in the Burnett and Gibson commission lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), capping months of scrutiny over the settlement administrator’s finances. The July 27 order names Chris T.…

Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Federal lawmakers investigate MRED-Compass partnership A federal congressional committee sent letters to Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen in relation to their partnership, scrutinizing the relationship between the nation’s largest…

Zillow research released in May found that home sellers lost a combined $1.49 billion to same-agent dual agency and $1.36 billion to off-MLS listings between 2023 and 2025, based on an analysis of more than 15 million transactions.  Two sources with no role in the study—a Chicago broker/owner and a real estate economist—reviewed the findings…

Housing has spent 2026 running in place, and Zonda Chief Economist Ali Wolf doesn’t expect the picture to change much before 2027. Wolf delivered the national portion of Zonda’s third quarter housing market forecast webinar on Tuesday, saying that existing- and new-home sales are tracking essentially flat with 2025, with the firm now calling 2026…

Developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, a new homeownership measure—the homeowners-to-population ratio (HPOP)—aims to provide an alternative to better reflect the share of adults who are homeowners, as the path to the American Dream for young people remains uncertain. In a July 15 release, economists Erik Hembre, Maxine Xu and Ben Horowitz introduced…

Compass targets Zillow with consumer ethics complaints in dozens of states Compass filed state-level ethics complaints on July 14 through 30 Realtor® associations, at least 50 MLSs and multiple real estate regulators across 26 states, targeting Zillow and focusing on allegedly misleading property designations on listings. A source with direct knowledge of the effort told…

Despite positive news for the building sector with the recent passing of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, this month’s homebuilder confidence report dropped again for the second month and has remained in negative territory for its longest stretch since 2012. According to this month’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market…

In a supplemental post-hearing brief filed by defendants Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and Compass, the defendants argue that Zillow is not entitled to relief because “any harm, if it exists at all, is self-inflicted.” “If Zillow wants MRED’s feed, the ‘lifeblood’ of its business that it receives virtually for free, all Zillow has to…

Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Judge denies FTC in Zillow-Redfin suit A federal judge denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) and states’ motion for partial summary judgment, sending disputes over market definition and the deal’s alleged illegality to…