Clarissa Garza

Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Partial settlement reached in Roberts v. eXp Realty case Plaintiffs Anya Roberts, Fabiola Acevedo, Christy Lundy, Tami Sims and Megan Farrell-Nelson and defendant Brent Gove have reached a confidential settlement “fully and finally…

Builder confidence in the new single-family home market declined at the start of 2026, as persistent affordability concerns continue to dampen buyer enthusiasm despite some positive movement in mortgage rates. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) fell two points, to 37, in January, reflecting ongoing challenges in the lower…

In a memorandum filed Jan. 13, defendants Zillow and Redfin are asking a federal judge to throw out the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust case against their $100 million partnership—and their arguments reveal potential weaknesses in how the government defined the market it’s trying to regulate. First filed Sept. 30, 2025, the FTC alleged that…

The National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) latest report, released today, revealed a significant rebound in existing-home sales for December 2025, marking the strongest seasonally adjusted performance in nearly three years.  The month saw existing-home sales increase 5.1% from the prior month, signaling improved market conditions after a challenging year marked by record-high home prices and…

In a Jan. 9 report on job growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. employers added 50,000 jobs in December, with the unemployment rate at 4.4%, according to the latest release. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, healthcare and social assistance. Job losses occurred in retail trade. The…

Don’t rely on national housing market headlines to understand your local market; that’s the key takeaway from Realtor.com®’s December monthly housing report, which reveals how dramatically individual metros diverged from broader trends throughout 2025. The report introduces a new framework for understanding these local differences: “benchmarkets” versus outliers. Benchmarkets are metros whose inventory and price…

In a post on Truth Social Jan. 8, President Donald Trump announced he is directing his representatives to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds in an effort to reduce mortgage rates and monthly payments for American homebuyers. The move marks the administration’s latest attempt—its second this week—to address housing affordability concerns that have dominated voter…

People are always on the move. And in 2025, despite economic uncertainty and shifting market conditions, Americans continued to relocate, whether it be a new job, improved cost of living, to be closer to family or for lifestyle changes. Last week, United Van Lines released its most recent survey of movers, tracking which states people…

Stockholders of Compass and Anywhere Real Estate have overwhelmingly approved the proposed merger between the two real estate giants, clearing the way for the $1.6 billion deal to close as early as Friday, Jan. 9. At special stockholder meetings held Wednesday, Jan. 7, approximately 99% of votes cast at Compass’s meeting approved the proposal to…

Immigrant labor has become essential to both homebuilding and residential remodeling in top metro areas with the highest levels of building permits, according to new research from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). The findings underscore the critical role that foreign-born workers play across the entire residential construction space—from new home construction to major…