In today’s market, trust is often the deciding factor in whether a client chooses to move forward with an agent or keep looking. And that trust is usually built, or lost, in the very first conversation. While experience and production matter, how agents show up in those early interactions can make all the difference. First…
A federal judge in Seattle has paused the discovery process in a high-stakes class-action lawsuit against Zillow, and gave at least some signal that the case could get tossed in its entirety relatively soon. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart granted Zillow’s request to pause discovery on March 23, halting all fact-gathering in the case…
A new survey from Zillow finds a striking reversal in market dynamics: by the fourth quarter of 2025, 51% of agents said market conditions were favoring buyers, the first time that had been true all year. From this same time last year, inventory is up 5%, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home…
Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Hanna Holdings opts in to copycat buyer settlement Hanna Holdings has opted into a copycat buyer-broker commission settlement, even as litigation tied to the agreement continues to face challenges in federal court. In…
As largely expected, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, leaving the federal funds rate unchanged at a rate of 3.5% – 3.75%—the same level established following December’s quarter-point cut. There was a singular dissenting vote from Stephen I. Miran, who preferred to lower the target…
For Teresa Palacios Smith, inclusion is not a program—it is a practice. As chief inclusion and engagement officer at HomeServices of America, Palacios Smith has spent her career building bridges between the real estate industry and the diverse communities it serves. A Cornell-certified DEI expert, she leads initiatives that reach over 23,000 agents across more…
Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Updates in eXp sexual assault case eXp World Holdings argued in a March 13 motion that it is essentially the wrong defendant. The company says it is a separate corporate entity from eXp…
Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Judges appear inclined to allow Anywhere copycat settlement to proceed Two federal judges last week denied a series of requests from the Batton plaintiffs—including a motion to intervene in the Tuccori case, a…
Two federal judges this week appeared inclined to let a parallel homebuyer antitrust case against several brokerages move toward settlement, mostly denying plaintiffs who have fought to block or consolidate the competing litigation. The controversy came after Anywhere Real Estate struck a $9.6 million settlement in a copycat case that lawyers in the original and…
Hesitant buyers don’t always say they’re hesitant. They might say they’re “just browsing,” or they want to “see what happens with rates” or that they’re “waiting for the perfect home.” In today’s market—where affordability concerns, rate sensitivity and uncertainty still linger—agents who move deals forward aren’t the most aggressive; they’re the most curious. The right…
With home prices still elevated in much of the country, condos have become more realistic for buyers determined to exit the rental train. Read more.
