Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon. – Mortgage rates have, as of the week of January 12, 2026, hit their lowest level in over 3 years: the 30-year fixed rate mortgage came in at an average of 6.06% while the…
Moving to another part of the country is a big leap, one often driven by pragmatic reasons like employment. According to the 2025 National Movers Study compiled by United Van Lines, employment continues to be a primary driver of relocation nationwide. A key motivating factor, behind a desire to be closer to family, is a…
Private listings are at the center of one of the most headline-grabbing litigations in real estate right now. Compass has sued Zillow over its new “listing access standards” program, which removes listings not listed on MLSs within one business day of being publicly marketed from Zillow’s platform. While the Zillow and Compass litigation unfolds in…
Due to last year’s government shutdown, the latest new-home sales data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been held up until now—and the results suggest cause for optimism. During October 2025, 737,000 new units were sold in the U.S. This is down slightly from September 2025…
Manufactured and modular housing have been embraced as one solution to reaching housing affordability, due to their ease to build (including low cost), energy efficiency and other key benefits. On Friday, January 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Affordable HOMES Act, a bill that cuts energy regulations in an effort to lower the…
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump claimed the American Dream of homeownership is slipping out of people’s reach, “especially younger Americans.” “It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress…
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 judge rules Trump administration must find funding for CFPB The Trump administration’s latest attempt to block funding and operation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) hit a roadblock on Dec. 30.…
As annual inflation remains above 2% and the labor market shows weakness, the Federal Reserve has been split in recent months over the direction of monetary policy. The past year has seen split votes among the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting committee on interest rates-setting; the July FOMC, for instance, saw Fed Governors Michelle…
As part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) overseeing the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the FHFA is required to set annually updated benchmark goals for how the GSEs’ mortgage purchases will help contribute to affordable housing for lower-income households. On Tuesday, December 23, the FHFA set its enterprise benchmark housing…
A down payment on a home is a crucial part of the financial hurdle that homebuyers need to pass before they can think of closing, but in the current market, how long of a wait is that? According to the latest report from Realtor.com®, the current average for saving for a down payment on a…
With fewer affordable single-family homes available, more buyers are looking for homes that can accommodate multiple generations. Read more.
