A long-standing central Colorado real estate firm has joined the Century 21 network, bringing more than five decades of local knowledge. First Colorado Land Office, Inc. — established in 1973 and now led by fifth-generation Salida, Colo., native Jeffrey Post — is now doing business as Century 21 Community First. The move, Post said, is aimed at expanding the firm’s resources without...

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and its parent company Hanna Holdings have made their feelings about the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) clear.  In a letter sent to NAR and over 70 MLSs on Wednesday evening, company CEO Hoby Hanna called CCP “misguided” and a “bad policy,” claiming that its adoption in 2020 was due to “fear that brokers were...

Counseling is an essential part of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) origination process, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently refreshed some of its guidance documents for HECM counselors to offer essential information. HUD this month published a “toolkit” detailing how someone can become a HECM roster counselor. The document “outlines the steps...

A common bathroom size in the United States is around 40 square feet. While it might not sound like much, design and construction pros know which colors, materials, features and strategies can maximize space and visually expand the footprint. Here, pros share some of those details they used in...

Do you find yourself lying awake at night thinking of everything you need to do the next day? Checking your emails before you’re even out of bed? Talking about how busy you are? Hard work and having a work ethic can be great things, but we all need a break. So give...

Americans are gearing up for a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend, with AAA forecasting that 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday, May 22 and Monday, May 26. The figure marks a 1.4 million increase from last year and breaks the previous travel record of 44 million, set in 2005. Despite persistent concerns over inflation and the rising cost of living, Americans...

Mike Kent is a busy man. He’s been a key figure at Onity Group’s Liberty Reverse Mortgage for most of the past decade. He’s also served as co-chair of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) since 2019, and he now serves as senior vice president of reverse asset management and industry relations for Liberty and PHH Mortgage Corp. Finding time on the sidelines of NRMLA’s...

President Donald Trump’s bombshell Truth Social post on Wednesday night sent the stock prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soaring. But removing the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) from conservatorship after 16-plus years would be a complicated endeavor. And if they’re not removed carefully, costs for borrowers could spike. Trump’s announcement that he’s considering a public...

Last year, I predicted a national home-price increase of 2.33%. While that forecast was lower than most others, it seemed achievable due to higher mortgage rates and increased inventory. I was wrong and too low for 2024. This year, my prediction is even lower at 1.77% national home-price growth. So far this year, the existing home price index has been higher than my forecast level every month....

Compass is hungry for more growth and it is turning to Lacey Conway to help it realize its ambitions.  The brokerage on Thursday announced its appointment of Conway as the firm’s executive vice president of mergers and acquisitions.  Conway joined Compass in the spring of 2024 through the firm’s acquisition of Latter & Blum. At the time of the acquisition, Conway was serving as the CEO of...