The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would like to review its anti-flipping rule and reforms to automated valuation models (AVMs), according to Matt Jones, deputy assistant secretary for the FHA’s Office of Single-Family Housing. “We think our AVM, our valuation technology, has improved significantly since that rule was put in place a couple decades ago,” Jones said. “We’d like to take a...

The forecast for the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits has risen sharply to 3.9%, driven by persistent inflation in housing, utilities and energy, according to new data released by The Senior Citizens League. The projection — up from a steady 2.8% estimate just one month ago — would raise the average monthly benefit for retired workers to roughly $2,162, up from the...

Lifestyle changes like switching to remote work and growing a family can shift functional needs at home. This Boston-area renovation shows how a home can evolve to accommodate new circumstances. Years ago,...

Cash Buyers Propel Sales Amid Tighter Supply Palm Beach County's housing market posted another month of gains in April, with home sales rising for the eighth straight month as affluent cash purchasers, severely constrained inventory and ongoing migration into South Florida sustained prices despite persistently high mortgage rates. Total residential closings in the county climbed 4.7% from a year earlier...

A yard that’s easy to navigate and maintain, or that checks boxes to make the golden years truly shine, is a true gift to the body, mind and spirit. So designers created these three outdoor retreats with the homeowners’ specific comfort requests in mind, such as an accessible pathway and reachable...

Mortgage rates and the 10-year yield both hit yearly highs after the Friday massacre in the bond market, as we didn’t get any positive news on ending the conflict in Iran. Even with all that, our weekly pending home sales data is still positive year over year, for now. The weekly mortgage purchase application data was positive year-over-year and week-over-week. However, when mortgage rates rise above...

Picking the right plants is often the first thing people think of when...

At the spring 2026 High Point Market in North Carolina, new lighting products embraced oversize scale, layered materials, decorative shades and organic forms — with fixtures functioning as statement pieces as much as sources of illumination. Here are seven standout lighting trends from the April...

MLS consolidation is something numerous industry executives advocate for but few have managed to successfully pull off given all of the logistical challenges of combining two distinct platforms into one. However, MIAMI Association of Realtors (MIAMI) and Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors (RWorld) and their respective MLSs, MIAMI MLS and BeachesMLS, just proved it can certainly be accomplished...

Arbor Homes, a subsidiary of Clayton, is leaning into its Arrival Series to offer entry-level buyers a home in the low $200s, addressing the growing U.S. affordability gap.  The Indianapolis-based homebuilder recently introduced the Arrival Series to the Louisville market, with detached homes available starting at $199,995. The homes, located in a community in the Louisville suburb of Jeffersonville,...