Mortgage rates have been slowly decreasing, but is this drop significant enough to influence our weekly housing data? Keep in mind that our weekend tracker reports provide insights months ahead of the reports most Americans typically read. Therefore, we closely monitor changes in our data trends whenever mortgage rates fluctuate. The last two weeks have been particularly noteworthy, and I wanted to discuss...

It’s been a strange season for the housing market, caught somewhere between post-pandemic exhaustion and pre-election caution. And yet, in the quiet shuffles of financial markets and whispered policy pivots in Washington, signs are emerging that something may be stirring beneath the surface. Just last week, mortgage rates unexpectedly improved by as much as 0.25%, fueled by the weakest private-sector...

Below is a timeline of the actions the Trump administration or Congressional Republicans have taken that impact housing since President Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025, along with additional coverage of those topics. Opinions on Trump administration actions CFPB Trump fires CFPB Director Rohit Chopra  Feb. 1 Trump names Scott Bessent as new acting CFPB director Feb. 3 New CFPB...

Located alongside an end-unit townhome in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood is a yard designed to engage the homeowners’ three children. The parents hired landscape architect Stephen Prasses to create an inviting space that would encourage their kids to spend as much time as possible outdoors,...

Whether you are moving into an existing kitchen, remodeling the one you have or building a new one, understanding a few key building measurements and organizational guidelines can help your culinary life run more smoothly. Kitchens provide storage for your food and cookware, give you room...

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology — including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac jointly create U.S. Financial Technology Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have launched U.S. Financial Technology LLC to replace Common Securitization Solutions....

When Elon Musk was given control over much of the federal government staffing levels at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, real estate professionals in Washington, D.C., wondered if the sweeping layoffs would impact the housing market. While everyone has taken a wait-and-see approach, it’s getting hard to deny that people are moving because of the actions of the U.S. DOGE...

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools equip real estate agents with unprecedented capabilities. While ChatGPT has become a go-to tool for many of us, there are tons of AI tools for real estate that offer a more efficient, data-driven approach to generating new client leads. From automated chatbots that qualify incoming leads and analytics to predict upcoming sellers to home staging done in a few clicks, AI...

As part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to cut regulatory burdens, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday announced the rescission of 12 policies related to appraisal protocols, underwriter employment, flood risk management and other areas.  Scott Turner, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees the FHA, said in a statement...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Friday that Jonathan “Drew” McCall, Todd Thurman and Reid Wilson will serve in senior-level roles under the direction of Secretary Scott Turner. The appointments followed the swearing-in of Andrew Hughes, the former HUD chief of staff, as deputy secretary. Per the department, the new appointees will be instrumental in...