The legal battle between Northwest MLS (NWMLS) and Compass escalated this past week as NWMLS filed counterclaims in federal court, accusing the nation’s largest residential brokerage of violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, fraudulent misrepresentation and tortious interference—charges Compass swiftly dismissed as retaliation by a “monopolist” protecting its own turf. The counterclaims, filed April 2 in…

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There is a lot of noise in the real estate industry right now. Clear Cooperation. Private listings. Lawsuits. And now a growing push toward exclusive “Coming Soon” and preview platforms. Let me be clear about where HomeSmart stands. Until shown otherwise, we believe listings should be broadly accessible, not restricted to any one platform or…

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The recent press release for a 20-member team leaving one national brokerage to align with another was fairly boilerplate; the kind of update that is quickly reabsorbed into the churn of a news cycle.  But sometimes there is a story within the story. Sandra Rathe, leader of The Sandra Rathe Team, took RISMedia behind the…

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Lofty announced the launch of Homeowner Agent, a new AI operating system that aims to help agents monitor leads within an existing database, understand selling intent and automatically nurture their clients with personalized market and property insights. The goal is to eliminate guesswork to ensure agents stay top of mind with their database. Designed for…

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Above, Tony Delgado JPAR Brokerage announced the appointment of Tony Delgado as the new president. Delgado will continue to serve as the company’s responsible broker and will oversee all aspects of JPAR’s Texas operations. “For the past number of years, Tony has been at the center of the work that matters most to our agents—support,…

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In a rebound from February’s downcast numbers, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 3 showed the U.S. economy gaining 178,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate sliding slightly to 4.3%. Job gains occurred in healthcare, construction and in transportation and warehousing. Federal government employment continued to decline. Average wages were…

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Editor’s note: Econ Review is a roundup of the month’s housing and economic market data reports.  The housing market is built on data. Home prices, home sales, construction rates coupled with economic data like inflation, jobs, interest rates—it all creates the ecosystem that is the housing market. Understanding the state of the market means understanding…

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Above, L-R: Sandy Karpen, Dan Porter, Nate Martinez, Melissa Dierks, Jamie Wong and Greg Remmers. REMAX Fine Properties has announced a strategic merger with REMAX Solutions. The expanded Arizona-based brokerage will now include more than 400 agents operating across 10 office locations statewide, with projected annual sales production beyond 3 billion, per the company. “This…

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The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased for the fifth consecutive week, rising to 6.46% as the ongoing war in Iran continues to roil financial markets, economists said. The average mortgage rate ticked up 8 basis points to 6.46% this week, according to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), released by Freddie Mac Thursday,…

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