U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough has granted final approval to settlements in the main Burnett copycat case totaling $39.7 million with five real estate brokerages, with the total settlement fund sitting at over $1 billion as the industry continues to grapple with the fallout from antitrust claims. The approvals, announced Wednesday in Kansas City,…
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York has denied Compass’s request for a preliminary injunction against Zillow’s new listing rules (what it calls “Listing Access Standards”), allowing the portal’s new rules to remain in effect while the broader antitrust lawsuit plays out. The decision delivers a significant legal setback for…
At the January Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged. Both Fed Governor Michelle Bowman (who is a voting member of the committee) and retiring Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (who is not) have characterized the current U.S. economy as “resilient,” where annual inflation has stayed static,…
Following on the heels of hedge fund investor Third Point’s recent demand that CoStar Group exit its Homes.com-led residential business entirely, a second hedge fund investor, the New York City-based D.E. Shaw Group, has voiced the same opinion. Even with CoStar firing back at Third Point, saying its demands reflect “their complete misunderstanding of our…
Keller Williams Realty, LLC has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by homebuyers alleging a decades-long conspiracy to fix real estate broker commissions and inflate home prices, according to court documents filed Feb. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The settlement provides monetary compensation…
President Donald Trump announced Friday morning his nomination of Kevin Warsh—a former Federal Reserve governor—to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell, who was nominated by Trump during his first term and reappointed by former President Joe Biden. “I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to…
Lower mortgage rates at the end of 2025 prompted a refinance rush among current homeowners, helping boost prepayment rates to their highest level in three years, according to a new report from ICE Mortgage Technology. The monthly mortgage prepayment rate rose to 0.91% in December, just below the 3.5‑year high set in October, ICE reported…
Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point has launched a proxy fight against CoStar Group, nominating multiple directors to the company’s board and demanding the real estate giant exit its residential business entirely. In a letter released this morning, Third Point announced it would seek to replace a majority of CoStar’s eight-person board, marking…
A new consumer class-action lawsuit was filed against Rocket Companies on Jan. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. According to a press release announcing the action, the Michigan-based lending conglomerate is accused of forcing agents to steer clients toward using Rocket Mortgage. This move, according to attorneys at Hagens…
Nosy neighbors are one thing. They can be occasionally annoying. But noisy neighbors? They can be an endless drag. And for agents whose livelihoods rely on getting buyer clients through the long and winding path to closings, noise pollution can capsize otherwise promising deals. Condo buildings anywhere and co-op high-rises in urban areas are especially…
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