Steady rates remaining in the low 6% range continue fueling refinance demand, rising the tide for a small increase this week in overall mortgage applications, as tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).  According to the latest Market Composite Index—MBA’s measure of mortgage loan activity volume and includes purchases and refinances—increased 2.8% on a seasonally…

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While 2025 overall was markedly disappointing for homebuilders, large jumps in new construction at the end of the year seem to outline a brighter future for 2026, one that builders are looking to approach with caution.  A delayed New Residential Construction report from the Census Bureau found that housing starts in December came in at…

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In a mostly technical legal briefing filed last week in Virginia federal court, rivals Zillow and Redfin jointly pushed back against a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five states’ attorneys general that alleges the two companies violated federal antitrust law when they struck a rental “syndication” agreement late last year, arguing…

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Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Rhode Island agent Kyle Seyboth under fire, again The Delva family—a Haitian immigrant family at the center of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s lawsuit against top agent Kyle Seyboth—has now filed their own…

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Editor’s Note: Social Skills is a bi-monthly feature in RISMedia’s Daily News focused on social media and digital marketing tips, trends and solutions for agents and brokers. When it comes to social media for real estate professionals, platforms like Instagram and TikTok can be great for showcasing listing photos, sharing property tours and reaching your…

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CoStar Group on Feb. 17 announced the launch of Homes AI, which the portal calls a transformative experience powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI, fully integrated into Homes.com, and accessible to all consumers. For the first time on a major real estate portal, according to the company, consumers can engage in natural, real-time, two-way conversations, by…

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As player housing goes live in World of Warcraft®, Zillow has teamed up with Blizzard Entertainment® to introduce Zillow for Warcraft, a custom microsite that allows anyone to browse a curated collection of in-game homes from Azeroth™. According to a release, the Zillow for Warcraft experience brings Zillow’s familiar home exploration into a fantasy setting. The microsite…

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While mortgage originations remain constrained due to affordability concerns, refinancing is driving increased activity as mortgage rates have come down from record highs to near 6%, according to the latest data from ATTOM. ATTOM’s Mortgage Origination Report for Q4 2025 found that 1.72 million mortgages secured by residential property were issued, a 6% decrease from…

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January appears to be looking up in terms of inflation as the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics saw the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit a low for both inflation and core inflation. The CPI for January saw a 0.2% increase in the all items index, landing annual inflation at 2.4%. This is…

The post Inflation Hits New Lows as 2026 Outlook Brightens appeared first on RISMedia.

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Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who was overseeing the long-suffering Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), announced on social media yesterday that she would be resigning from the position, effective immediately. “It is with great sadness and abiding hope that I leave my role as (assistant attorney general) for…

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