The Federal Reserve chose to hold interest rates unchanged at the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The past few months, which have seen both higher inflation and a relatively soft labor market, have also created a sense of deadlock and a wait-and-see attitude among the Fed. While the June vote was ultimately unanimous,…
From razor-thin margins to part-time agents, there is good reason for the consolidation currently underway in residential real estate. The question is, will the players left standing be the right ones? As private-equity and Wall Street money extend their tendrils further into the real estate landscape, concerns regarding their intention, integrity and capability to properly…
Sotheby’s International Realty (SIR) has announced the acquisition of Majestic Realty Collective (MRC), one of the most productive luxury real estate organizations in North America, according to the company, which included eight Sotheby’s affiliates. The acquisition expands SIR’s footprint across premier luxury and resort markets in the American West and aims to strengthen its presence…
This year has gone in a direction few could have predicted. A year of expected normalization and stabilization for the housing market ran into new headwinds in the form of a conflict in the Middle East, pushing some economists to shift their outlooks moving forward. Expectations now are still pointing toward some normalization, as seen…
As housing affordability challenges remain, the square footage of new homes is shrinking as buyers are learning to prioritize. Per findings from the economics team of data platform Zonda Home (published by New Home Source), the average new home is about 2,175 square feet as of December 2025. This is about 125 feet smaller than…
Above, George Sarkis, left, and Manny Sarkis No one needs to explain to George and Manny Sarkis, co-founders of The Sarkis Team at Douglas Elliman in Boston, what “competing” is all about. Because when many of your clients are elite athletes, executives and business leaders, supreme performance expectations are a given. The Sarkis brothers have…
Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate. Zillow iBuyer lawsuit requests new trial date A lawsuit by Zillow shareholders accusing the portal of “misleading” statements related to its short-lived iBuying business is aiming for a new trial date, with a…
Homeowners are older than the general population, while younger generations are falling behind due to affordability challenges. There has been some expectation of a so-called “silver tsunami,” i.e., when older homeowners begin listing their homes this will boost supply across the housing market. Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist of Bright MLS and publisher of the Housing…
CHICAGO—The CEOs of Compass and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) each testified Thursday, July 2 that Zillow executives threatened them directly over their companies’ resistance to its listing access standards, with MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen recounting a Zillow executive’s warning that she could expect her “phone to be dumped” and all of her “text messages…
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has penned a letter requesting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate mega-brokerage Compass for its several recent partnerships with MLSs that simultaneously expanded their platforms nationwide, alleging that the deals “raise significant anti-consumer concerns” and potentially “violate fair housing protections.” Specifically, the…
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