Zillow wins dismissal of RESPA claims in Flex referrals case
While Zillow’s legal battles on other fronts may be heating up, for now, it no longer has to contend with claims of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and racketeering violations. On Monday, Seattle-based federal court Judge James Robart granted Zillow’s motion to dismiss the combined Taylor and Armstrong lawsuit. According to the ruling, the […]
Sekisui House U.S. CEO David Viger on bringing Japan-inspired resiliency to U.S. homes
When Osaka, Japan-based Sekisui House bought MDC Holdings, the parent company of Richmond American Homes, for $4.9 billion in 2024, the company not only made a long-term bet on the American market but also reinforced its commitment to bringing its resilient and sustainable building practices to the U.S. In an announcement following the acquisition, Sekisui […]
Closinglock launches payment tools to secure homebuyer funds
Closinglock has launched two new capabilities designed to protect homebuyers’ funds throughout the real estate transaction process, including when a deal falls through. The escrow management platform introduced the SecurePay open payment link and buyer earnest money deposit (EMD) returns, enabling title and settlement companies to manage both incoming and outgoing buyer funds through a […]
DFW’s next suburban growth wave is forming west of Fort Worth
Parker County and Weatherford are beginning to display the demographic, economic and infrastructure signals that once beamed in on Collin County as North Texas’ next great suburban market. For most of the past three decades, the North Texas growth story came with a compass direction: North. Plano became Frisco. Frisco became Prosper. Prosper pushed toward […]
3 Ways Local Expertise Helps Independent Brokerages Compete
The fight for market share in real estate has never been more intense. National portals, institutional investors and well-funded disruptors are all competing for the same buyers and sellers, pushing many brokerages to believe they need to spend more to keep up. But independent brokerages won’t win by outspending the competition—they win by outmaneuvering it. […]
Mortgage Lock-in Effect Fuels Rise of Accidental Landlords
For the past several years, the real estate industry has talked about the mortgage-rate lock-in effect mostly as an inventory problem. That is understandable. When a homeowner has a 3% or 4% mortgage, and today’s replacement mortgage is in the mid-6% range, selling can feel financially irrational. Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage […]
New York City posts notice of new tax levy to pied-a-terre owners
Tax attorneys and accountants are about to make bank helping owners of non-primary homes navigate New York City’s pied-à-terre tax notifications, which started landing in mailboxes before the weekend. “If you have a second home in New York City worth more than $5 (million), check your mailbox when you’re back in the five boroughs – […]
Ruth Reffkin launches Compass real estate team in NYC
Although she’s no stranger to the real estate industry, Ruth Reffkin, the mother of Compass International Holdings founder and CEO Robert Reffkin, has decided to start her own real estate team. Reffkin announced the launch of her eponymous Ruth Reffkin Team, which will unsurprisingly be brokered by Compass, on Friday, just days ahead of her […]
Lot demand shifts to terms and timing at Forestar, Five Point
In 2024 and early 2025, homebuilders large, medium and small were smitten with the strategic notion of “land light.” In 2026, and for the near future, most everybody is more preoccupied, and rightly so, with “land right.” Many of the U.S.’s most prolific new-construction markets undergoing some form of “work-out” to winnow down aging spec […]
Agent movement stalls as retention takes hold in Q2
The landscape for real estate agent recruiting is undergoing a structural shift, with agents increasingly choosing to move within their existing brand rather than switch to a competitor, according to a new report from Recruiting Insight and Lone Wolf Technologies. The Q2 2026 Agent Migration Report, based on 113,372 records and four MLS corridors, found […]