Independent brokerage Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has partnered with Zillow’s ShowingTime+ to allow agents in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas to leverage the Listing Showcase tool. Launched in June 2023, Listing Showcase is an AI-powered listing tool available exclusively on Zillow. It enables agents to differentiate themselves through original presentations of their brand and […]
Top 10 U.S. mortgage lender Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. sustained a cyber attack in early December due to vulnerabilities in a vendor system, the company told the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. On Dec. 4, the company’s information security team “received notification that an unauthorized user had successfully accessed a third-party system utilized by […]
Ellington Financial, parent company of top 10 reverse mortgage lender Longbridge Financial, reported a lower economic return for the fourth quarter of 2023, which was partially driven by net losses from Longbridge “and other positions,” according to CEO Laurence Penn. Penn added, however, that Longbridge is in the process of regaining profitability, and some of […]
EasyKnock completed a $28 million Series D funding round, the company announced on Wednesday. Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the venture capital arm of financial services company Northwestern Mutual, joined as an investor in this round. With its newest influx of capital, EasyKnock aims to advance the development of its platform by honing its suite of […]
As brokerages across the country have begun implementing buyer agency contracts into their business practices in the wake of the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit verdict, the Consumer Federation of America is warning consumers that they may be filled with “unfair provisions” that primarily protect agents and brokers. The watchdog group reached this conclusion in a […]
Top 10 mortgage lender and servicer Newrez is partnering with Newzip, a tech-enabled real estate platform, to roll out a program aimed to save buyers and sellers on credit costs. Dubbed Newrez Home Rewards, buyers will be matched with a real estate agent who works with Newzip and provided booking services. They will also be […]
California is home to roughly 39 million people, making it by far the nation’s most populous state. In 2022, however, only 55.3% of its occupied homes were owner-occupied, the third lowest percentage in the U.S. after New York (53.9%) and Washington, D.C. (42.3%), according to the Census Bureau. Landing a California home is hard and […]
The National Association of Realtors is facing yet another copycat commission lawsuit. The trade group’s legal woes have brought it back to California, where is already facing other commission lawsuits. Filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the Freedlund suit, named after its lead — and currently only — plaintiff, Andrea Freedlund, […]
Higher interest rates in recent weeks have made a dent in housing activity, bringing down mortgage demand. Mortgage applications decreased by 5.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending Feb. 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. “Higher rates in recent weeks have stalled activity, and last week […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) ended 2023 as the top U.S. mortgage company, with more than $108 billion in home loans produced in the period, a record purchase volume and increased margins. It was not enough to make its parent company UWM Holdings Corp. financially profitable, which the company attributed to mortgage servicing rights (MSR) markdowns. […]
It’s no secret that homeowners search online to find a listing agent who can sell their home quickly and for top dollar. But what if you could find them first? What if you could target the right prospects, at the right moment using data? If you’re an agent, team or brokerage looking to keep a […]
Real estate brokerage Redfin revealed signs of progress in its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report, signaling a potential turnaround after facing challenges earlier in the year. Fourth-quarter 2023 revenues at Redfin fell 2% year over year to $218.1 million, down from $222 million in Q4 2022. The company reported a net loss of $23 million in the […]
Although Compass failed to achieve its much publicized goal of being free cash-flow positive in 2023, brokerage executives were still positive about the company’s performance over the past year. “Even at these new op-ex [operating expense] levels, we continue to invest in agent growth, increasing market share, expanding our technology advantage with approximately $100 million […]
Seniors who have employed some kind of home-based health care service have a higher acceptance and adoption of home-based hospice services, which can provide personalized support for end-of-life care, according to a study by Rutgers University’s School of Nursing. The findings were first reported by Hospice News. Published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, researchers […]
Financial services consulting firm ThoughtFocus appointed Santhosh Ananthakrishnan to the position of chief business officer. In his new role, Ananthakrishnan will oversee growth strategies and report directly to ThoughtFocus CEO Shylesh Krishnan. “I am very impressed with the rich portfolio of long-term customer relationships that the firm has built,” Ananthakrishnan said in a statement. “The culture of […]
