September 2025

Lisa Cook loan docs listing ‘vacation home’ seem to undermine mortgage fraud claims

Mortgage documents have been at the center of an effort by President Donald Trump to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage fraud, but a loan estimate from 2021, first seen and reported by Reuters on Friday, seems to undermine those allegations. The loan estimate for an Atlanta condo Cook bought in 2021 shows […]

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Midwest housing markets defy national days on market trends

Midwest housing markets are demonstrating remarkable resilience against the national trend of extended Days on Market (DOM), with properties in key Midwestern cities selling up to 83% faster than the national average, according to the latest market data. Regional performance outpaces national metrics The national median DOM for single-family homes currently stands at 63 days,

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Tech Pulse: AI for real estate teams; Tech Trendsetter shares insights

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Can AI help real estate teams stand out or make them all look the same? Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming real estate marketing and workflows, but agents are

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Commerce Secretary Lutnick says Fannie, Freddie IPO ‘could well be this year’

As the mortgage industry prepares for the Trump Administration’s plans for an initial public offering (IPO) of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on CNBC to offer his comments on the subject. During the interview aired Thursday, Lutnick disclosed that the IPO “could well

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Foreclosure filings rise 18% year over year in August

Foreclosure activity in the U.S. increased in August, with 35,697 properties receiving default notices, scheduled for auction, or repossessed by lenders, according to ATTOM’s August 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The total was down 1% from July but up 18% from a year earlier. “August marked the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in U.S.

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Home equity levels remain high even as price appreciation has cooled

The average U.S. mortgage holder has more than $300,000 in home equity, a figure that’s up significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as national equity levels now stand at $17.5 trillion. That’s according to Cotality’s second-quarter 2025 home equity report released on Friday. The report noted that the average homeowner with a mortgage

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Ohio property tax debate intensifies

Efforts to abolish or deeply reform property taxes are gaining momentum in multiple states — including Ohio — where impassioned debate has cited potential funding shortfalls for local services, seniors being prices out of homes and further effects on the housing market. Howard Fleeter, an economist with the Ohio Education Policy Institute who has worked

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Waters urges Fed independence, FHFA probe in Trump-Cook fight

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, sent two letters this week that seek investigations into actions by President Donald Trump at the Federal Reserve. One letter was sent to John Allen, the acting inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), while the other was addressed French

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Is there a better way to avoid reverse mortgage foreclosures?

Even with options in place to prevent them, reverse mortgages can end in foreclosure. But Byron Batres thinks his company can offer a solution to reduce these outcomes. While more recent numbers aren’t available, a 2019 analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) data found that the share of Home

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Jordana-Leigh

Christie’s International Real Estate SC adds agent Jordana Leigh

Jordana Leigh has joined Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California, the brokerage announced. Known for work in the region’s luxury and celebrity real estate market, Leigh has more than $5 billion in career sales and has represented clients including Orlando Bloom, Simon Cowell, Eve and the late Naya Rivera. “After many years of friendship and

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