National News

Advocus National Title Insurance Co. expands leadership team to scale underwriting platform nationwide

Advocus National Title Insurance Company, a Rate-acquired company, has appointed Kelli Fogarty as executive vice president, business development and Stan Czaja as executive vice president and general manager as part of a strategic effort to scale its underwriting platform nationwide. 

Super Bowl LX: The ‘Big Game’ could mean big home-value boosts for Boston and Seattle

Zillow’s Home Value Index shows that in 13 of the past 20 years, home values in the metro area of the Super Bowl champion grew faster than the national average.

Fed holds interest rates steady

The Fed said that while economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace, job growth has remained low, and inflation is “somewhat elevated.”  

NAR issues first Annual Report

The report covers the progress the organization has made toward its 2026-2028 Strategic Plan. 

Active-adult housing demand is outpacing supply

Middle-income seniors stand to be affected most by projected shortages — those who don’t qualify for subsidized housing but can’t afford new construction.

The Agency partners with Rechat

Agents affiliated with The Agency will now have access to Rechat’s CRM, the People Center, as well as a range of tools including a marketing center and an AI agent assistant.

2026 opens with a dip in builder confidence, interest rates

Affordability challenges continue to bedevil homebuyers, despite mortgage rates falling to a three-year low, the National Association of Home Builders reported. 

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman steps down after Rocket integration

The longtime executive said he was leaving now that the company has completed its integration with Rocket Companies, which acquired it last year. 

Trump’s proposed ban on institutional home ownership raises more questions than answers

President Trump’s proposal to ban investment firms from buying single-family homes is unlikely to have a major impact on affordability, observers said.

Compass, Anywhere secure stockholder approval for merger

Stockholders of both Compass, Inc. and Anywhere Real Estate Inc. have overwhelmingly approved all proposals tied to the companies’ previously announced merger, signaling strong investor support for the $1.6 billion deal.

Pearl rolls out first-ever individual performance profiles for every house in America

Pearl assigned a Pearl SCORE to every one of the 92 million single-family homes in the U.S., rating them on how well each performs across five factors of home life: safety, comfort, operations, resilience and energy.

Rechat partners with SkySlope

Through its partnership with SkySlope, a transaction management app founded in 2011, Rechat now incorporates forms and e-signature options, plus data automation tools.

The fallacy of price testing a listing

The push toward private or off‑MLS “test” listings delivers little proven pricing premiums, sells a small share privately and often lengthens time to sell despite industry claims, writes Jonathan Miller, co-founder of property appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

NAR: Pending home sales post best performance since February 2023

Contract signings were up in all four U.S. regions. 

Builder confidence ticks up after December rate cut but remains negative

The NAHB’s monthly survey found the nation’s homebuilders remain optimistic about home sales next year. 

Fed cuts rates again, despite growing division among members

The move was expected, but came amid increasing dissention among Fed officials, who voted for the cut by the sharpest division in six years.

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