In what is likely his final act as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julián Castro today announced a reduction in FHA mortgage premiums from 0.85 percent to 0.60 percent. According to an announcement from HUD, the FHA’s annual

Smart home technologies are one of the most pervasive trends in real estate today, and a recent survey from Coldwell Banker and Vivint Smart Home found that among the currently available varieties, voice automation is the most popular. Understanding

Tom Rhodes is the CEO of Austin-based lender Sente Mortgage, and a past president of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. In our conversation with the long-time lender, we discussed what housing will look like under President Trump, Housing Secretary

As we mentioned in the last entry in our “A Guide to the 2017 Buyer” series (which covered Generation X, and before that Millennials) the question of “What does this year’s buyer look like?” is particularly pressing in 2017, and for

For years, agents and analysts alike have wondered why so few Millennials are buying homes, but a new analysis of Census data has provided a remarkably straightforward answer – they’re all living at home with their parents, and at

As we mentioned in the first entry in our “A Guide to the 2017 Buyer” series – which covered Millennials – the question “What does this year’s buyer look like?” is particularly pressing this year. It’s pressing because we start

At the turn of every new year, a question that always picks at any real estate professional’s mind is,”What does this year’s buyer look like?” The question is particularly important in 2017 because we’re starting it off by inaugurating

After 11 years as the National Association of Realtors’ chief executive, and more than 36 years of real estate service, Dale Stinton is retiring. And so the storied career of one of NAR’s most loyal employees is brought to

When the U.S. housing bubble peaked in 2004 and 2005, the market seemed to be in grand shape: the homeownership rate was 69 percent; the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index was 184.4, a 135.5 percent increase from 1994; and

President Obama’s legacy will take shape over the coming years, but one thing is clear – he will be remembered as a champion of homeowners, a fact his record bears out. Here are a few of his most notable achievements, as they

UpstreamRE, LLC – the real estate broker-owned and controlled data management company that governs Upstream, a collaborative broker initiative – has appointed Gurtej Sodhi to its board of managers. Upstream is a comprehensive data management project that aims to deliver

Nearing the end of another year, speculation is now hitting its greatest height for how the next chapter in the housing recovery will take shape. Countless “experts” have offered cursory, drive-by analyses of where the market is heading, but there

The U.S. Congress has adjourned for 2016 without extending the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act, which will now expire at the end of the year. Originally passed in 2007, the act has protected underwater homeowners from incurring tax bills on the debt

There are about 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., eight million of whom are a part of the country’s labor force. Although it’s hard to say where President-elect Donald Trump actually stands on undocumented workers – he has promised to deport all of

Steven Mnuchin, a former investment banker who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, made headlines a couple weeks ago when, in his first official interview as Treasury nominee, he suggested sweeping changes are in store for the country’s tax

We are only a few weeks away from the New Year, and a little over a month away from a new president, but the future of the economy, and housing specifically, has never been more uncertain. At least those