This year could be the year of the first-time homebuyer. Of course, that’s what experts said last year too. But this year it might actually happen. Of course, there remain barriers to entry – tight credit, inventory shortages, high

Understanding buyers is going to be especially important this year – interest rates and prices are rising, inventory shortages remain commonplace throughout the U.S., and our housing market is now operating under a president promising a broad spectrum of

Homebuilders across the nation faced crippling labor shortages in 2016; in fact, it was the biggest problem they faced all year. Don’t expect anything to change in 2017. Eighty-two percent of builders say the No. 1 problem they expect

The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae, created in 1938) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac, established in 1970) are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in their eighth year of conservatorship under the FHA. That is an exceedingly

In one of its very first moves since assuming power, the Trump administration has suspended a reduction in FHA mortgage insurance premiums. Originally announced just 11 days ago, the reduction would have lowered insurance premiums 25 basis points (or

Understanding buyers is going to be especially important this year – interest rates and prices are rising, inventory shortages remain commonplace throughout the U.S., and our housing market is now operating under a president promising a broad spectrum of

Taylor Morrison Home Corporation is once again the most trusted homebuilder in America, according to Lifestory Research’s 2017 Home Builder Study. Polling the opinions of more than 31,000 active home shoppers, Lifestory Research’s survey, now in its fifth year,

Ben Carson is close to becoming the next head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and industry associations are throwing their support behind him – while many housing experts are not. In a letter sent to

The White House is the most valuable home in the nation, according to a new report from Zillow. Currently valued at $397.9 million, the White House has appreciated 15 percent since the Obamas moved in eight years ago. Zillow first

In mid-November of 2016, Ben Carson’s business manager, Armstrong Williams, told a Retuers reporter that Carson was turning down President-elect Trump’s offer to join his Cabinet, because his life had “not prepared him to be a Cabinet secretary.” Less

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