All Posts in "Real Estate News" Category

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that Mark Steven Diamond, who was accused of “bilking elderly homeowners in a reverse mortgage and home repair scheme,” was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Diamond was criminally indicted in 2017 and “pleaded…

Compass is strengthening its presence in the Nutmeg State. On Friday, the largest brokerage in the country by sales volume announced that The Jennifer Leahy Team will be leaving Douglas Elliman to join the Robert Reffkin-helmed firm. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, the team is led by Jennifer Leahy and consists of seven agents. The team…

Today’s housing starts data exceeded estimates; however, a closer examination of the report with the builder confidence reveals that the recent rise in mortgage rates, approaching 7.25%, has negatively affected builder sentiment. Since late 2022, our analysis indicates that mortgage rates in the 6%-6.5% range are positive to grow sales, whereas rates at 7% and…

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this week published Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2025-06, which codifies “updates to FHA’s permanent loss mitigation options based on learnings from its temporary COVID-19 policies and feedback received on the draft policies” from a proposal published this past November. Published on Thursday, the letter extends existing COVID-19 recovery options to February…