HousingWire

Americans approaching retirement should prepare for the possibility of reduced Social Security benefits by reassessing their savings, spending and plans for claiming benefits, according to a recent analysis published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing federal housing agencies to pursue measures aimed at reducing mortgage and homeownership costs, including proactive mortgage insurance cancellation, lower refinancing expenses and reduced interest rates on certain government loans.

In real estate, technology is often sold as the solution to an agent’s productivity problems. Frank Vazquez believes the better approach is to start with the problems themselves. Vazquez — broker-owner of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Incyte Realty — is building an in-house technology ecosystem designed to automate repetitive tasks, improve consumer service and help agents focus on growing their businesses.

The 10-year yield has gone wild today, but not to the upside — it’s down as I write this, at 4.97%. What is really going on over the last few weeks? Let’s discuss a series of events that finally pushed the 10-year yield below 5%. On the HousingWire Daily podcast, I’ve been talking about how October was going to be a wild month as midterms loom, but today we are going to explain a series of events in the 10-year yield that we’ve been discussing since September.

Glenn J. Wallace, the president of reverse mortgage direct lender and broker Nationwide Equities Corp., is retiring after more than 50 years in the mortgage finance industry, the company announced on Thursday. Philip Parziale, the company’s general counsel, will succeed him as president while continuing in his legal role. Wallace built a career in banking, mortgage lending and entrepreneurship, holding prior leadership positions at Citibank and Dime Savings Bank before joining Nationwide Equities.

The devil in the details of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, America’s most ambitious bipartisan housing policy measure in a half-century, amounts to a highly complex, high-stakes, high-wire act for both global capital investment and residential development players navigating the law’s black-and-white and grey areas for the near- and longer-term future commitments in the space.

At this year’s Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Annual Convention & Expo, mortgage executives identified home equity lending, borrower retention and technology as key priorities heading into 2027. Homeowners are increasingly using second-lien products, including home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), to fund renovations, consolidate debt and finance real estate investments while keeping their existing mortgages intact.

New comparative market analyses (CMA) survey data points to growing demand for technology — and a continued need for professional judgment, market knowledge and persuasive listing presentations. Real estate agents are increasingly embracing artificial intelligence (AI), but findings show they aren’t ready to hand over the business of pricing homes to algorithms.

At last week’s Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention & Expo in Chicago, thousands of attendees sought advice on keeping their businesses running smoothly amid a mortgage rate environment that has kept potential borrowers sidelined. In interviews with HousingWire at the event, industry leaders offered steps to keep costs low and current borrowers engaged so that companies will be prepared for the inevitable pendulum swing back to lower rates.

Sotheby’s International Realty has appointed brokerage veteran Mark McLaughlin as president and CEO, effective Nov. 1, as longtime leader Philip White transitions to the role of executive chairman, the company announced Thursday. The leadership change comes as the New York-based luxury real estate brand marks its 50th anniversary and looks to extend its global expansion.