Housing Industry News

Plain-English guidance on rates, home buying, and refinancing from the The Lending Stars team.

Housing Industry News

Remodeling outperforms single-family as rates lock in owners

Jul 9, 2026 · 04:26 PM John McManus HousingWire

Remodeling contractors remained optimistic in the second quarter of 2026 even as material costs and economic uncertainty delayed larger jobs, according to…

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Housing Industry News

VantageScore 5.0 launches as new tri-bureau credit score

Jul 9, 2026 · 03:21 PM Sarah Wolak, HousingWire Automation HousingWire

VantageScore on Wednesday announced the release of VantageScore 5.0, a new tri-bureau credit scoring model that the company says is designed to improve…

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Housing Industry News

WNC closes $210M LIHTC funding for 2,000-plus affordable units

Jul 9, 2026 · 02:47 PM HousingWire Automation HousingWire

WNC & Associates has closed a $210 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund that will finance 18 affordable housing communities across 13 states, adding…

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Housing Industry News

Optimal Blue sees June mortgage lock volume up 10%

Jul 9, 2026 · 02:31 PM HousingWire Automation HousingWire

Purchase mortgage demand gained momentum in June as overall mortgage rate-lock activity increased and lenders continued adjusting to a higher interest rate…

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Housing Industry News

New Zillow Pro tells agents when their contacts start house hunting again

Jul 9, 2026 · 12:00 PM HousingWire Automation HousingWire

Zillow has rolled out Zillow Pro, a nationwide premium membership designed to give real estate agents direct visibility into their clients’ activity on…

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Housing Industry News

How top-performing real estate agents win AI recommendations

Jul 9, 2026 · 07:43 AM Benjamin Wagner HousingWire

Homebuyers and sellers are beginning to treat ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) like a genie in a bottle. They often trust AI recommendations…

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Housing Industry News

The $32 Beazer bid is in, now the fight is over standstill terms

Jul 8, 2026 · 09:52 PM John McManus HousingWire

A little more than a month into a hostile homebuilder takeover saga that has not quite reached midsummer, Dream Finders Homes ’ pursuit of Beazer Homes is…

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Housing Industry News

NYC office conversions face scrutiny after Pfizer HQ incident

Jul 8, 2026 · 09:34 PM Richard Lawson HousingWire

Buckling columns at the former Pfizer headquarters this week forced evacuations across seven Midtown East blocks. The incident raises new questions about…

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Housing Industry News

Synergy One to take over Newrez distributed retail mortgage operations

Jul 8, 2026 · 09:02 PM Neil Pierson, HousingWire Automation HousingWire

Synergy One Lending , a division of American Pacific Mortgage (APM), will assume control of Newrez ’s distributed retail mortgage business under a new…

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Housing Industry News

Visionary Homes names former Oakwood exec Ryan Smith CEO

Jul 8, 2026 · 08:11 PM HousingWire Automation HousingWire

Ryan Smith will become CEO of Visionary Homes on Sept. 1, 2026, as founder and current chief executive Jeff Jackson transitions to chairman of the board,…

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