United States
The United States: the market, agents and brokerages, commission rules and the cases that reshape them.
US 30-year mortgage rate climbs to 7.40%, a fourth weekly rise
Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.40% on 8 October 2026, up from 7.28% a week earlier and 6.30% a year ago. What moved, and who feels it.
US buyers turn to adjustable-rate mortgages as fixed rates pass 7%
ICE's October 2026 Mortgage Monitor, reported by Inman, puts adjustable-rate loans at nearly 11% of US rate locks and the typical payment at 31.7% of income.
USA: eXp parent AGNT names Leo Pareja chief executive at eXpcon
Glenn Sanford has handed the top job at eXp Realty's parent to Leo Pareja. The same convention brought a mortgage venture, a pay-at-close programme and a showing marketplace.
How eClosings, eNotes and remote notarisation work in the United States
What Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require before a United States mortgage can be signed, notarised and stored electronically, and why the sources count the states differently.
USA: eXp lets agents connect their own AI assistants to its data
eXp Realty unveiled an 'MCP First, AI of Choice' strategy at its convention in Salt Lake City, Inman reports. What was announced, how it works and what stays open.
US Fair Housing Act: what it bans, who is exempt, how to complain
A plain guide to the federal Fair Housing Act in the United States: the seven protected characteristics, the conduct it bans, the narrow exemptions and the complaint deadlines.
US: FHA makes new appraisal format optional as Fannie, Freddie bend
The FHA now accepts appraisals in the redesigned UAD 3.6 format without requiring it, days after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered lenders a one-time delay into 2027.
USA: FHA home loans to non-permanent residents fall to near zero
ICE data reported by HousingWire show non-permanent residents went from 5.8% of FHA purchase loans to about 0.1% after HUD's 2025 residency rule.
Is FinCEN's all-cash home purchase rule in force in the United States?
A federal court vacated FinCEN's Residential Real Estate Rule on 19 March 2026 and an appeal is under way. What the rule required, and how buyers guard a closing wire.
US: Freddie Mac auctions 1,968 delinquent loans, Fannie Mae opens bids
Freddie Mac named the winners of a US$428 million auction of deeply delinquent mortgages on 8 October, the day Fannie Mae put about 1,244 more loans up for bids.
US home sale exclusion: the US$250,000 limit and its three tests
How the federal exclusion of gain on a main home works in the United States: the two limits, the ownership, residence and look-back tests, partial exclusions and the gain itself.
United States: HUD opens Fair Housing Act probe into Wells Fargo scheme
The US housing department says it is investigating whether a Wells Fargo programme to raise Black homeownership breaches the Fair Housing Act. No finding has been made.
US law lets HUD pilot support for mortgages of US$100,000 or less
Inman reports that a new US housing law lets HUD run a four-year pilot for mortgages of US$100,000 or less, a loan size that has fallen to 2.3% of the market.
US large investors bought 2.2% of single-family homes in August
Owners of 1,000 or more homes took 2.2% of US single-family purchases in August, up from a 1.4% low in February, Inman reports from Cotality data. The reasons are still debated.
USA: lead-based paint disclosure rules for homes built before 1978
A federal rule sets what sellers, landlords and agents must disclose about lead-based paint in older American homes, when they must do it, and what the paperwork has to contain.
USA: NAR warns AI voice cloning can defeat phone checks at closing
The National Association of Realtors says a familiar voice no longer proves who is calling, and sets out the red flags and safeguards its cybersecurity staff recommend.
US older owners to release 13.9 million homes, few of them starters
A Realtor.com analysis reported by HousingWire expects older American owners to release 13.9 million homes by 2036, but only about 38,000 starter homes a year.
US property tax delinquency hits 5.2% on mortgages without escrow
Cotality data reported by HousingWire put late property tax payments on non-escrowed US mortgages at 5.2% in 2026 so far, the highest since 2017, with wide gaps between states.
US proptech raised $2.21 billion in Q3 as seven deals took 58%
CRETI data reported by Inman put third-quarter proptech financing at about US$2.21 billion, with seven deals taking 58 per cent. Homeward's US$450 million shows how such totals are built.
US housing costs: Redfin maps the road back to 2018 affordability
A Redfin report dated 8 October 2026 models when US mortgage payments could fall back to 30% of income. The answer runs from 2028 to more than a decade away.