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Moving On
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
NAR just wrapped up its NXT conference in New Orleans, and HW reports that outgoing President Kevin Brown drew sinister parallels to the “forces that contributed to the 2008 housing crisis and those he believes are now attempting to reshape how real estate is bought and sold.” With market contraction, Zillow now offering its own down payment assistance, and turf wars aplenty between brokerages and MLSs, Brown may have a point. All of this makes a recent HW contributor piece about dual licensing even more timely.
Table of Contents
CHATTER
Jumpin’ Jobs
October Jobs Commentary from MBA Chief Econ Mike Fratantoni:
· “The job market remained resilient in October with a gain of 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropping to 4.1%. Job growth for the prior two months was revised higher by a combined 84,000, showing an acceleration of job growth in this past three months to an average pace of 137,000 relative to the 48,000 average over the past year.
· Wage growth increased slightly to 3.1% over the past year.
· A resilient job market, combined with inflation that is still too high, is likely to lead the FOMC to hike rates in December. MBA anticipates another hike as well in the first quarter of 2027.”
The CFPB Closed 40% of Pending Investigations
A summer this winter?
NAR Econ Yun Talks Potential - HW
· The U.S. housing market is building “significant” pent-up demand that could be released if mortgage rates ease, inventory improves and consumer confidence rebounds, National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) chief economist Lawrence Yun told attendees Friday at NAR’s NXT in New Orleans.
· Yun contrasted today’s sales environment with the year 2000, noting that the U.S. population has grown from 281M to 350M and payroll jobs from 132M to 159M over that period. Housing wealth has ballooned from $7T to $35 trillion, yet existing-home sales are tracking near 4 million this year, well below the 5.2M homes sold in 2000, he said, citing NAR data.
· “Affordability is tough, but people’s incomes are rising, and if somehow mortgage rates go down, think about the potential housing demand that could be released to the marketplace,” Yun said.
Unnamed Foes: Outgoing NAR President Speaks of Outside Forces Threatening RE - HW
Kevin Brown did not identify the companies or organizations he was referring to, but his comments come as the industry debates the future of listing distribution, broker control of listing data and the role of multiple listing services (MLSs).
Messy situation – make more rules
NAR Announces 4 New MLS Policies
1. Revision to MLS Policy Statement [7.85 and introduces a new optional MLS policy: Copyright Protection of MLS Data
2. Establishes a new optional MLS Policy Statement about MLS Data Feed Services
3. Establishes a new MLS Policy Statement about the use of MLS Data Policy
4. Update to MLS Committee Qualifications
MOVING & SHAKING
VantageScore is changing leadership at a pivotal moment for the credit-scoring industry. Anthony Hutchinson has been named interim president and CEO following Silvio Tavares' departure.
Longbridge named Melissa Macerato President and Chief Commercial Officer.
Dark Matter purchased AI platform and intellectual property of House Numbers, bringing autonomous agents into its Empower loan origination system. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Nations Lending promoted Eric Roman to President, Cindy Baird to COO.
Newrez appointed Jay Jones as Chief Servicing Officer.
NEXA welcomed Susie Cheatham as National Sales Director.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
Last week was one for the ages, but the data points were favorable to the mortgage industry. We've got some alphabet reports coming out this week, and Bill Bodnar talks about what to watch in his latest Master the Markets segment.
Mortgage Rates Decline for Third Consecutive Week: Freddie 11-5-26
Mortgage rates continued their downward trajectory this week, improving the environment for prospective homebuyers against a backdrop of strong economic growth.
Mortgage Applications Decreased 1.2% from One Week Earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 10-30-26.
Prices & Listing Activity Drop: Redfin Roundup of 4 Weeks Ending 11-1
· Prices fell for the third week in a row. The median home-sale price was $388,604, down 0.4% year over year. That marks the third straight week in which prices declined after three years of increases.
· Monthly payments dropped to a 5-week low. The median monthly mortgage payment was $2,777, down from a peak of $2,811 in early October. This data is seasonally adjusted. Costs declined because mortgage rates and sale prices are slowly coming down.
· House hunting activity declined. Pending home sales fell 0.6% week over week to the lowest level in records dating back to 2021.
· Sellers pulled back, too. New listings dropped 1.5% from a week earlier to the lowest level since January, as would-be sellers reacted to slow demand.
· The slow market is giving buyers room to negotiate. The buyers who are out there may be able to negotiate prices down and/or get other concessions from sellers. Buyers have more homes to choose from than a year ago, and less competition: There are 2.1% more homes on the market than a year ago, while homes are taking a bit longer to sell.
Eye-opening TransUnion Trends
Still Better than 2023: TransUnion Q326 Credit Industry Insights Report (CIIR)
Parents Planning for College & Down Payments: Coldwell Banker 2026 American Dream Report
Conducted by The Harris Poll, on behalf of Coldwell Banker, puts real numbers behind what I’ve been hearing in the field. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (89%) call buying a home an admirable achievement. One finding shows just how far ahead families are planning: 82% of parents with kids 5 and under have considered or already started saving for their child’s future down payment.
· Among parents of kids 5 and under, 1 in 7 (14%) have already started saving for their child’s down payment, alongside the 1 in 5 (20%) already saving for college.
· Among all parents, a child’s future down payment (56%) sits right alongside college (51%) and a first car (49%) as something they’ve considered saving for.
· Younger parents are leading the way, with 85% of Gen Z and 82% of Millennial parents considering or already saving for a child’s down payment, compared to 70% of Gen X and 51% of Baby Boomer parents.
Family help often comes with a plan to pay it back:
· 15% of homeowners got family money for their down payment, rising to 26% of Gen Z homeowners.
· Among those who got family money, 7 in 10 (71%) are expected to pay it back.
· Half of Americans (51%) have helped fund a relative’s down payment or considered it.
· 52% of parents with kids 5 and under also are currently, or expect to, financially support an aging relative within five years.
· 7% of Americans have co-bought or are co-buying a home with a friend or other non-romantic partner, up from 5% last year.
Homeownership is holding its ground, and Americans’ belief in it barely moved from last year:
· 85% of Americans say homeownership is part of the American Dream for most Americans, unchanged from 2025.
· 85% say owning gives a sense of security that renting can’t, holding steady from 86% last year.
· And new for this year, 84% see homeownership as a sign of success, and 64% say buying a home means you’re financially secure.
The desire to own runs especially deep among our youngest adults, and many are willing to make real trade-offs to get there:
· 92% of Gen Z non-homeowners want to buy someday.
· 28% of Gen Z would choose their dream home over their dream job, and 25% would choose it over their ideal partner.
· 76% of Gen Z have done or considered moving in with parents or in-laws to save for a home, and 27% are doing it now or have done it.
· 73% of Gen Z say buying a home means you’re financially secure, compared to 59% of Baby Boomers.