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The $418 million settlement by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) of the Sitzer/Burnett case received its final approval in federal court.

The New York Times reported Judge Stephen R. Bough of the Western District of Missouri gave his final sign-off on the settlement, which NAR agreed to on March 15. Today’s final approval was a legal formality, as Judge Bough gave his preliminary approval to the agreement on April 23 and the trade group enacted the settlement’s call for rule changes regarding commissions on Aug. 17.

“This is an important moment for NAR members, home buyers and sellers, and the real estate industry,” said NAR President Kevin Sears, broker-associate of Sears Real Estate/Lamacchia Realty in Springfield, Massachusetts. “As consumer champions, NAR’s members have been working tirelessly to implement the practice changes required by the settlement and shepherd consumers through this period of transition. The principles of transparency, competition and choice are core to the settlement agreement and empower real estate professionals and consumers to negotiate the services and compensation that work for them.”

On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a Statement of Interest on the settlement, declaring that it “does not address whether the proposed settlement prevents and restrains current antitrust violations, remedies past violations, or contains revised policies and practices that comply with the antitrust laws.” However, the DOJ stated that the settlement’s provision requiring written agreements between buyers and brokers prior to home tours “may harm buyers and limit how brokers compete for clients.”

President-elect Donald Trump announced his appointment of Scott Turner to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in his upcoming administration.

The 52-year-old Turner is chief visionary officer at JPI, an Irving, Texas-based developer, builder, and investment manager of Class A multifamily assets. He also serves as CEO and founder of the Community Engagement & Opportunity Council and is the chairman of the Center for Education Opportunity at America First Policy Institute. During the first Trump administration, he was the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.

Turner first gained national prominence as a cornerback in the NFL, playing nine seasons from 1995 through 2003 for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. In 2012, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served a single term.

“Scott will work alongside me to Make America Great Again for EVERY American,” said Trump in a press statement.

Turner is the highest-ranking Black member of the incoming administration.

A new survey from Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN) has determined that just over one in five (22%) renters are funneling all of their regular income directly into paying their rent.

As a result of this hefty paycheck absorption, 20% of renters are working a second job to cover their housing costs, while 19% complained they are working at a job they hated to afford rent. The survey’s respondents cited other strategies for covering their rent, including cash gifts from family (14%), pulling money out of retirement funds early (13%) and contributing less to their retirement savings (12%).

The new Redfin-commissioned survey was conducted by Ipsos in September and polled 1,802 adults. The survey’s respondents might be happy to learn of another study from Realtor.com that found the median asking rent was down by $14 or -0.8% to $1,720 in October, marking their fifteenth consecutive month of year-over-year declines.

“New multifamily construction projects started in the last two years have hit the market in 2024, with a greater supply of units helping to soften rents and bring renters some relief,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “While we expect fewer multifamily homes to be finished in 2025, we still anticipate enough to increase supply, which will keep downward pressure on rents.”

Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN), has a message for President-elect Donald Trump: Start powering the push for new home construction.

Neither Kelman nor Redfin publicly endorsed Trump’s campaign. But in a blog posting on the Redfin website titled “Way-Too-Early Take: What Trump’s Re-Election Could Mean for Housing,” he observed that Trump’s victory has already sparked greater interest among prospective homebuyers.

“Donald Trump’s re-election seems to have had immediate consequences for housing in America,” he wrote. “Demand from homebuyers requesting service through Redfin’s site, which was already stronger since the Federal Reserve’s September 18 rate cut, was about 25% higher this weekend than the same weekend last year, the largest year-on-year gain since the downturn began in 2022. Some buyers are undoubtedly enthusiastic about a Trump economy; others may have been waiting to make major decisions until after the election.”

Kelman credited Trump’s return to the White House to younger Americans who were unhappy with the current housing market – and he added Trump need to repay this electorate support.

“The young voters who, after years living in their parents’ basement, swung right in this election, will expect President Trump to act as America’s real estate developer in chief, and build the housing that they need,” Kelman wrote. “He can do this by setting aside well-meaning regulations on home-building that limit construction and make housing less affordable: local comment periods, traffic studies, parking requirements, environmental reviews in already well-settled areas, and limits on apartment buildings in neighborhoods of single-family homes. These rules are set by state and local governments, but the federal government could create a strong incentive for states to adopt simplified and consistent housing regulations, just as it does with the drinking age.”

Kelman pointed to data that placed the nation’s housing shortage at being between 2 million and 5 million homes. But he insisted the incoming president can address this shortfall.

“Many of America’s problems are hard to solve, but this one isn’t, especially for a president who loves construction,” he continued.

FICO (NYSE: FICO) has released the FICO Score Mortgage Simulator as a new analytic tool for mortgage professionals.

According to the Bozeman, Montana-headquartered company, the new tool simulates the potential impacts to a consumer’s FICO Score with various simulated changes to their credit report data, such as reducing credit card balances or deleting a collection account. With this data, mortgage brokers and lenders can help potential borrowers gauge how the changes could affect their FICO Scores and show them how different credit decisions could open up more loan options and favorable interest rates.

The company added that the tool can run credit event scenarios from an applicant’s credit report data, such as paying off a car loan, and determine the potential impact to that individual’s actual FICO Score.

“FICO is continuously working on innovative product offerings that can responsibly expand credit access to more people,” said Geoff Smith, vice president and general manager of consumer scores at FICO. “Even a few additional points in a potential borrower’s FICO Score can have a material impact on the mortgage loan terms offered. Ultimately, the FICO Score Mortgage Simulator will prove to be a powerful tool that can enable more people to achieve the dream of homeownership.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced Invitation Homes, the country’s largest landlord of single-family homes, has agreed to a settlement where the company will turn over $48 million to refund consumers harmed by its deceptive actions.

The company was accused of deceiving renters about lease costs, charging undisclosed junk fees that could total more than $1,700 yearly, failing to inspect homes before residents moved in, and unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits when they moved out. Consumers looking for rental houses owned by the company paid mandatory nonrefundable fees – including application fees up to $55 and reservation fees up to $500. Since 2019, Invitation Homes has collected more than $18 million in application fees alone for deceptively priced houses.

According to the FTC complaint, Invitation Homes’ marketing materials promoted that every home the company rents passed a “quality assurance inspection” before renters moved in and that the company provided “24/7 emergency maintenance.” However, there were numerous instances in which renters arrived at a home to find it in significant disrepair, and the FTC noted that residents in 33,328 properties submitted at least one work order within the first week after they moved in between 2018 and 2023.

Furthermore, Invitation Homes was accused of unfair eviction practices, including during the Covid-19 pandemic when both national and many state restrictions on evictions were in place. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s eviction moratorium was in place, Invitation Homes intentionally steered its renters away from filing the CDC declaration required to prevent renters from being evicted, instead encouraging renters to complete the company’s own “Hardship Affidavit.” Despite its name, this document provided no eviction protection to renters.

“Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest single-family home landlord, preyed on tenants through a variety of unfair and deceptive tactics, from saddling people with hidden fees and unjustly withholding security deposits to misleading people about eviction policies during the pandemic and even pursuing eviction proceedings after people had moved out,” said FTC Chairwoman Lina M. Khan. “No American should pay more for rent or be kicked out of their home because of illegal tactics by corporate landlords. The FTC will continue to use all our tools to protect renters from unlawful business practices.”