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Above, from left, Leo Pareja, James Dwiggins and John Featherston Compass and Anywhere, Real and REMAX, eXp Realty and NextHome: In a real estate landscape defined by rapid change, these landmark consolidations have become some of the industry’s most talked-about trends.  In May, when virtual-focused brokerage eXp announced it is buying NextHome, it brought together…

The post Consolidation Up Close: eXp Realty and NextHome Leaders to Discuss the Benefits and Challenges of Acquisition appeared first on RISMedia.

The latest University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, released Aug. 28, came in at 51.7 in August 2026, falling from 55.2 in July due to persistent inflation worries and a worsening economic outlook. “Consumer sentiment confirmed its early month reading, falling about 6% from last month and landing about 11% below a year ago amid…

The post Consumer Sentiment Drops in August; Economic Instability Cited appeared first on RISMedia.

You’ve spent your career at the intersection of real estate and technology. Tell us about your role at Zillow and what you’re most focused on right now. My role at Zillow is about making sure the industry serves consumers. I help lead our industry relations and partner education efforts, and a big part of that…

The post Closing the Gap Between What Consumers Expect and What They Experience: A Q&A With Matt Hendricks appeared first on RISMedia.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released the 2026 Community Aid and Real Estate (CARE) report, highlighting the monetary and volunteer contributions of NAR members, broker/owners, association and MLS staff. The report found that 64% of Realtors® volunteer in their communities every month, and 84% made charitable donations over the past year. “Realtors® and their…

The post NAR Report Finds Nearly Two-Thirds of Realtors® Volunteer Monthly appeared first on RISMedia.

In last week’s Sunday Showcase, we offered The One-Week Kitchen Test to Take Before Renovating. A week earlier we spotlighted How Owners Can Make Kitchens Look Expensive Without Renovating. Here we present the third kitchen segment of the trilogy . Recent kitchen-based research from Virlo, a short-form video trend intelligence platform, featured smart trash cans…

The post Smart Kitchen Gadgets Worth Buying…and Ones to Avoid appeared first on RISMedia.

Buyers who are waiting for rates to come down before making their home purchase will likely have to wait until next year for that to happen, according to economists commenting on this week’s mortgage data.  Mortgage rates changed little from last week, with the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® showing the 30-year fixed-rate…

The post Mortgage Rates See Little Change; Inflation Sidelining Would-Be Buyers appeared first on RISMedia.

Editor’s note: AI Pulse is RISMedia’s ongoing roundup of AI happenings, providing hype-free trends and real-world use cases to help navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini fail as originators, show “extreme” bias As the mortgage industry appears just as eager as the real estate agent and broker community to boost their…

The post AI Pulse: Leading LLMs Bomb Mortgage Test; Google Rolls Back AI Satellite Images appeared first on RISMedia.