DOJ vs. Zillow and NAR: The Department of Justice is scrutinizing a case involving Zillow and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), raising concerns about potential antitrust violations related to NAR's "no-commingling" policy.The DOJ is worried that a previous court decision in favor of Zillow could set a precedent that allows organizations to evade antitrust laws.At issue is NAR's commingling rule, which the DOJ suggests was effectively mandatory for Zillow, even though it was "optional".REX, a low-fee brokerage, initially sued Zillow in 2021, claiming that Zillow used deceptive practices to hide non-MLS listings, thereby reducing traffic to those listings.Zillow stated that the changes were made to comply with NAR's no-commingling policy and that they have advocated against the rule.The DOJ filed an amicus brief arguing that the court's approach was incomplete and could allow associations like NAR to evade antitrust scrutiny with optional rules.HUD's Transformation Under DOGE: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is undergoing significant changes following the arrival of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Scott Turner, the new secretary of Housing and Urban Development, announced $260 million in savings. However, the sources of these savings have not been identified.Mass layoffs at HUD are expected, potentially cutting the staff by half, with impacts on civil rights enforcement, data gathering, and disaster recovery.The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National Council 222 stated that the cuts would affect offices that enforce civil rights laws, compile data about the housing market, and rebuild communities after disasters.Turner has expressed intentions to roll back the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which was originally enacted during the Obama administration.Market Conditions and Inventory: Analysis of current housing market data reveals a subtle but important trend: potential home sellers are seeing weak demand and choosing not to list their properties.While inventory isn't shrinking yet, the trend suggests fewer home sellers, which could keep a lid on supply growth.New listings are only averaging a 1% to 2% increase each week, and one week showed fewer sellers than the previous year.Mike Simonson from Altos Research noted that after a period of normalization with more sellers, the housing market appears to be stagnating again.Fewer sellers imply a cap on inventory growth, even with weak demand, leading to fewer sales overall.Price reductions are increasing, which is unusual for this early in the season, indicating weaker conditions for home prices in 2025.The median price for single-family homes is $425,000, unchanged from last year, and homes going into contract are priced at $389,000, only 2.4% higher than the previous year.New contracts for single-family homes are down 5% compared to the same week last year, suggesting a continued slow purchase market.Available inventory of unsold single-family homes fell by 40 basis points, with 632,000 homes on the market.Off-MLS Listings: Selling homes off the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) can have negative financial impacts.Homes sold off the MLS typically sell for $4,975 less than those listed on the MLS, a median loss of 1.5% nationwide.In California, sellers gave up more than $30,000 by selling off the MLS.Some brokerages are steering sellers to list on private networks without adequately highlighting the potential negative price impacts.A Zillow/Harris Poll survey found that 63% of recent home sellers said their agent recommended listing on a private listing network.81% of Americans believe it is important for their home listing to be viewable for free to the public.Sellers in urban homes experienced the most significant median loss at 2%, compared to 1.5% in suburban areas and 0.9% in rural areas.Almost all buyers (91%) believe they should be able to see all listings for free and without barriers.Challenges for Veteran Homebuyers: Veterans face unique challenges in achieving homeownership.Many consider homeownership the pinnacle of achievement and prosperity, especially for Veterans.The number of financial institutions servicing home loans for Veterans has declined, leaving them with fewer options.Some lenders lack sufficient expertise in military benefits, compensation, and pension structures, leading them to prematurely reject military homebuyers.Unexpected deployments or frequent relocations can negatively impact Veterans' credit scores, leading to misguided lending decisions.Industry leaders need to educate themselves about the benefits available to military homebuyers and support opportunities to help servicemembers learn more about their entitled benefits.Additional Points:MetroList, Northern Nevada Regional MLS, and Oregon Data Share have formed a technology collaboration to share real estate transaction data across California, Nevada, and Oregon.NAR spent $86.3 ...
