Keller Williams Realty, LLC has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by homebuyers alleging a decades-long conspiracy to fix real estate broker commissions and inflate home prices, according to court documents filed Feb. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The settlement provides monetary compensation…

The post Keller Williams Reaches $20 Million Settlement in Batton Case appeared first on RISMedia.

Compass has released its 2025 Ultra-Luxury Report, which examines U.S. home sales of $10 million and above across 84 markets. The findings point to a re-acceleration of ultra-luxury housing, driven by resurgent public and private financial markets.  Across the markets analyzed, 2,261 homes sold for $10 million or more, collectively generating $38.63 billion in sales,…

The post Report: $10M-Plus U.S. Home Sales Accelerate to More Than $38B Beyond Top Metros appeared first on RISMedia.

At the January Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged. Recent monetary policy decisions have been facing conflicting incentives; the Fed’s mandate is maximum employment and price stability, but the labor market has been showing signs of weakness as inflation has also been going up or staying…

The post Fed Governor Predicts Three Rate Cuts to Come in 2026 appeared first on RISMedia.

Despite signs of housing market normalization on the horizon, many consumers still feel constrained by affordability challenges. Consumers report that lower incomes, higher mortgage rates and a lack of supply in the market remain their biggest hurdles to affording a home, according to Bright MLS’s latest consumer survey. The MLS’s latest survey of 3,000 Americans…

The post Bright MLS: Consumers Say Low Incomes, High Rates and Lack of Supply Remain Major Affordability Constraints appeared first on RISMedia.

Above, Tammie Kennedy IVRE (Iron Valley Real Estate) has announced the addition of Tammie Kennedy as Franchise Business Consultant, further strengthening the company’s commitment to supporting franchise owners with proven, big-brokerage expertise. Kennedy brings more than 15 years of franchise consulting experience, having worked with franchise owners across multiple industries, including real estate, where she…

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Lofty has announced the launch of Lofty AOS, the first agentic AI operating system for real estate professionals. Designed specifically for brokerage and their agents, Lofty AOS is built to autonomously plan and execute entire workflows, removing common barriers to AI adoption and shifting how real estate professionals leverage artificial intelligence in their businesses, according…

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Above, Rob Cleapor. Real estate is in the middle of massive consolidation.  Private equity, mega-franchises and roll-up strategies are reshaping the landscape at record speed. Brokerages are being absorbed. Local brands are disappearing. Decision-making is moving farther away from agents and the communities they serve and closer to corporate boardrooms.  The promise is efficiency and…

The post Rethinking Brokerage in an Era of Consolidation appeared first on RISMedia.

AccountTECH, a leading provider of specialized accounting, financial intelligence, and benchmarking for real estate brokerages, has released new findings from its annual brokerage financial benchmark research, revealing a significant and sustained improvement in the percentage of real estate brokerages operating with positive EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, a core profitability metric). Based…

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Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon. – As the 2026 housing market gets underway, mortgage rates have been holding steady at around 6% during the latter half of January. Despite rates reaching near three-year lows, applications decreased during the week…

The post Mortgage Mix: Rates Hover Around 6%, Refis Are Up, but So Are Some Foreclosures appeared first on RISMedia.

Private listings have become one of the most widely debated topics in real estate today, with brokerages staking out clear positions on how they should be used. But for real estate professionals across the board, the guiding principle remains the same: doing what’s best for the seller.  During RISMedia’s Real Estate’s Rocking in the New…

The post The Private Listing Showdown: Strategies for Educating and Serving Sellers appeared first on RISMedia.