Renting’s Edge Over Buying Is Shrinking as These 7 Markets Turn Buyer-Friendly

Renting a starter home is still cheaper than buying one in all of the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas—but that advantage is beginning to shrink. In July, buying a starter home cost $858 more per month than renting one, according to the July 2026 Rental Report from Realtor.com®. But in Orlando

Housing Week Ahead: New Construction Data, Pending Sales, and Cash Buyer Trends

Get ready for a busy week in real estate. The Realtor.com® Economics team is tracking a packed calendar of reports and key economic indicators that will shed light on where the housing market is heading next. Realtor.com proprietary releases kick off on Monday with senior economist Jiayi Xu’s July r

The mortgage industry’s AI problem is not what you think it is

Every conference I go to right now has the same conversation happening in every room. AI is going to transform the mortgage industry. AI is going to eliminate jobs. AI is going to make everything faster, cheaper, smarter. And maybe all of that is true, eventually. But I keep sitting in those session

How VantageScore 4.0 is expanding opportunity in wholesale lending

Mortgage lenders and brokers are navigating an affordability-constrained market in which a borrower’s qualifying score can determine not only eligibility but also pricing, cash-to-close and purchasing power. UWM moved quickly to introduce VantageScore 4.0 through a new pilot, giving independent mort