NAR's advocacy efforts end in a major win for buyers who are using their VA home loan benefits.

No. Use of MLS data or data feeds to directly or indirectly establish or maintain a platform of offers of compensation from multiple brokers to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives is prohibited. Get more facts about NAR's proposed settlement agreement at facts.realtor.

"Luxury" doesn't mean the same thing to every buyer. Perhaps it is the location, amenities, architectural design, exclusivity or sustainability offered by a particular home or community. Agents need to understand the variety of what constitutes luxury to be able to serve clients successfully.

Content from Reddit, Quora and other forums has become more prominent in Google search results, prompting some concern from SEO experts and marketers who worry about being outranked by forum content. Sixth City Marketing's Linton Lewis examines the rise of Reddit in search results, advising marketers, "Being conservative and adhering to previous guidance from Google, such as the Helpful Content Update, is still likely the best course forward."

Interior designer Sophie Goineau revamped a 1965-built beach house in Malibu, Calif., for a young family, focusing on maximizing the interior space and natural light. The redesign features large windows, high ceilings and light wood elements, creating an open, airy atmosphere that emphasizes the home's cliffside location.

Residential REITs have outperformed the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs index this year, and "demand for housing continues to rise even without population growth," writes Nareit's Nicole Funari in June's REIT sector spotlight on residential. "With mortgage rates continuing to constrain housing purchases, many people are continuing to rent," Funari notes.

Affordable housing advocates join in thanking one of the industry's most passionate federal policy experts for his decades of service and action.

Increasing expenses related to taxes, insurance and utilities have combined to raise the cost of U.S. homeownership by 26% since 2020, according to Bankrate. Bankrate calculates that the average annual outlay, excluding mortgage payments, now totals $18,118, which is $300 higher on a monthly basis than when the pandemic began.

New York City Council is considering a bill that would require the person who hires a real estate broker to pay the broker's fee. The measure is intended to protect tenants from being forced to pay the fees of brokers they didn't hire.

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit's decision that the National Bank Act did not preempt a California law mandating the payment of at least 2% interest on mortgage escrow accounts. The justices remanded the case for further review in light of their recent ruling against Bank of America in a case regarding similar interest requirements in New York.