Deborah Kearns

Deborah Kearns is a freelance editor and writer with more than 15 years of experience covering real estate, mortgages and personal finance topics. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes Advisor, The Associated Press, MarketWatch, USA Today, MSN and HuffPost, among others. Deborah previously held editorial leadership and writing roles at NerdWallet, Bankrate, LendingTree and RE/MAX World Headquarters.

Posts by Deborah Kearns

eXp Reports Mixed Q3 Results with Revenue up 2% YOY and Net Income Loss of $6.5 Million

Global real estate brokerage eXp announced mixed financial results for the third quarter of 2024, with revenue up 2% year-over-year but a net income loss of $6.5 million, mostly due to $18 million in antitrust settlement legal expenses, the company reported during an earnings call Thursday. However, eXp’s adjusted net income reached $7.8 million, a…

How Industry Experts See Trump’s Return to the White House Impacting Housing

As Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris became apparent on Wednesday, bond markets reacted sharply. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.479%, its highest level since July, according to news reports. Mortgage rates responded in kind, with the average 30-year fixed rate rising to 7.13% on Wednesday, up nine basis points…

Economy

U.S. Economy in ‘Much Better Place Than Anybody Expected,’ but There Are Some Risks

DENVER, Colo.—Doom-and-gloom headlines about the U.S. economy have been everywhere. But compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is exceeding expectations as other global superpowers struggle to find their economic footing, renowned economist Mohamed El-Erian said Monday at the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Conference & Expo in Denver. El-Erian, president of Queens’ College…

Appraisal

FHFA, HUD Add FHA Data to Appraisal Database to Reduce Home Appraisal Bias

DENVER, Colo.—The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Monday the expansion of public appraisal data to include Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. That’s according to Naa Awaa Tagoe, deputy director for the Division of Housing Mission and Goals at FHFA, who shared the news Monday…

NAR

Hundreds of REALTOR® Associations Tap NAR Program to Move Needle in Local Elections

When a campaign finance report showed nearly $56,000 was spent to support four City Council candidates in Portland, Maine, nothing seemed out of the ordinary until a local newspaper noted who filed the report: the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The expenditure raised some eyebrows in Portland as to why a national political action committee…

GSEs

Future of GSEs: How Fannie, Freddie Privatization Might Shake Out Under a Second Trump Term

With the U.S. presidential election just weeks away, broader discussions about solving the nation’s housing affordability woes are taking center stage, much to the relief of many in the housing industry. If former president Donald Trump were to win a second term, privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that have been…