News – RISMedia

Consumer Sentiment Drops in Third Straight Month as Fuel Prices Continue to Rise

Clarissa Garza — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:35:28 +0000

Consumer sentiment experienced a third consecutive month of decline this month, per the University of Michigan’s closely watched survey of consumers. Consumer sentiment went from 49.8 in April to 44.8 in May, a 10% drop. The dramatic decline underscores how severely the Iran conflict, combined with soaring energy prices and trade uncertainty, has eroded American…

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Leading Economic Signals Continue to Show ‘Fragile’ Outlook

Devin Meenan — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:01:55 +0000

The economy has seen numerous challenges over the past few months, from a soft but improving labor market to high inflation. The latter, largely attributed to the ongoing U.S.-Iran War and resulting energy price spikes, has also driven mortgage rates upward, and the Federal Reserve has signaled willingness to increase interest rates if inflation continues…

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Zillow Rentals’ Michael Sherman: Renting Shouldn’t Be This Complicated

Claudia Larsen — Fri, 22 May 2026 15:30:47 +0000

Michael Sherman leads Zillow Rentals, overseeing the business and product teams responsible for Zillow’s rental marketplace. Since joining Zillow in 2012, Sherman has held leadership roles across several of the company’s businesses, focusing on building products and partnerships that create value for both consumers and industry partners. Under Sherman’s leadership, Zillow Rentals has grown into…

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Zillow Seeks Emergency Court Order After MRED Cut Off Listing Access

Clarissa Garza — Thu, 21 May 2026 23:21:51 +0000

Zillow is asking a federal judge for emergency relief after Chicago’s dominant MLS, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), cut off access to more than 30,000 residential listings, a move the online real estate platform characterizes as an illegal retaliation orchestrated with competitor Compass. In a motion May 21 in the U.S. District Court for the…

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PropStream to Attend the 2026 Realtors® Legislative Meetings

Claudia Larsen — Thu, 21 May 2026 19:08:41 +0000

PropStream has announced it will be in attendance at the 2026 Realtors® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., from June 13-18. At the Realtors® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., thousands of members unite to conduct NAR business as well as discuss the real estate profession and policy advocacy, according to a release. For the 2026 meetings,…

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SkySlope and Cloze Expand Integration to Automate Real Estate Transaction Paperwork

Claudia Larsen — Thu, 21 May 2026 18:58:28 +0000

SkySlope—a transaction management solution for real estate brokerages—has announced the launch of SkySlope Forms support within Cloze—an AI-powered real estate platform. This is an expansion of the pre-existing integration between the two companies, creating a more connected experience that takes agents from first contact to signed contract without ever leaving their workflow. First launched in…

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Legislative Round-Up: Omnibus Housing Bill Regains Momentum; Crypto ‘Tokenization; Clears Senate Committee

Devin Meenan — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:08:10 +0000

Editor’s Note: The RISMedia series Legislative Round-Up looks at pending and passed federal and state-level legislation that impacts real estate professionals. ROAD to Housing Act back on the table An amended version of the housing omnibus bill currently known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has once more passed the House of Representatives.…

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Report: Homeownership Costs Top 100% of Renter Income in 7 U.S. Metros

Claudia Larsen — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:05:23 +0000

A new housing affordability index from the University of San Diego reveals that the total cost of homeownership surpassed renters’ income in some of the nation’s largest metros at the end of 2025. As the data shows, there’s a lot more that goes into the housing affordability equation that can make—or break—homebuyers’ ability to purchase…

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Inflation, High Treasury Yields Force Mortgage Rates Upward

Claudia Larsen — Thu, 21 May 2026 16:56:37 +0000

Mortgage rates have fluctuated again this week, seeing an increase as inflation rose due to elevated oil, gas and energy prices due to continued geopolitical tensions, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) had increased from 6.36% last week to 6.51%…

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Housing Starts Slip in April; Still Outpacing 2025

Clarissa Garza — Thu, 21 May 2026 15:58:38 +0000

Housing starts softened in April after March’s sharp increase, though year-over-year comparisons remain slightly positive as the housing market navigates shifting seasonal patterns. In the New Residential Construction report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, new housing starts were down 2.8% from March to a seasonally adjusted…

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