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Apple just rolled out iOS 26. As usual, some people are thrilled with the new features, others complain about the bugs, and plenty debate whether the company made the right calls. That’s the rhythm of innovation. But here’s the difference — when Apple gets it wrong, they admit it, fix it, and move on. Quickly.

Apple Maps in 2012? A disaster. Drivers were routed into dead ends, landmarks disappeared, whole cities misplaced. Apple did something rare for a company of its size: it apologized. Then it rebuilt the app until it worked. The iPhone 4 “Antennagate” fiasco? Hold the phone wrong, and you lost service. Apple handed out free cases and redesigned the antenna in the next version. Even the sleek but fragile butterfly keyboards were scrapped once it became clear users hated them. Apple admitted defeat and went back to what worked.

That’s what the private sector does when it wants to survive. Mistakes may sting, but they’re temporary. Customers demand better, and companies adapt.

Housing regulation doesn’t work that way. When Washington makes a mistake, there’s no patch, no recall, no apology. A bad regulation doesn’t just linger — it hardens into law.

Apple’s mistakes are temporary. Washington’s mistakes become permanent. And families are the ones who pay the price.

How We Got Here

Not every regulation is bad. Some were necessary and long overdue. TILA and Regulation Z gave borrowers the confidence to compare loan terms. RESPA cleaned up hidden fees and kickbacks. Those changes built trust and forced our industry to raise its game.

But every crisis brings a political overreaction. The savings and loan collapse in the 1980s triggered a mountain of new restrictions. After the 2008 financial crash, Dodd–Frank and the CFPB brought sweeping oversight. Some reforms were needed — but instead of precision fixes, Washington added entire forests of new rules.

I lived through it as a broker and industry leader. Small lenders and independent brokers — the ones who fight hardest for the consumer’s business — struggled to keep up with the cost of compliance. Big banks absorbed it. The little guys couldn’t. And here’s the problem: unlike Apple, Washington never admits when it went too far.

Outdated appraisal rules that delay closings? Still here. Licensing requirements that make it harder to operate across state lines? Still here. Disclosure forms so complex the average borrower leaves confused instead of informed? Still here.

What It Costs Us

Overregulation isn’t just an industry headache. It’s a tax on every family trying to buy, sell, or build a home.

I’ve watched young couples lose out on their first home because redundant disclosures dragged closing past the deadline. By the time the paperwork cleared, another buyer had moved in. That’s not consumer protection — that’s bureaucracy stealing opportunity.

I’ve spoken with builders ready to put shovels in the ground, only to sit idle for months while permits crawl through overlapping reviews. Every delay adds cost, and those costs get passed straight into the price of the home.

And I hear from loan officers who tell me bluntly: “I got into this business to help people, not to spend half my week as a clerk for the government.” That’s not oversight. That’s suffocation.

Meanwhile, ordinary families — the single mom buying her first home, the retiree trying to downsize, the family relocating for work — end up paying higher fees, facing fewer options, and watching opportunities vanish.

A broken iPhone feature is inconvenient. A broken housing regulation is devastating.

A Smarter Way Forward

This isn’t about eliminating oversight. It’s about demanding regulation that actually works.

Regulation should be written with evidence, not politics. If it doesn’t improve fairness, safety, or transparency, it doesn’t belong. Every rule should carry a sunset provision — if it can’t prove its value after a few years, it should expire.

And our industry must speak with one voice. Realtors, lenders, and brokers cannot afford to silo themselves. United, we’re powerful. Divided, we’re ignored. When we speak, our message has to be clear: overregulation isn’t about companies losing profits — it’s about families paying more, waiting longer, and losing hope.

Finally, regulators must give innovation room to breathe. Apple tests new products in limited markets before scaling them. Why can’t Washington do the same? Safe pilot programs for e-closings, AI underwriting, and digital disclosures would allow us to modernize without gambling the entire system.

We don’t need fewer rules. We need smarter rules — clearer, more accountable, measured by outcomes that matter to families, not bureaucrats.

The Bottom Line

We are not anti-regulation. We are anti-deadweight.

Bad regulation looks like duplicative forms, outdated requirements written for the fax-machine era, disclosures no one can understand, and barriers that squeeze out small businesses while protecting the largest institutions.

Smart regulation looks like outcomes: Did it lower costs for families? Did it shorten the time to close? Did it expand access to credit responsibly? Did it allow builders to add housing supply? Did it give small lenders a fair chance to compete? If the answer is no, the rule doesn’t belong.

Apple owns its failures and fixes them in months. Washington leaves families living with theirs for decades. That’s not regulation — that’s negligence.

The housing market is too important to be buried under rules that don’t work. It’s time to demand smarter regulation that protects families, encourages innovation, and keeps the American dream alive for the next generation.

John G. Stevens is publisher of Weekly Real Estate News