GOP Lawmakers, Former Fed Leaders Criticize DOJ Targeting of Powell

by Phil Hall | Jan 12, 2026 | Current News & Events, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s announcement that he was being threatened with indictment by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over alleged perjury during a Senate hearing has generated a harsh response from several Capitol Hill Republicans and former leaders...

Aldi Plans 180 New Stores During 2026

by Phil Hall | Jan 12, 2026 | Commercial Real Estate News, Current News & Events, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

The Aldi discount supermarket chain has announced plans to open more than 180 stores by the end of the year. The new plans include the first Aldi store in Maine, along with continued growth in Southeast and West markets plus the opening of three new distribution...

Lawsuit Filed to Stop San Francisco’s Family Zoning Plan to Build New Housing Developments

by Phil Hall | Jan 12, 2026 | Current News & Events, Real Estate News, U.S. Housing Market, WRE News Exclusive

A coalition of San Francisco neighborhood, business and civic organizations has filed a lawsuit against the city to block the new Family Zoning Plan that seeks to build taller and denser housing developments in the city’s north and west sides. The plan, also known as...

CFPB’s Vought Puts in Request for Fed to Fund the Agency

by Phil Hall | Jan 12, 2026 | Current News & Events, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

Russ Vought, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), complied with a court order to request $145 million from the Federal Reserve to fund the agency. In late December, US District Judge Amy Berman, an Obama appointee, decreed the CFPB...

White House Dropping Plans for 50-Year Mortgage

by Phil Hall | Jan 12, 2026 | Current News & Events, Mortgage Information, Real Estate News, U.S. Housing Market, WRE News Exclusive

The Trump administration is dropping its efforts to push for 50-year mortgages as a strategy to encourage affordable homeownership. In November, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte encouraged President Trump to float the idea for the 50-year mortgage....