FHFA’s Pulte to Relinquish Intelligence Chief Role on Aug. 3

by Phil Hall | Aug 1, 2026 | Current News & Events, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced that he will step away from his position as interim Director of National Intelligence and enable Jay Clayton to take his Senate-confirmed role on Monday, Aug. 3. In a post on his personal X account, Pulte...

Hits and Misses for the Real Estate Week of July 27-31

by Phil Hall | Jul 31, 2026 | Current News & Events, Hits and Misses, International Real Estate News, Real Estate News, U.S. Housing Market, WRE News Exclusive

The latest shenanigans from Bill Pulte and Zohran Mamdani, Russian renters eyeballing Armenian apartments, and a “Partridge Family” star focusing on Catskills housing. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of July...

The World’s First Motel (or What’s Left of It) is Listed for Sale

by Phil Hall | Jul 31, 2026 | Commercial Real Estate News, Current News & Events, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

The California property that is considered the world’s first motel has been listed for sale. Hayes Commercial Group is marketing the 4.21-acre site just off Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo. There is no asking price for the property, which was the site of the Milestone...

CMBS Delinquency Rate Soars by 51 Basis Points to 7.86%

by Phil Hall | Jul 31, 2026 | Commercial Real Estate News, Current News & Events, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) surged this month 51 basis points to 7.86%, according to a data report from Trepp Inc. One year ago, the rate was at 7.23%. Thomas Taylor, senior manager for research at Trepp, attributed July’s...

Senate Democrats Question Why FHFA’s Pulte is Still Working as Intelligence Chief

by Phil Hall | Jul 31, 2026 | Current News & Events, Industry Updates, Real Estate News, WRE News Exclusive

Four days after Jay Clayton was confirmed by the US Senate to become the next Director of National Intelligence, Democrats are openly fuming over the continued presence of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte as the interim director. Pulte was...