AJ LaTrace

Director, News Reporting

AJ has covered real estate for the last decade as a reporter and editor for publications including Vox Media's Curbed, Chicago magazine and Business Insider. At Business Insider, AJ led the brand's coverage of how everyday people invest in real estate as a means of gaining financial independence, and he reported on big-picture trends and pain points in the broader U.S. real estate market. AJ is based in Chicago, where he also moonlights as a small-time landlord.

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Zillow ‘well positioned to thrive’ despite commissions trial outcome
During the Q3 earnings call, CEO Rich Barton discussed the Sitzer/Burnett verdict and how it could affect Zillow — and the industry as a whole.
November 1, 2023
Zillow acquiring popular Follow Up Boss CRM
The home search giant’s latest acquisition will help support its “housing super app," said Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson.
November 1, 2023
Are health plans the latest agent recruiting tactic?
As brokerage firms vie to keep their top producers and boost agent counts, some are offering new benefits, including healthcare, to stay competitive.
October 27, 2023
Anywhere, Offerpad form mutually beneficial partnership
The iBuyer will send potential sellers leads to the brokerage company, while Anywhere agents can present their sellers with a cash offer from Offerpad.
October 26, 2023
Pending home sales tick up in September
After big declines in August, sales recovered slightly, but “pending contracts remain at historically low levels,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted.
October 26, 2023
New home sales climb as prices fall
The median sale price for new homes dropped more than 12% in the last year, while sales shot up, outpacing inventory.
October 25, 2023
Redfin Max to offer LA, SF agents a richer commission split
“We want to set up agents to be million-dollar producers” and remain W-2 employees, Jason Aleem, Redfin’s SVP of real estate operations, told Real Estate News.
October 25, 2023
Anywhere’s revenue holds steady even as transactions fall
In its Q3 earnings report, the company highlighted its $1.6B in revenue, debt reduction, and a settlement that “puts significant litigation behind us.”
October 24, 2023
Real Estate Board of New York to decouple buyer agent commission
The board wrote that this change, which takes effect in January, “represents the future of how residential real estate is transacted.”
October 20, 2023
Realtor.com and Homes.com neck-and-neck in traffic race
September data from web traffic aggregator Comscore shows Realtor.com in second place and Homes.com coming in a close third.
October 19, 2023
Home sales fall below 4 million for the first time in 13 years
The summer sales slump continued through September, marking the seventh month of negative sales movement this year.
October 19, 2023
Rental income from ADUs now can be counted toward an FHA mortgage
Starting this week, the FHA has tweaked its borrowing rules to promote accessory dwelling units as a way to boost housing inventory and affordability.
October 17, 2023
Builder confidence declines even as home starts rise
Rising mortgage rates have hit the construction sector hard, pushing confidence to the lowest level since January despite an uptick in housing starts.
Updated October 18, 2023
Bay Area real estate veteran Rick Geha has died
A respected team leader and speaker, Geha worked with giants Gino Blefari, Gary Keller and Glenn Sanford during his four-decade career.
October 12, 2023
Mortgage exec: Lower rates, ‘big refi move’ coming in 1-2 years
Greg Schwartz, CEO of online lender Tomo and former head of Zillow’s Premier Agent business, sees some relief ahead for consumers — and a reckoning for agents.
October 12, 2023
No contingencies, more closed deals? These startups say that’s the future
The CEOs of UpEquity and EasyKnock say their buy-before-you-sell products make offers stronger and help agents close more deals.
October 7, 2023
Homes.com says it's second to Zillow, but does the math add up?
A Homes.com exec told Real Estate News that its “playbook for growth is working,” but some competitors and outside observers see the data differently.
Updated October 5, 2023
eXp agents can request cash offers via Opendoor integration
The companies announced a partnership that will allow listing agents to get offers on behalf of their sellers directly through eXp's agent dashboard.
October 3, 2023
Redfin leaves NAR: 'Enough is enough'
In a note signed by CEO Glenn Kelman and other Redfin leaders, the company said “NAR isn’t the future.”
October 2, 2023
Cloud-based brokerage iad lands in the US
The French company has over 20,000 agents across Europe and Mexico, and now it’s ready to stake a claim in the lucrative U.S. market.
September 29, 2023