Trump says he wants to drive housing prices up, not down
At President Donald Trump's Cabinet meeting Thursday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said that home sales in December "rose sharply to their strongest pace in three years" - but that's not quite what appears to be happening in the housing market that has been a persistent source of frustration for U.S. consumers.
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Fed holds interest rates steady, taking a pause from rate cuts to assess the economy
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, as expected, despite pressure from President Trump for much lower borrowing costs. The central bank has already cut its benchmark interest rate three times since September, making it cheaper to borrow money to buy a car, expand a business or carry a balance on a credit card. But with inflation still above target, most Fed policymakers voted to hold their target rate unchanged, in a range between 3.5 and 3.75%.
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Commissioners decline to declare private driveway a county road for title insurance; county law limits noted
A landowner and a title company asked the county to pass a resolution treating a private driveway as a county-maintained road so title insurance could be issued; commissioners and counsel said the county cannot unilaterally take or declare private land a public road without landowner consent and declined to adopt such a resolution.
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Lender advanced funds on second-position mortgage - court slashes damages
A Louisiana bank kept lending hundreds of thousands of dollars even after learning its mortgage was in second position. That decision just cost them dearly. On January 21, 2026, Louisiana's Second Circuit Court of Appeal handed Gibsland Bank & Trust a harsh lesson in what happens when lenders ignore title problems and hope they go away. The verdict should make every mortgage professional pause before their next closing.
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HUD secretary Turner spars with lawmakers on housing crisis during oversight hearing
Lawmakers from both parties agreed the housing market remains under acute strain, with high mortgage rates, thin inventory and stubborn affordability pressures weighing on buyers. But the session quickly split along familiar partisan lines over whether HUD should be shrinking its workforce, unwinding civil rights rules and tying housing stress to immigration while also helping implement president Donald Trump's new order targeting institutional investors in single family homes.
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