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Booker, Warren call for FTC investigation into online real estate companies. They asked the agency to investigate how real estate websites connect buyers with agents and mortgage lenders, and how brokerages handle private home listings. October 18, 2026 (Tom Joyce, The Center Square) U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren want the Federal Trade Commission to look at whether online real estate companies use deceptive practices that raise homebuying costs. Booker, D-N.J., and Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson this week. They asked the agency to investigate how real estate websites connect buyers with agents and mortgage lenders, and how brokerages handle private home listings. "We urge you to now investigate anticompetitive and deceptive practices in the home-buying market, using every enforcement tool available to restore competition to the entire online real estate marketplace," the senators wrote. It comes as U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., had similar concerns. In June, he asked Ferguson to investigate online agent referrals and mortgage lending practices, HousingWire reported. The senators found three practices they want the FTC to investigate. First, they said buyers who click a website's "contact agent" button may reach an agent who pays the website part of the sales commission rather than the agent selling the home. The senators say that can raise costs without the buyer even knowing. "Platforms and agents do not disclose these commission-sharing arrangements, leaving buyers unaware that they are agreeing to pay inflated prices to cover the platform's revenue cut," they wrote. Second, the senators said agents often must refer buyers to lenders tied to the websites. Those lenders often aren't upfront about their financial incentives and charge higher rates and offer worse loan terms. Also, they criticized brokerages that have private home listings, showing homes to a select few buyers before making listings public. The senators said doing this hurts prospective homebuyers and sellers. The sellers can get fewer offers when fewer people know their home is for sale. Zillow has denied that these services hurt buyers. Responding to the lawsuit, Zillow said buyers can choose their own agents and lenders. Zillow added that every home listing lets buyers directly contact the listing agent. "Buyers are never required to work with that agent and remain free to choose anyone they prefer," Zillow wrote. The senators also cited the FTC's rental advertising case against Zillow and Redfin. The FTC accused Zillow of paying Redfin $100 million to stop competing in rental advertising. An August settlement forced Redfin to restart that business and invest millions in it. Booker and Warren want similar FTC action in the home sales market. They said high housing costs are another reason the FTC should investigate. They noted recent National Association of Realtors figures showing the median existing-home price is now about $440,600 and the median first-time homebuyer age is 40. The senators said higher fees and mortgage rates make buying a home harder. They said those costs are even worse when buyers add them to their mortgages and pay interest on them. "Younger and first-time homebuyers are most harmed by these practices," they wrote. "They are making the largest financial transaction of their lives without knowing the full picture."

Homa raises $5 million to redefine homebuying with AI. 5:05 am, PT, October 15, 2026 Seed funding powers California expansion and in-platform mortgage lending AUSTIN, Texas-(BUSINESS WIRE)-October 15, 2026- Homa, the AI platform reinventing how Americans buy homes while returning up to 2% of the purchase price to buyers at closing, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Quiet Capital, with participation from Restive Ventures and Cambrian Ventures. The round funds expansion across California and the launch of mortgage lending inside the platform. Homa is now available statewide in California (alongside Florida and Texas), covering roughly 95 million Americans. Buyers can search, tour, negotiate, close, and secure a mortgage in one place. The company, which went viral earlier this year with the first AI closings in the U.S., recorded its strongest month in September. Quiet Capital, an early investor in OpenAI and Reddit, led the round alongside fintech-focused Restive Ventures and Cambrian Ventures. Co-founder and CEO Arman Javaherian, a former senior director at Zillow, said the traditional process has barely changed in 40 years. "You tour on someone else's schedule, you take advice from someone paid more when you spend more, and you hand over tens of thousands of dollars at the closing table for work you largely did yourself," he said. "We built Homa so buyers get better information, better representation, and serious money back that can dramatically reduce the lifetime cost of a mortgage and boost their purchasing power." Homa is a licensed brokerage whose AI is trained on state-specific law, property data, and real-estate coursework. It provides pricing insight, disclosures, comps, risk analysis, and bargaining-power scoring before an offer. Local specialists handle tours on the buyer's schedule for a flat fee. Offers are written and negotiated by in-house brokers - one per state - each with more than a decade of experience and hundreds of closed transactions. On deals where the seller offers a buyer-broker commission of up to 3%, Homa keeps 1% and credits the remainder (typically about 2%) back to the buyer. Credits have averaged more than $10,000 and exceed $40,000 on higher-priced homes. Buyers can apply the credit to a rate buydown, closing costs, or the purchase price. The new mortgage feature lets buyers shop for a loan inside Homa instead of being handed off to an outside lender. When the credit and loan sit in the same file, the credit can fund a rate buydown that lowers the mortgage rate by as much as 0.75%, compounding savings over the life of the loan. Integrating brokerage and lending also reduces delays from financing issues and poor coordination. "Buying a home is the biggest financial decision most people will ever make, and the two parties who decide whether it goes smoothly - the brokerage and the lender - are almost always separate businesses with no incentive to coordinate well," said Michael Bloch, Partner at Quiet Capital. "Homa is the only consumer company we have seen that runs both sides and hands the customer real money back. The expansion to California coupled with the new mortgage feature is an inflection point on Homa's path to changing the economics of homebuying in America." Homa timed the California launch for surging demand in the state's largest metros. It has been live in Florida since 2025, expanded to Texas in June 2026, and soft-launched California on September 1. Capital will also support a mobile app later this year. "California buyers do their own research, and they are not looking for someone to unlock a door and mark it up by 3%," Javaherian added. "What they actually need is real MLS access, a licensed broker who negotiates for a living, financing that is part of the offer strategy rather than an afterthought, and a credit large enough to increase their purchasing power." Homa was co-founded by Javaherian and Federico Campeotto, a computer scientist with a Ph.D. specializing in artificial intelligence. It is the only end-to-end platform of its kind and has already returned millions of dollars to buyers in Texas and Florida. About Homa Homa is the first AI-powered homebuying platform and licensed brokerage to take buyers through search, analysis, touring, offer, financing, and closing in one place, then credit most of the buyer-side commission back to them. Available in California, Florida, and Texas. Learn more at www.tryhoma.com.

Boris Mizhen happy to be at the NYC Real Estate Tech Week. 05/10/2026 "I'm honored to be invited to this exciting event and to examine all the real estate and technology fields," said Boris Mizhen. New York, NY, United States, October 5, 2026 - Boris Mizhen, a real estate developer with experience in the industry, was invited to participate in New York City Real Estate Tech Week, a multi-event program focused on innovation and emerging technologies in the real estate sector. Held in New York City, the event brought together technology companies, real estate professionals, industry organizations, and entrepreneurs to examine developments shaping the future of the property market. Organized and co-promoted by technology accelerator MetaProp NYC and its network of partners, including the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), and Zillow, the week featured a series of 10 events highlighting emerging technologies and real estate-focused startups. Participating organizations included the Real Estate Board of New York, Zillow Group, CRE // Tech, the Urban Land Institute, the Industrial & Office Real Estate Brokers Association, the New York City Real Estate Tech Meetup, and NAIOP. Boris Mizhen is considered invaluable to developers within the industry. In addition to his investments in New York City properties, he has headed marketing technology firms staffed by highly trained and experienced professionals. As a combination of public and invitation-only events, the NYC Real Estate Tech Week featured investors and executives from the residential and commercial real estate communities. Among the invited speakers and panelists were a number of local technology startups, including Radiator Labs, Edenworks, and The Square Foot. Topics of discussion were Sustainability and Security; Digital Disruption; How Tech Tsunami Disrupts the CRE Industry; and How to Build Data-Driven Startups in Real Estate. "I'm honored to be invited to this exciting event and to examine all the real estate and technology fields," said Boris Mizhen. "With all the new developments and rapid innovations in recent years, an event like this is essential to remain informed. It has brought in some of the key players in New York City's real estate market, making it an invaluable opportunity for experienced real estate developers to meet one another." Boris Mizhen has long been an advocate for the increasing use of technology in the real estate industry, which is no surprise given his well-known admiration of futurists such as Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. In addition to his work as a real estate developer, Mizhen is a prominent philanthropist. Through the Boris Mizhen Family Trust, he has contributed to many noteworthy non-profit organizations, including the Jewish Foundation's PACE Fund (Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment Fund) and the Chabad of Shoreline's Jacob Fund. The charities provide food for local families in need through "gift cards" that are honored by area supermarkets. Boris Mizhen - Property Developer and Philanthropist: http://borismizhennews.com Boris Mizhen (@bmizhen) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmizhen Boris Mizhen - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bmizhen Contact Info: Name: Boris Mizhen Email: Send Email Organization: BorisMizhenNews.com Website: http://borismizhennews.com Release ID: 89205157 If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify Ohsem.me (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Ohsem.me will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours.