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  • January 01, 2025

    Federal Real Estate Policy To Watch In 2025

    The potential for new tariffs and the Corporate Transparency Act are among the areas of federal policy that real estate lawyers will be watching in 2025.

  • January 02, 2025

    The Top Property Insurance Decisions Of 2024

    A novel climate change coverage suit in Hawaii, three state high court pandemic coverage rulings and a Colorado ruling on a late claim-filing rule are among the top property insurance decisions of 2024. Here, Law360 breaks down the cases that drew the most attention among practitioners in the property insurance space.

  • January 01, 2025

    A Prelude To 2025 Residential Real Estate

    As we leave 2024 behind, Law360 Real Estate Authority's editor-at-large Andrew McIntyre reflects on the multifamily sector's focus on the Sunbelt leading into 2025.

  • January 01, 2025

    Residential Real Estate Cases To Watch In 2025

    Attorneys who advise real estate firms are keeping a close eye on how antitrust law is applied to the real estate market as the use of revenue-management tools and pricing algorithms becomes widespread among their clients.

  • December 30, 2024

    Energy Demand Key Driver In 2025 Infrastructure Roadmap

    With growing energy demand increasingly being met by renewable power, an overhaul of U.S. infrastructure is expected to gain steam in 2025, advancing a push to adapt roadways, ports and other infrastructure for a changing climate and new technologies.

  • December 30, 2024

    Big Year Of Real Estate Deals Ahead As PE Sees Opportunities

    The market is out of the doldrums, and private equity deal practitioners are looking forward to an active year for real estate, particularly with transactions involving data centers, refinancings and — believe it not — office buildings.

  • December 26, 2024

    Proptech's Central Storyline In Real Estate Still Unwritten

    After making a dynamic entrance that seemed to spark the real estate industry to finally embrace innovation, the property technology sector has struggled to develop its role as operators have focused on managing challenging economic conditions. Proptech enters 2025 uncertain about its next chapter, but experts remain confident it will prove to be essential to real estate's future. 

  • December 23, 2024

    NY Businessman To Plead Guilty In Eric Adams' Fraud Case

    A Brooklyn construction company operator intends to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge related to the bribery and corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a notice filed by prosecutors in New York federal court Monday.

  • December 23, 2024

    CFPB Sues Rocket Homes Over Alleged Realtor Kickbacks

    Rocket Homes Real Estate has been giving brokers and agents incentives to steer homebuyers toward obtaining loans through Rocket Mortgage, while pressuring agents to withhold information that could save their clients thousands of dollars on a down payment, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday.

  • December 23, 2024

    McElroy Deutsch Beats Former Exec's Malicious Claim

    McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP got a claim for malicious prosecution against it dismissed without prejudice in litigation against its former business development director, who the firm accused of embezzling millions from it.

  • December 23, 2024

    Top Residential Real Estate Q&As From 2024's Second Half

    Check out the top residential real estate Q&As that ran during the second half of 2024, with real estate attorneys and experts reflecting on the evolution of New York City real estate, new construction rules and the state of the multifamily sector.

  • December 20, 2024

    RealPage Can't Transfer Enforcers' Rent-Fix Case Out Of NC

    RealPage cannot get the government's antitrust case against it moved either to the Tennessee court overseeing similar civil litigation or to Texas, where the rental software maker is headquartered, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Friday.

  • December 20, 2024

    Fla. Judge Orders Ky. Tower Sale Laundering Case To Proceed

    A Florida federal judge denied a request by two Miami businessmen to toss a civil forfeiture lawsuit brought by the U.S. government in an attempt to seize $9.1 million from the sale of a Kentucky office tower with alleged links to a Ukrainian money laundering scheme.

  • December 20, 2024

    Calif. Panel Says Woman Has Right To Sue Over Home Sale

    A California state appeals court reversed a quick win granted to Sotheby's International Realty Inc. and other real estate brokers in a suit filed over a $3.15 million sale of a Malibu home, ruling in a published decision that the homeowner legally allowed his daughter to sue over the property sale.

  • December 20, 2024

    Mich. Tax Panel's Rubber-Stamp Of Valuation Nixed By Court

    A Michigan tax panel "rubber-stamped" a city's $16.5 million valuation of an apartment complex, the state appeals court found, saying questions of fact remained on the city's consideration of the property's purchase price.

  • December 20, 2024

    HUD Awards $225 Million To Boost Manufactured Housing

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it has awarded $225 million under a grant program for manufactured housing communities, prioritizing tribal applicants and resident-managed communities.

  • December 20, 2024

    Mich. Duplex Wrongly Added To Site's Tax Value, Court Says

    A Michigan municipality should not have boosted the assessment of a property by adding in the value of a third duplex it had erroneously omitted from its tax rolls, the state appeals court said, reversing a state tax panel.

  • December 20, 2024

    Calif. Appeals Court Upends Arbitration Denial In OT Suit

    A California appeals court partially reversed a ruling that real estate company CoStar cannot arbitrate a proposed class action accusing it of failing to pay workers overtime, finding the arbitration agreement is only unenforceable as to claims brought under the state's Private Attorneys General Act.

  • December 20, 2024

    Ga. Real Estate Law Firm Adds 3 New Attys

    Georgia real estate law firm GSH Attorneys said Friday that it has brought on three attorneys to the same number of its offices around the state.

  • December 19, 2024

    Mortgage Firm Should Face Sex Harassment Suit, Judge Says

    A Georgia federal judge on Wednesday recommended not granting summary judgment to CrossCountry Mortgage LLC and a branch manager in a former employee's sexual harassment and retaliation suit.

  • December 19, 2024

    State And Federal Insurance Regulations To Watch For In 2025

    The insurance market will likely face regulatory challenges and opportunities in 2025 as regulators on the state and federal level gear up to reverse major trends and tackle emerging developments. Here, Law360 looks at a few key pieces of regulation and regulatory areas that will be closely watched by the insurance industry.

  • December 19, 2024

    NY High Court Cements Rollback Of Luxury Decontrol Orders

    The New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the state was right to revoke orders deregulating Manhattan apartment units after the Legislature passed tenant-friendly changes to rent stabilization laws, finding that the orders had not yet taken effect when the law passed in 2019.

  • December 19, 2024

    Overlooked Evidence In Katrina Suit Highlights Insurers' Risks

    The Mississippi Supreme Court's ruling affirming a $10 million Hurricane Katrina damages award against USAA emphasized the risk a carrier runs when ignoring evidence while investigating a claim, while an additional $4.5 million awarded in attorney fees by the court raised eyebrows, insurance experts told Law360.

  • December 19, 2024

    RealPage Inks $625K Calif. Tenant Protections Settlement

    Tenant screening company RealPage has agreed to pay $625,000 in penalties and restitution to put to rest allegations it violated California's COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act by providing screening reports to housing providers that improperly led to tenants being denied housing, according to an announcement made Wednesday.

  • December 19, 2024

    NJ Unclaimed Property Law Targeted In Class Claims

    A Chilean citizen on Thursday filed proposed class claims challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey's unclaimed property law, alleging that the state often auctions or sells off abandoned real estate without any prior notice to owners — which purportedly include pop superstar Taylor Swift — and keeps the proceeds for its own use.

Expert Analysis

  • Increased Scrutiny Raises Int'l Real Estate Transaction Risks

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    Recently proposed regulations expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' oversight, a White House divestment order and state-level legislative efforts signal increasing scrutiny of real estate transactions that may trigger national security concerns, say Luciano Racco and Aleksis Fernández Caballero at Foley Hoag.

  • Financial Incentives May Alleviate Affordable Housing Crisis

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    There is a wide array of financial incentives and assistance that the government can provide to both real estate developers and individuals to chip away at the housing affordability problem from multiple angles, say Eric DeBear and Madeline Williams at Cozen.

  • Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority

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    Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.

  • The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar

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    The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Assessing The Practicality Of Harris' Affordable Housing Plan

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    Vice President Kamala Harris' proposed "Build the American Dream" plan to tackle housing affordability issues takes solid recommendations into account and may fare better than California's unsuccessful attempt at a similar program, but the scope of the problem is beyond what a three-point plan can solve, says Brooke Miller at Sheppard Mullin.

  • RealPage Suit Shows Growing Algorithm, AI Pricing Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's suit against RealPage for helping fix rental rates, filed last week, demonstrates how the use of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools to assist with pricing decisions is drawing increasing scrutiny and action across government agencies, and specifically at the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ, say Andre Geverola and Leah Harrell at Arnold & Porter.

  • What To Expect From Evolving Wash. Development Plans

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    The current round of periodic updates to Washington counties' growth and development plans will need to address new requirements from recent legislation, and will also likely bring changes that should please property owners and developers, says Jami Balint at Seyfarth.

  • Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus

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    Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.

  • Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity

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    Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.

  • How High Court Ruling Is Shaping Homelessness Policies

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson to allow enforcement of local ordinances against overnight camping is already spurring new policies to manage homelessness, but the court's ruling does not grant jurisdictions unfettered power, say Kathryn Kafka and Alex Merritt at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Maryland 'Rain Tax' Ruling May Offer Hope For Tax Credits

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    A Maryland state appellate court's recent decision in Ben Porto v. Montgomery County echoes earlier case law upholding controversial stormwater charges as a valid excise tax, but it also suggests that potential credits to reduce property owners' liability could get broader in scope, says Alyssa Domzal at Ballard Spahr.

  • Decoding CFPB Priorities Amid Ramp-Up In Nonbank Actions

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    Based on recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions and press releases about its supervisory activities, the agency appears poised to continue increasing its scrutiny over nonbank entities — particularly with respect to emerging financial products and services — into next year, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Shipping Containers As Building Elements Require Diligence

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    With the shipping container market projected to double between 2020 and 2028, repurposing containers as storage units, office spaces and housing may become more common, but developers must make sure they comply with requirements that can vary by intended use and location, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.