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Coldwell Banker Hearthside is extending its lead as one of Coldwell Banker’s largest affiliates, thanks to its acquisition of Lehigh Valley boutique firm Acre & Estate Brokerage.

Coldwell Banker Hearthside has 11 offices throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the acquisition of Acre & Estate marks its entrance into Lehigh Valley with three offices in Bethlehem, Brodheadsville and Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. Acre & Estate founder Eric Leadbetter will continue to lead his team as the president of Coldwell Banker Hearthside’s Lehigh Valley Division.

“This wasn’t just a market move. It was a culture fit,” Coldwell Banker Hearthside co-owner Jamie Mancuso said in a written statement. “Eric’s agents, his energy, his ideas — they will complement and elevate what we do companywide.”

Mancuso and Leadbetter said the acquisition enables the team to leverage the best parts of each other’s companies — Coldwell Banker brings enhanced technology and support, while the former Acre & Estate team brings invaluable knowledge about Lehigh Valley and the elevated customer service and modern branding that comes with boutique real estate.

“What drew me to Hearthside was their independence, their innovation, and their clear sense of identity,” Leadbetter said in a prepared statement. “This isn’t a corporation absorbing a boutique firm. It’s two philosophies aligning. We’re not just adding volume — we’re scaling values.”

Added Mancuso, “We’re not waiting on the market. We’re moving forward. We’re betting on good people, doing things the right way, and building something great — together.”

Alongside the acquisition of Acre & Estate, Coldwell Banker Hearthside is appointing another regional leader.

Longtime Hearthside team member Stefanie Hahn will serve as president of the Delaware Valley region. This model, the brokerage said, supports growth while prioritizing the company’s tight-knit culture. Hearthside owners Jamie and Robin Mancuso will continue to lead the company’s daily operations, while Hahn and Leadbetter oversee regional expansion.

“We don’t have layers and layers of management,” Mancuso said. “Our agents call me directly. They know we’re all in this together.”

Email Marian McPherson

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Zillow Rentals is making an upgrade to its platform with EliseAI, an artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot that will answer renters’ questions and schedule tours. Conversations with EliseAI will be saved to the Zillow Renter Hub so users can review previous conversations with Elise throughout their rental search.

EliseAI, which is a third-party platform that provides artificial intelligence solutions for housing and healthcare companies, will be integrated into Zillow Rentals by the end of the third quarter, according to an announcement Tuesday.

“We want to make it even easier for renters on Zillow to get the information they need right when they need it, something no other rental marketplace is doing today,” Zillow Rentals SVP Michael Sherman said. “It’ll be a smarter, faster experience for renters and a more efficient way for property marketers to connect with serious leads.”

For renters, Zillow Rentals said EliseAI will be able to answer key questions about a rental property, including pricing, unit availability, amenities, the application process, and fees, etc. The bot can also schedule tours and send real-time details and reminders to renters.

On the property manager side, EliseAI will answer prospective renters’ questions around the clock and send automatic follow-ups once a renter asks a question or schedules a tour, all of which are managed through the EliseAI portal.

“We’re excited to be working toward a partnership with Zillow that would bring EliseAI’s industry-leading conversational AI to the very place where today’s renters begin their search: the listing itself,” EliseAI Co-Founder and CEO Minna Song said in a prepared statement. “Together we will empower property owners and operators to work more efficiently while giving renters the seamless, on-demand experience they expect.”

Zillow remains bullish on multifamily, with the company saying Zillow Rentals is outpacing its competitors in traffic and listing growth.

During Q1, Zillow’s rentals revenue grew 33 percent year over year to $129 million — an all-time high for that segment.

“We now have the most listings, 2 million active rental listings on Zillow’s rental network,” Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman told Inman in May. “And that’s what drives the audience. We actually have the largest rental audience in the country, 37 million unique visitors come to Zillow Rentals. It’s the number one brand preference because it has the most inventory. No one has them all, but we’re trying to get to as many as possible.”

Email Marian McPherson

Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!

Amid ongoing challenges in the real estate market, a new report shows that foreclosures ticked down month over month in May, but were up 9 percent compared to the same time last year.

The report, from data firm ATTOM, shows that in May, there were 35,498 properties in the U.S. with foreclosure filings. That amounts to one in every 4,009 housing units with a filing. The report notes that these numbers are down 1 percent compared to April but up 9 percent compared to May of 2024.

Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, described the situation in May as “a mixed picture with fewer starts but a continued rise in completed foreclosures.”

“This suggests that while fewer new defaults are being initiated, lenders may still be working through a backlog of existing cases,” Barber added in the report. “We’ll be watching closely in the months ahead to see how these trends evolve.”

The states with the worst foreclosure rates include Delaware, where one in every 2,313 housing units had a foreclosure filing in May; Florida, at one in every 2,536 housing units; Illinois, at one in every 2,668 housing units; Nevada, at one in every 2,747 housing units; and Indiana, at one in every 2,983 housing units.

The three metro areas with populations over 500,000 and the worst foreclosure rates were all in Florida: Lakeland (one in every 1,506 housing units); Cape Coral (one in every 1,674 housing units); and Jacksonville (one in every 1,888 housing units).

The report also reveals that lenders repossessed 3,844 properties via completed foreclosures in May. That’s up 7 percent compared to April, and up 34 percent relative to the same time last year.

The year-over-year rise in foreclosures comes as the real estate market struggles with years of sluggishness. After a particularly active period during the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage rates jumped in 2022 and have remained elevated ever since. Higher rates have subsequently translated into slower sales and lower inventory.

However, while foreclosure rates have ticked up during this period of sluggishness and remain elevated compared to the early days of the pandemic, ATTOM data shows that they remain well below rates during the Great Recession.

Email Jim Dalrymple II

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Over a year after major real estate entities settled antitrust commission litigation, more than 2.5 million people have submitted claims to collect money in the cases.

That’s according to a new quarterly report from JND Legal Administration, the law firm overseeing administrative tasks related to major settlements in cases such as Gibson, Sitzer | Burnett, and others. Among other things, the report — filed in court Monday — reveals that up through this month JND has sent out 100 million emails and 38 million postcards to notify potential homesellers of the settlements.

Additionally, JND began staffing a contact center last July to handle inquiries about the settlements, and since that time has received “over 25,000 calls and 30,000 emails.”

This flurry of reaching out to, and fielding inquiries from, consumers led to the 2.5 million claims, which were submitted both online and via a paper form.

The report further outlines how much JND is making for this work. In total, between January of last year and May of this year the firm has invoiced $32,777,091.15. Of that sum, $5,919,220.72 remains outstanding.

The report includes a chart showing exactly how much JND charged for specific campaigns. For example, JND carried out a mail campaign related to the Gibson settlement beginning in July 2024. This led to nine different invoices, sent between last July and February, the largest of which was for about $6.3 million. That $6.3 million invoice has been paid, though smaller sums totaling about $7,000 remain unpaid.

Antitrust commission lawsuits dominated the real estate industry in recent years, gaining particular attention after a jury sided with homesellers who claimed the National Association of Realtors and major franchisors conspired to inflate consumer costs. The verdict, in the case known as Sitzer | Burnett, led to a series of similar lawsuits that eventually included virtually every major real estate company.

Settlements began pouring in after the jury verdict, and NAR settled in March 2024. The trade organization’s settlement included an agreement to change some rules, as well as the promise to pay $418 million.

Other major settlements included HomeServices of America, which agreed to pay $250 million, Anywhere, at $83.5 million, Keller Williams, at $70 million, Compass, at $57.5 million, and RE/MAX, at $55 million. These settlements alone, along with NAR’s, total more than $900 million. With various additional settlements, the total amount of money available is more than $1 billion, though how much individual consumers get to collect will depend on the total number of claims, as well as the costs of administering the settlements.

Tanya Monestier — a law professor at the University of Buffalo who has objected to the settlements — has argued that the plaintiffs attorneys in the cases could collect $333 million, but that homesellers themselves may only get $20 or $25.

Read JND’s full report on the settlement administration here: 

Email Jim Dalrymple II