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BUSINESS
Two More Imploded Real-Estate Brokerage Stocks Tie the Knot: REMAX -85% from Peak, Real Brokerage -70%
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Been brutal for real-estate stocks plunging from overhyped or meme-stock valuations amid thick losses, lots of debt, and a frozen housing market: Compass, Redfin, Anywhere Real Estate, eXp, and Douglas Elliman.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
The stocks of residential real-estate brokerages imploded in recent years, amid thick losses, lots of debt, and a still frozen housing market, and those imploded shares got then bought out by other real-estate brokerages whose shares had also imploded, or, in the case of Redfin, by the largest mortgage lender, Rocket. Today there’s another announcement of a real-estate broker with an imploded stock getting bought out by a real-estate broker with an imploded stock.
The two companies, REMAX and Real Brokerage – ticker symbols RMAX and REAX – announced the deal jointly this morning: REMAX, whose shares had imploded by 90% from the peak in October 2017 through Thursday, before trading on deal rumors started, is being acquired by Real, whose shares had imploded by 60% through Thursday. Friday on deal rumors, and today on the announcement, shares of REMAX spiked, and shares of Real plunged further.
On Friday and today combined, REMAX soared by 51% to $9.94, which leaves the stock down by 85% from their all-time high. It has been in our pantheon of Imploded Stocks since late 2023, for which the minimum requirement is a drop of 70% from the all-time high.

Shares of Real Brokerage [REAX] plunged by 23% on Friday and today combined, to $2.02; the stock has now imploded by 70% from its all-time high in August 2024, and thereby made it into our pantheon of Imploded Stocks.
Real, a “technology-powered real estate brokerage” platform, had gone public in 2020 in Canada via merger with a blank-check company – a Capital Pool Company called up there, similar to a SPAC in the US. At first, the shares traded on the TSXV in Canada and over the counter in the US. In June 2021, the stock started trading on the Nasdaq.

Re/MAX Holdings franchises real-estate brokerages in 120 countries under the REMAX brand and mortgage brokerages in the US under the Motto Mortgage brand. REMAX was founded in 1973, and Motto Mortgage was launched in 2016.
Shareholders of Re/MAX Holdings can choose to get paid for each of their shares either $13.80 in cash, or 5.15 shares of the combined company, “Real REMAX Group.”
But, but, but… At today’s price of $9.94, RMAX traded at a big discount to the announced valuation of $13.80 because there’s a limitation to the cash price due there not being enough cash available. According to the deal announcement, the cash payment is “… subject to proration such that the aggregate cash proceeds to RE/MAX Holdings shareholders in the transaction will be no less than $60 million and no greater than $80 million.”
This $80 million cap – limited by available cash – means, if I understand this limitation correctly, that if all shareholders want cash, each one of them is only going to get about a quarter of their shares paid in cash, and the rest in shares of the combined company Real REMAX Group.
Imploded stocks of other real-estate brokerages:
Compass Inc. [COMP] acquired Anywhere Real Estate Inc. The acquisition closed in early 2026. Anywhere Real included the brands of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, CENTURY 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty. It made Compass the largest brokerage in the US.
Compass went public in April 2021. On the first day of trading, shares closed at $20.15 and then plunged by 90% over the next 18 months to $2 a share.
Today, at $8.09, it is still down 60% from its all-time high:

eXp World Holdings [EXPI], which includes the brands of eXp Realty, a cloud-based residential real-estate brokerage; eXp Commercial, a cloud-based commercial real-estate brokerage; Zoocasa, a real estate brokerage and search platform; and some other brands, including brands unrelated to the brokerage business.

The stock had its own meme-stock moment in 2020 and 2021. Since that meme-stock peak in February 2021, shares have imploded by 92%:

Douglas Elliman Inc. [DOUG] was spun off by cigarette maker Vector Group in late 2021 and the shares then traded at around $10. Since then, they have plunged by 81%

Imploded stocks of real-estate brokerages that got bought out.
Redfin was acquired in 2025 by Rocket Companies the largest mortgage lender in the US. Redfin shares had peaked in 2021 at $98.44 a share. By 2022, it traded in below $4, having collapsed by about 95%. Rocket bought the company in a deal valued at $12.50 a share, paid in Rocket shares. By the time the deal closed, Redfin shares traded at around $11.
Anywhere Real Estate was acquired by Compass in early 2026, as noted above. It had rebranded in 2022, from its previous name Realogy, trying to stop the plunge. Its shares had peaked at $55 a share in April 2013, and then zigzagged lower. In February 2020, the stock hit $2.09. In 2025, before deal rumors began swirling, it was trading at around and sometimes below $3 a share, down by 95% from the peak. The deal with Compass was valued at about $13.00 a share.
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BUSINESS
Housing Unit Growth Far Outruns Population Growth: Vacant Units on the Market and the “Accidental Landlords”
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These dynamics are now moving in the right direction.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Over the past 12 months through Q1, the total US housing stock grew by 1.41 million housing units – new construction minus demolitions – according to the Census Bureau today. With an average household size in the US of 2.3 people per housing unit, this addition over those 12 months provided homes for 3.2 million people.
But in 2025, population growth faded amid a crackdown on illegal immigration. According to separate data from the Census Bureau, for the 12-month period through July 2026, the US population is expected to increase by only 757,000 people.
The total housing stock reached 149.0 million housing unit. These are single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes, ADUs, etc., and multifamily homes (condos and apartments).

Over the past five years, the total US housing stock grew by 7.4 million housing units – new construction minus demolitions. At average household size, this addition accommodates 17 million more people.
But over the 5-year period through July 2026, the US population grew by 10.4 million people, including the two-decade-record surge in 2023 and 2024 (my analysis).
Over the past five years, the housing stock has grown steadily and substantially faster than the population.

The vacant housing stock.
There were 11.9 million “year-round vacant” housing units in the US, or 8.0% of the total housing stock.
The vacant shadow inventory: Of those 11.9 million year-round vacant units, 6.4 million vacant housing units were held off the market for a variety of reasons, a portion of which constitutes the vacant shadow-inventory that will show up on the for-sale or for-rent market at some point.
Vacant housing units on the market for rent or for sale rose by 4.4% over the 12 months through Q1, to 4.7 million vacant housing units on the market, the most since two quarters in mid-2017, and before then the most since 2014, coming out of the housing bust.
Over the two-year period, they surged by 19.4%! But this time, population growth has slowed to a crawl.

With the for-sale market frozen and 2025 sales of existing homes down by about 25% from before the pandemic, and by 43% from the record in 2005, many wishful sellers of single-family homes and condos, after failing to sell their units at wishful prices, put their units on the rental market, hoping that this too shall pass.
The number of these “accidental landlords” has surged, Zillow found by the for-sale listings that didn’t sell, were pulled, and were then re-listed for-rent. For an overview of this situation, looking at for-rent and for-sale units combined eliminates this issue of vacant housing units shifting between categories:
Vacant housing units on the market for rent – including by “accidental landlords” – rose by 6.1% year-over-year to 3.67 million in Q1, not seasonally adjusted, the most since 2014.
Over the two-year period, for-rent units surged by 15.4%!

Vacant housing units on the market for sale jumped by 6.1% year-over-year to 1.0 million housing units, not seasonally adjusted. A sharp quarter-to-quarter decline in Q1 from Q4 is typical in these not-seasonally adjusted figures.
Over the two-year period, for-sale units surged by 37%!
And remember: a portion of what used to be vacant for-sale homes are now vacant for-rent homes that these “accidental landlords” shifted into the chart above:

What the US housing market needs more than anything is lots of new housing units, more supply, and even more supply, of all kinds, amid slowing population growth. And these dynamics are now moving in the right direction.
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BUSINESS
This Fed Meeting Must Have Been a Hoot. Fed Holds Rates amid 4 Dissents, most since 1992: 1 Dovish, 3 Hawkish
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“Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.” In part. And in part for other reasons.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
The FOMC voted today to leave the Fed’s five policy rates unchanged for the third meeting in a row, following three rate cuts in 2025 of 75 basis points combined, and three cuts of 100 basis points combined in 2024.
There were four dissents, the most since 1992: Miran dissented because he wanted a 25-basis point rate cut. Three others – Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan – dissented though they supported maintaining the target range at this meeting, but “did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time.” They wanted a symmetrical statement, that indicated that the next move could be either a rate cut or a rate hike.
This concept that the next move could be either a cut or a hike was already discussed at the last meeting, as we know from the last press conference and meeting minutes. Now it made it into the statement.
Let there be dissents – they’re a breath of fresh air.
The FOMC left its five policy rates unchanged today:

Target range for the federal funds rate: 3.5%-3.75%.
Interest it pays the banks on reserve balances (IORB): 3.65%.
Interest it pays on overnight Reverse Repos (ON RRPs): 3.50%
Interest it charges on overnight Repos at its Standing Repo Facility (SRF): 3.75%.
Interest it charges banks to borrow at the “Discount Window” at 3.75%.

Major changes in the statement:
The statement was primarily worried about inflation, and less worried about the economy and labor market. That shift had taken place at the last meeting and was further clarified in this meeting:
New: “Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace.”.
Old: “Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace.”
New: “Job gains have remained low, on average, and the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months.”
Old: “Job gains have remained low, and the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months.”
New: “Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.”
Old: “Inflation remains somewhat elevated.”
New: “Developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook.”
Old: “Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain.”
This sentence was unchanged: “The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals.”
And this sentence was unchanged: “The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.”
This was a no-dot-plot meeting – one of the four a year when the FOMC does not release a “Summary of Economic Projections,” which includes the “dot plot” that indicates how each FOMC member that day sees the development of future policy rates, inflation, GDP growth, and unemployment. The FOMC will release the next Summary of Economic Projections at the June meeting.
And here is Powell at the press conference: Regime Change: Powell, Chair of Mega-QE & “Ample Reserves Regime,” to Be Replaced by Warsh, who Wants a Smaller Balance Sheet

The whole statement:
“Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained low, on average, and the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months. Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.
The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.
In support of its goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3‑1/2 to 3‑3/4 percent. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 percent objective.
In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook. The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals. The Committee’s assessments will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments.
Voting for the monetary policy action were Jerome H. Powell, Chair; John C. Williams, Vice Chair; Michael S. Barr; Michelle W. Bowman; Lisa D. Cook; Philip N. Jefferson; Anna Paulson; and Christopher J. Waller. Voting against this action were Stephen I. Miran, who preferred to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting; and Beth M. Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie K. Logan, who supported maintaining the target range for the federal funds rate but did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time.”
 
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