3D-printed homes are now for sale in Austin

Plus: Rocket revamps real estate arm

August 05, 2025

In partnership with

☀️ Happy Tuesday! Let's do this. Today's newsletter is 613 words, a 2-minute read.

1. Rocket revamps real estate arm

Rocket Companies has begun reshaping Rocket Homes, its real estate subsidiary, following the completion of its Redfin acquisition. Changes include sunsetting the Rocket Homes search portal, consolidating agent networks, and executing layoffs.

Visitors to the Rocket Homes website are now met with a message that reads, “Your home search has a new address. We joined forces with Redfin to help you home.” Following this, users are redirected to Redfin, which has become Rocket’s primary platform for home search services.

To make the most of this transition, Rocket has added prequalification buttons to all home listings and introduced a new incentive program called Rocket Preferred Pricing. Through this program, qualified buyers who choose Rocket for financing and work with a Redfin agent will receive a one-point mortgage rate reduction for the first year — potentially saving up to $6,000.

2. President Trump signs Veteran Affairs home loan bill

Last week, President Trump signed into law the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act [H.R. 1815], empowering the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take action to help veterans avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.

The legislation follows the recent end of the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase Program (VASP) in May, which was launched last year to assist over 40,000 veterans facing severe financial hardship.

The new law allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue offering critical support through the existing VA Home Loan Program, helping ensure that at-risk veterans can remain in their homes.

A MESSAGE FROM DAVE YOUR MORTGAGE GUY

Every month, at least one Realtor reaches out and says:

"Dave, I want YOU to do my loan."

Why? What makes me different?

I just dropped a quick video breaking down exactly why Realtors are choosing me when it really matters.

3. Catch up quick

🛫 Texas Democrats flee state to block GOP plan to redraw electoral map. (BBC)

🌆 McAllen ranked among the best cities for young homeowners. (Newsweek)

🏙️ Austin now has the tallest building in Texas. (TPR)

🙌 'Meme stock' surge lifts Opendoor out of delisting danger zone. (Inman)

🏠 3D-printed homes are now for sale in Austin. (ICON)

⚖️ Lawmakers advance bill to protect Texans from real estate fraudsters. (TXTribune)

4. 1,800-home community breaks ground in Rockwall County

Huffines Enterprises has officially broken ground on Horizon Lakes, a 900-acre master-planned community located off Farm-to-Market Road 550 in Rockwall County.

Homes in the community will range from $500,000 to $2 million.

Phase one will deliver 590 home sites and a lakefront amenity center, and the first homes are expected to be completed by 2027.

Planned amenities include hike-and-bike trails, a recreational lake, pickleball courts, a lakeside restaurant, an amphitheater, and a contemporary event space.

5. Home equity grows in Q2 2025

Almost half of all mortgaged homes in the U.S. were considered equity-rich in Q2 2025, according to the latest report from ATTOM. That means homeowners owed less than 50% of their property’s estimated market value.

In total, 47.4% of mortgaged properties qualified as equity-rich—up from 46.2% in the first quarter. This uptick breaks a three-quarter decline, after the share peaked at 49.2% in Q2 2024.

On the flip side, the portion of “seriously underwater” homes—where mortgage balances exceed the property’s value by 25% or more—held steady at 2.7%. That’s a slight increase from 2.4% this time last year.

A MESSAGE FROM PACASO

Former Zillow exec targets $1.3T

The top companies target big markets. Like Nvidia growing ~200% in 2024 on AI’s $214B tailwind. That’s why the same VCs behind Uber and Venmo also backed Pacaso. Created by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech transforms a $1.3 trillion market. With $110M+ in gross profit to date, Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.

☀️ Thank you for starting your day with us!

If you like this newsletter, your friends may too. Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.

Interested in advertising to 50k+ Texas Realtors? Email [email protected]