Deadly fires in recent weeks have prompted calls for greater fire safety in homes and buildings.

The increase in calls for action has occurred following a recent fire in an apartment building in New York City’s Bronx borough, where at least 19 people died, followed by a fire in a Philadelphia row house that killed 12.

An average of about 3,500 people died in fires per year between 2010 and 2019, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. That number is rising.

Construction experts say that homes and buildings are at greater risk because more materials in the building of homes and furniture are more flammable than they used to be. The widespread use of synthetic materials is increasing the risk, they say.

Today, people have just three minutes to escape a home fire, according to UL, a safety certification company. About 40 years ago, homeowners had about 17 minutes to escape from a similar fire.

“Combustible materials are those that readily ignite and burn,” Stephen Quarles, an expert in construction materials and fire and mitigation strategies, told MarketWatch. “Many common construction materials are combustible, including wood and wood-plastic composite and plastic products (commonly used for decking and siding).”

About 90% of homes built in the U.S. are wood-framed, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

The most common cause of fires is cooking, followed by heating a home, according to the National Fire Protection Association. The recent deadly fire in the Bronx was reportedly caused by a malfunctioning space heater.

Fire experts say there are several ways for homeowners and renters to lower their risk, such as not leaving hot stoves or space heaters unattended. But they also recommend closing all doors to prevent fires from spreading quickly. This includes closing the doors to bedrooms at night. UL research shows that could possibly protect occupants if a fire started elsewhere in the home or apartment. Closed doors and windows can help prevent the fire from having enough oxygen to burn and spread. It could give people more time to get out in a fire, Steve Kerber, vice president and executive director of UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute, told MarketWatch.

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Real estate opportunists in several states in the Midwest are using a loophole in “quiet title” laws to seize control of people’s homes, mostly targeting immigrants, Iowa Public Radio reports.

In one case, a 72-year-old immigrant, originally from Mexico, says when she returned to her home of more than 20 years in Marshalltown, Iowa, she found someone had assumed a legal title and put her home up for sale.

Quiet title actions are usually used to resolve boundary disputes or determine who owns a property after someone passes away. But opportunists reportedly are exploiting vaguely written laws in some municipalities to make an argument that the property has been abandoned and thus take possession.

The actual property owner may not receive notifications that this is happening. The petitioner can argue that the most recent owner can’t be found—in the above case, the homeowner was out of the country at the time. Homeowners also may miss the small-print public notice printed in the local newspaper about it, as in the Iowa case. If homeowners fail to show up in court to argue their side, the other party can claim ownership of the home.

Law experts are concerned the law is being misused or unfairly wielded against immigrants, who may miss notices in English-language newspapers.

Between 2018 and 2021, 55 quiet title petitions were filed in Marshall County, around Marshalltown, alone. Housing advocates warn that similar quiet title laws could put properties at risk in Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas as well.

“I’d say the average person knows absolutely nothing about quieting titles or even what the title is,” Mike White, a real estate attorney based in Kansas City, Mo., told Iowa Public Radio.

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SentriLock, a real estate lockbox company backed by the National Association of REALTORS®, has filed a lawsuit against its competitor Supra, alleging patent infringement related to its lockbox technology.

SentriLock alleges Supra’s parent company, Carrier Global, of knowingly copying its technology and repeatedly warned Supra of the infringement. In a statement released Tuesday, SentriLock stated that it filed the lawsuit to put an end to the infringement and to recover the damages it sustained.

“Innovation in the real estate technology sector takes capital and time—and it’s the foundation of our commitment to the industry,” Scott Fisher, SentriLock founder and president, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “If Supra is permitted to profit from patents that it does not own, a chilling message will be sent to others in the industry that this illegal activity is acceptable, and that investments in innovation may not be able to be recouped by companies like ours who heavily invest in improving technology for our customers.”

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Black homeowners believe appraisal discrimination is rampant, a new survey from LendingTree finds.

Overall, 23% of homeowners of all races believe their home appraisal is too low. But the consumers who are most likely to feel that way are Blacks (32%) and LGBTQ+ homeowners (31%), the survey finds.

Despite the fact that appraisers are prohibited from considering protected classes under the Fair Housing Act in the development of a property valuation, more than half—58%–of Black homeowners believe that race, sexual orientation, or another protected demographic is factored into an appraisal, LendingTree’s analysis finds. One in four Black homeowners who’ve ordered a home appraisal say they’ve even tried to conceal their race from the appraiser. Only 11% of white homeowners said they tried to do the same.

“The more data collected on how people of different races, sexual orientation, or genders have their homes appraised, the easier it would be to identify any problems,” says Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economic analyst.

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The U.S. homeownership rate has posted its highest annual rise on record, reaching 65.5% in 2020, 1.3 percentage points over the year before. Hispanic homeownership soared to a record high and is above 50% for the first time on record.

However, Black homeownership continues to lag and has fallen to a lower level than it was a decade ago, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS®. Black homeowners continue to face significant obstacles to homeownership, like high levels of student debt. They also are among the most likely—along with Hispanic applicants—to be rejected for mortgage loans, the report says.

The homeownership rate for Black Americans is 43.4%, trailing the 2010 rate of 44.2%. By contrast, the homeownership rate for White Americans is 72.1%, 61.7% for Asian Americans, and 51.1% for Hispanic Americans. NAR’s 2022 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America report analyzes homeownership trends and identifies housing challenges by race.

Affordability Challenges Persist

“As the gap in homeownership rates for Black and White Americans has widened, it is important to understand the unique challenges that minority home buyers face,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s vice president of demographics and behavioral insights. “Housing affordability and low inventory has made it even more challenging for all buyers to enter into homeownership, but even more so for Black Americans.”

Since 2019, the price of the typical home has risen by 30%, or by about $80,000, according to NAR. About half—51%—of all homes currently listed for sale are affordable to households with an income of $100,000 or more. However, only 20% of Black households have incomes greater than $100,000. In comparison, 35% of White households have incomes of more than $100,000, while 25% of Hispanic American households and nearly half of Asian American households reach that level.

Higher rental costs are also pressing on household budgets. Half of Black Americans spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent. Nearly three out of 10 Black renter households (28%) and one in five White renter households (20%) are considered severely cost-burdened. That is defined as spending more than 50% of a household’s monthly income on rent.

“Black households not only spend a bigger portion of their income on rent, but they are also more likely to hold student debt and have higher balances,” Lautz says. “This makes it difficult for Black households to save for a down payment and as a result, they often use their 401(k) or retirement savings to enter homeownership.”

Speaking Up for Fair Housing

NAR has taken an active role to combat the racial homeownership gap. The association serves on the steering committee of the Black Homeownership Collaborative(link is external), which has a seven-point plan charged with increasing Black homeownership by a net 3 million by 2030. NAR also has its ACT plan, which emphasizes “Accountability, Culture Change, and Training” to advance fair housing in the industry. NAR offers an interactive training platform, Fairhaven, which puts real estate professionals in simulated situations where discrimination in a real estate transaction can occur. The association also offers its members an implicit bias video and classroom training to offer strategies that help real estate professionals override biases in their daily interactions.

NAR has also taken an active voice to advocate for more housing inventory and affordable housing, which includes expanding and creating tax incentives and zoning reforms. NAR and the Rosen Consulting Group published a report that examines the causes of America’s housing shortage and provides solutions to address it.

View the report: Housing is Critical Infrastructure: Social and Economic Benefits of Building More Housing

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A federal judge ruled that an Oregon law preventing buyer “love letters” is a violation of First Amendment rights. The letters have commonly been included in home offers, with buyers writing to sellers expressing their desire for a home.

Last year, Oregon became the first state in the country to prevent real estate agents from forwarding such letters to sellers. The law, which was introduced by a real estate agent who serves in the state Senate, was based on the concern that the letters may include photographs and videos and personal details about the buyer which could lead the seller to choose among offers based on the buyer’s personal characteristics, in violation of fair housing laws. The Oregon law did not prevent buyers from communicating with sellers directly, however.

In November 2020, a lawsuit was filed in federal court by the Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of a real estate firm to block Oregon’s ban.

“Today’s ruling preserves the opportunity of home buyers to speak freely to sellers and make the case why their purchase offers should win out,” Daniel Ortner, a Pacific Legal Foundation attorney, said in a statement about the ruling. “Love letters communicate information that helps sellers select the best offer. The state cannot ban important speech because someone might misuse it.”

The court found the ordinance to be too broad in restricting buyers’ speech, saying laws already exist to prohibit sellers from discriminating against buyers’ backgrounds and characteristics. 

Despite the recent ruling, the real estate industry cautions about the use of such letters. The letters could reveal a buyer’s race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics which could sway sellers in one direction in an offer situation. The National Association of REALTORS® has issued warnings over the use of such letters to its members. Several brokerages and real estate professionals also have taken a stance that they will not deliver such letters on behalf of their buyers due to fair housing fears.

Lisa Bates, a Portland State University associate professor in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, told USA Today that the letters could lead to sellers who may “consciously or unconsciously” choose home buyers who are similar to themselves, which could reinforce racial gaps in homeownership and neighborhood segregation.

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