Just over 18 months ago, TIAA was finalizing its $2.5 billion acquisition of EverBank, touting the deal as a “significant” expansion of its retail footprint and an extension of its existing retirement, investment and advisory services. Then, in July 2018, the company rebranded TIAA Direct and EverBank to TIAA Bank. But now, just a few months later, TIAA Bank is moving to get out of retail mortgage lending and will shift its focus to digital mortgages.

Technology represents the greatest opportunity for growth in the multifamily sector, according to PeerStreet Underwriting Manager Nia Patel, a 2018 HousingWire Rising Star. We sat down with our previous Rising Star winner to get some insight on the housing industry today.

Well before Amazon announced its plans to pursue a second headquarters in Long Island City, the Queens neighborhood was among the fast-growing real estate markets of NYC. Major players in the real estate industry set their foot on the once-crumbling industrial neighborhood and secured millions of dollars to finance massive commercial and industrial projects. Yet, Amazon’s snafu announced last week still stunned the LIC real estate market.

Chase Home Lending now claims it can close on a borrower’s mortgage in as little as three weeks and it’s putting its money where its mouth is to back up that claim. Chase announced recently that it is rolling out a program called “Closing Guarantee” for its existing customers. Through the program, the bank promises to close a mortgage in 21 days, and if the bank doesn’t close on the loan in the timeframe, it will pay the borrower $1,000.

Mergers and acquisitions are about to pick up as the housing market sees the beginning of its down cycle, according to Ted Krus, Flagstar Bank director of executive projects and a 2017 HousingWire Rising Star.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is about to give landlords and property owners much less of a warning about when it is going to inspect public housing or privately owned apartment buildings that include HUD-subsidized units. According to HUD, it currently provides as much as four months advanced notice before inspecting a multifamily property. But HUD is cutting that lead time to 14 days.

New York City is upping the ante in its fight against Airbnb, as the two sides battle it out in court and in the court of public opinion. On Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city is issuing a subpoena to Airbnb, demanding that the short-term rental site turn over the listing data that’s at the center of a legal battle between the two sides.

The London Interbank Offered Rate, which many short-term mortgages are tied to, will be phased out at the end of 2021, and some think the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Secured Overnight Finance Rate may have the best bet of becoming its replacement.