In a surprise move, Rocket mortgage is acquiring the real estate brokerage company Redfin for 1.8 billion. Why is a mortgage company interested in a real estate broker? What does this mean for realtors, consumers, and competitors? Will this purchase...
Over the last 100 years or so counties have operated under the assumption that if property taxes (or in some cases water/sewer, etc…) are not paid then the county can “take” the property for the unpaid taxes. A recent supreme court ruling radically alters this...
Condominium owners across the country are facing a paralyzing problem: They can’t sell their properties because of a fast-growing and mostly secret mortgage blacklist. Don’t worry this is not some crazy conspiracy from the government. I’ve experienced this first...
This newest property tax measure that passed has been deemed the most controversial in the US. What was in the new measure? What state (hint it wasn't a far right or left state)passed a controversial law to protect private property rights by...
The chart above is very surprising. When the market is predicting a slowdown or a recession, gold typically rises and treasuries also rise, typically in tandem. The exact opposite is happening now as bond prices are falling and yields are rapidly increasing in the...
Are the bulls running or are the bears coming? Any business media you pick up is harping on the idea of a “recession watch” and the economy is basically coming to an end! On the flip side my proprietary lending data is giving me a radically different answer. What...
For years, myself, and many others have thought that interest rates were the predictor of housing prices. Fast forward to post COVID where interest rates have doubled and yet housing prices remain high and are still trending higher in many markets. What other...
70% of lumber and 30% of drywall comes from Canada which could be subject to tariffs, what does this mean for the average build cost of a house? What does the chart above have to do with Tariffs? Will tariffs meaningfully impact real estate build costs and...
In almost every real estate advertisement I receive, there is a common theme that prospective buyers should not focus on the rate as they will be able to refinance relatively soon at a much lower rate. How true is this theory? (hint anyone who bought into...
Look at the graph above, what has caused my closing to surge in 2025 while overall real estate closing volumes have plummeted? What does this mean for real estate? Don’t get me wrong, I like to think the surge in closings is because I’m an amazing lender and a great...
Wow, look at the huge increases in credit scores over the last 15 years. This has occurred even as student debt, auto debt, and credit card debt have all surged. Has the US all the sudden become much more credit worthy or has something else changed? What does this...
Higher income consumers are showing signs of stress. Look at the chart above, from the peak in 2022 higher end consumers intent to spend has dropped almost 25%. What does the chart mean for real estate and the general economy? Why focus on higher end consumers?...
The bank mantra over the last 3 years has been survive until 2025. 2025 is when bankers were predicting a sharp decline in rates that would ultimately bail out the beleaguered commercial property market. Here we are at the dawn of 2025 and 10 year treasuries and...
I took the pic above of a house after a small fire in CO. I’m amazed the house had made it. Unfortunately thousands of property owners in LA are not as lucky. The recent fires in LA are estimated to cost upwards of 50 billion making it one of the costliest...
Wow, 2024 was definitely a surprise, at the beginning of the year, there were huge predictions of a rapid decline in rates, fast forward to 2025 and now rates are actually rapidly increasing even after the federal reserve cut short term rates. Why are rates...
Take a look at this chart above, focus on the bottom two lines, in Pink is Vail (MTN) and in Green is Target (TGT). Why are they trending the same way? Now look at the purple line Costco, notice a huge divergence? What type of skier/snowboarder are you? What does...
Fannie Mae, one of the largest buyers of residential mortgages has some profound predictions. Will house prices continue their upward trend through 2030? How accurate are the predictions below? How can house prices continue in such a linear fashion? Will...
After peaking around 215 dollars, Airbnb stock has taken a tumble of almost 40%. At the same time occupancy of nightly rentals has plummeted from its peak while available listings continue to grow. What does this mean for real estate prices? The two...
The above is a picture of my windshield after a chance early morning encounter with an elk; I walked away while my car was basically totaled. Why is 2025 the year of the elk as elk should typically be the least of your worries? What does this mean for the upcoming...
We all know rents have increased, but the reason seems to be alluding our elected officials. The new scapegoat for rising rents is being pinned on artificial intelligence as the root cause of high rents and one company in particular. Why is the government now...
2024 was set to be the big recovery in real estate with rates lowering setting us up for a great 25. Instead, rates are hovering around 7%, inventory is rising, and long term treasuries are pointing to higher rates for longer. What does this mean for 25? ...
When I was writing this article mortgage rates were hovering right around 7%. At the same time economists had been predicting a sharp decline in mortgage rates and a booming 2024 real estate market as the fed has cut rates. On the other hand, the chart above...
The chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, has released his 2025 and 2026 predictions for residential real estate and they were a huge surprise. What is Yun predicting for real estate prices, interest rates, and appreciation? How...
There is a mantra being used in small/regional banks that is “survive until 2025”. In essence the theory is that rates will drop precipitously and basically “bail out” many banks’ portfolios. Banks are in turn pushing out maturity dates hoping for a market bail out....
In a surprise move, Rocket mortgage is acquiring the real estate brokerage company Redfin for 1.8 billion. Why is a mortgage company interested in a real estate broker? What does this mean for realtors, consumers, and competitors? Will this purchase...
Over the last 100 years or so counties have operated under the assumption that if property taxes (or in some cases water/sewer, etc…) are not paid then the county can “take” the property for the unpaid taxes. A recent supreme court ruling radically alters this...
Condominium owners across the country are facing a paralyzing problem: They can’t sell their properties because of a fast-growing and mostly secret mortgage blacklist. Don’t worry this is not some crazy conspiracy from the government. I’ve experienced this first...
This newest property tax measure that passed has been deemed the most controversial in the US. What was in the new measure? What state (hint it wasn't a far right or left state)passed a controversial law to protect private property rights by...
The chart above is very surprising. When the market is predicting a slowdown or a recession, gold typically rises and treasuries also rise, typically in tandem. The exact opposite is happening now as bond prices are falling and yields are rapidly increasing in the...
Are the bulls running or are the bears coming? Any business media you pick up is harping on the idea of a “recession watch” and the economy is basically coming to an end! On the flip side my proprietary lending data is giving me a radically different answer. What...
For years, myself, and many others have thought that interest rates were the predictor of housing prices. Fast forward to post COVID where interest rates have doubled and yet housing prices remain high and are still trending higher in many markets. What other...
70% of lumber and 30% of drywall comes from Canada which could be subject to tariffs, what does this mean for the average build cost of a house? What does the chart above have to do with Tariffs? Will tariffs meaningfully impact real estate build costs and...
In almost every real estate advertisement I receive, there is a common theme that prospective buyers should not focus on the rate as they will be able to refinance relatively soon at a much lower rate. How true is this theory? (hint anyone who bought into...
Look at the graph above, what has caused my closing to surge in 2025 while overall real estate closing volumes have plummeted? What does this mean for real estate? Don’t get me wrong, I like to think the surge in closings is because I’m an amazing lender and a great...
Wow, look at the huge increases in credit scores over the last 15 years. This has occurred even as student debt, auto debt, and credit card debt have all surged. Has the US all the sudden become much more credit worthy or has something else changed? What does this...
Higher income consumers are showing signs of stress. Look at the chart above, from the peak in 2022 higher end consumers intent to spend has dropped almost 25%. What does the chart mean for real estate and the general economy? Why focus on higher end consumers?...
The bank mantra over the last 3 years has been survive until 2025. 2025 is when bankers were predicting a sharp decline in rates that would ultimately bail out the beleaguered commercial property market. Here we are at the dawn of 2025 and 10 year treasuries and...
I took the pic above of a house after a small fire in CO. I’m amazed the house had made it. Unfortunately thousands of property owners in LA are not as lucky. The recent fires in LA are estimated to cost upwards of 50 billion making it one of the costliest...
Wow, 2024 was definitely a surprise, at the beginning of the year, there were huge predictions of a rapid decline in rates, fast forward to 2025 and now rates are actually rapidly increasing even after the federal reserve cut short term rates. Why are rates...
Take a look at this chart above, focus on the bottom two lines, in Pink is Vail (MTN) and in Green is Target (TGT). Why are they trending the same way? Now look at the purple line Costco, notice a huge divergence? What type of skier/snowboarder are you? What does...
Fannie Mae, one of the largest buyers of residential mortgages has some profound predictions. Will house prices continue their upward trend through 2030? How accurate are the predictions below? How can house prices continue in such a linear fashion? Will...
After peaking around 215 dollars, Airbnb stock has taken a tumble of almost 40%. At the same time occupancy of nightly rentals has plummeted from its peak while available listings continue to grow. What does this mean for real estate prices? The two...
The above is a picture of my windshield after a chance early morning encounter with an elk; I walked away while my car was basically totaled. Why is 2025 the year of the elk as elk should typically be the least of your worries? What does this mean for the upcoming...
We all know rents have increased, but the reason seems to be alluding our elected officials. The new scapegoat for rising rents is being pinned on artificial intelligence as the root cause of high rents and one company in particular. Why is the government now...
2024 was set to be the big recovery in real estate with rates lowering setting us up for a great 25. Instead, rates are hovering around 7%, inventory is rising, and long term treasuries are pointing to higher rates for longer. What does this mean for 25? ...
When I was writing this article mortgage rates were hovering right around 7%. At the same time economists had been predicting a sharp decline in mortgage rates and a booming 2024 real estate market as the fed has cut rates. On the other hand, the chart above...
The chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, Lawrence Yun, has released his 2025 and 2026 predictions for residential real estate and they were a huge surprise. What is Yun predicting for real estate prices, interest rates, and appreciation? How...
There is a mantra being used in small/regional banks that is “survive until 2025”. In essence the theory is that rates will drop precipitously and basically “bail out” many banks’ portfolios. Banks are in turn pushing out maturity dates hoping for a market bail out....
