Last week I asked all of you: Is the credit score a useless tool to determine risk? The real estate pros have spoken, the majority think (66%) think that the credit score is not the best tool to determine risk, while 34% still think that the credit...
I recently looked at two loan files, one had a 650 and one had a 750, which one was actually a riskier borrower (not the one with the higher score)? How can you now easily inflate your credit score? Is the score now useless? Why the huge changes in credit...
First, yes above is yours truly, hopefully you were not expecting Tom Cruise behind the keyboard 😊 In case you missed it, I was recently quoted in a Mortgage Professional America article: Fannie and Freddie are taking on more risk than anyone is admitting. ...
Many don’t know but the overwhelming majority of all loans originated are ultimately sold to governments sponsored entities like Fannie or Freddie that package the loans and sell as mortgage backed securities. This means that whatever Fannie and Freddie...
Last week I asked all of you where will interest rates be at the end of 2026? The real estate pros have spoken, the majority think (85%) that rates will stay about where they are at or head a little higher. Take a look at the chart below of interest...
It seems like all the economists are surprised that inflation continues at elevated levels and suddenly the market is in a panic about higher inflation. Am I the only one in the world that buys groceries, fills up my gas tank, goes out to eat, etc… Anyone...
Last week I asked all of you will real estate prices fall back to Covid levels? The real estate pros have spoken, I was floored at the results. My prediction is that it would be evenly split, but the results were just the opposite with 88%...
During the Covid real estate boom everything with 4 walls took off in price. Are these price gains sustainable? Will real estate fall back to Covid values, wiping out huge gains in real estate prices? Have prices already adjusted to pre covid levels in some...
The May inflation report is in, rising to the highest level in 3 years. Look at the chart above, out of nowhere yields have surged to almost 20-year highs and predictions exceeding 6%. The market is suddenly catching on that we have an inflation...
When I saw the headlines about NY reducing property insurance rates I was definitely intrigued. How can NY reduce property insurance rates 30% overnight while the rest of the country is facing double digit increases year over year? What is New York's secret?...
New government rules allow Crypto to be used for mortgage collateral. At the same time Crypto just hit its lows for the year plunging 52% over the last year while the S&P return is about + 24%. Should lenders accept crypto for mortgages? How does this impact...
Rents have made a quick U turn. After rising substantially over the last decade, they are quickly reversing course. Why are rents now falling? Is this just a trend or a blip. Look at the chart below, how does this alter the predictions on rents? ...
Last week I asked all of you what happens to mortgage rates based on recent events? The real estate pros have spoken, the majority think (70%) that rates will stay about where they are at or head a little higher. I was most surprised at how...
Look at this chart above, out of nowhere yields have made a U-turn with long term treasury yields surge to almost 20-year highs and predictions exceeding 6%. This is exactly the opposite of what economists had predicted at the beginning of the...
Recently Realtor.com and Zillow have been promoting “risk scores” for properties to reflect environmental risk from fires and floods. These new scores are radically altering real estate prices. What is included in the new scores? Are you impacted? How accurate...
Another uptick in the US’s annual inflation rate comes as little surprise as the US-Iran war rumbles on, but it’s still deepened uncertainty across the US housing market and clouded the interest rate outlook. “Based on the recent readings, I think any rate cuts are...
The housing market has a multi-billion dollar problem that nobody is talking about. Since the last recession economists harp on the fact that underwriting is so much better now than it was leading up to 2008. This is correct except for one lender, the federal...
Over the last 30+ years it has historically been more expensive to live inside a city versus the suburbs. The demand for urban living was huge over the last 20 years. This narrative is now changing with the suburbs in many major cities poised to overtake urban...
Zillow’s stock has plunged, losing 65% of its value over the last 5 years. To put this in perspective, the Nasdaq 100 has doubled during this same period. Why is Zillow, who was once an internet darling, now falling precipitously? What does this mean...
There has been considerable talk about stagflation now mirroring the 70s with high energy prices and low growth. Recently, all the data seemed to be pointing in this direction other than one metric. The economy keeps growing exceeding pretty much every...
Last week I asked all of you “Will the Compass Lawsuit with Zillow radically alter the way real estate is bought and sold in the United States?” The real estate pros have spoken and as you can see from the chart, the vote was pretty close 55% saying there would be a...
Like many of you, I hate it when I see headlines like above and am always a bit skeptical. Real estate has basically operated pretty much the same way for the last 20 years or so without any real structural changes, but a recent lawsuit against Zillow...
Last week I asked all of you will credit score shopping impact residential real estate? The real estate pros have spoken and as you can see from the chart, the overwhelming choice was that residential real estate would be impacted by the ability to shop for...
In case you missed it, I was recently quoted in a Mortgage Professional America article: Is this the perfect storm for housing. It is a great article focusing on the impact of interest rates, consumer confidence, etc.. on the spring housing season that is now...
Last week I asked all of you: Is the credit score a useless tool to determine risk? The real estate pros have spoken, the majority think (66%) think that the credit score is not the best tool to determine risk, while 34% still think that the credit...
I recently looked at two loan files, one had a 650 and one had a 750, which one was actually a riskier borrower (not the one with the higher score)? How can you now easily inflate your credit score? Is the score now useless? Why the huge changes in credit...
First, yes above is yours truly, hopefully you were not expecting Tom Cruise behind the keyboard 😊 In case you missed it, I was recently quoted in a Mortgage Professional America article: Fannie and Freddie are taking on more risk than anyone is admitting. ...
Many don’t know but the overwhelming majority of all loans originated are ultimately sold to governments sponsored entities like Fannie or Freddie that package the loans and sell as mortgage backed securities. This means that whatever Fannie and Freddie...
Last week I asked all of you where will interest rates be at the end of 2026? The real estate pros have spoken, the majority think (85%) that rates will stay about where they are at or head a little higher. Take a look at the chart below of interest...
It seems like all the economists are surprised that inflation continues at elevated levels and suddenly the market is in a panic about higher inflation. Am I the only one in the world that buys groceries, fills up my gas tank, goes out to eat, etc… Anyone...
Last week I asked all of you will real estate prices fall back to Covid levels? The real estate pros have spoken, I was floored at the results. My prediction is that it would be evenly split, but the results were just the opposite with 88%...
During the Covid real estate boom everything with 4 walls took off in price. Are these price gains sustainable? Will real estate fall back to Covid values, wiping out huge gains in real estate prices? Have prices already adjusted to pre covid levels in some...
The May inflation report is in, rising to the highest level in 3 years. Look at the chart above, out of nowhere yields have surged to almost 20-year highs and predictions exceeding 6%. The market is suddenly catching on that we have an inflation...
When I saw the headlines about NY reducing property insurance rates I was definitely intrigued. How can NY reduce property insurance rates 30% overnight while the rest of the country is facing double digit increases year over year? What is New York's secret?...
New government rules allow Crypto to be used for mortgage collateral. At the same time Crypto just hit its lows for the year plunging 52% over the last year while the S&P return is about + 24%. Should lenders accept crypto for mortgages? How does this impact...
Rents have made a quick U turn. After rising substantially over the last decade, they are quickly reversing course. Why are rents now falling? Is this just a trend or a blip. Look at the chart below, how does this alter the predictions on rents? ...
Last week I asked all of you what happens to mortgage rates based on recent events? The real estate pros have spoken, the majority think (70%) that rates will stay about where they are at or head a little higher. I was most surprised at how...
Look at this chart above, out of nowhere yields have made a U-turn with long term treasury yields surge to almost 20-year highs and predictions exceeding 6%. This is exactly the opposite of what economists had predicted at the beginning of the...
Recently Realtor.com and Zillow have been promoting “risk scores” for properties to reflect environmental risk from fires and floods. These new scores are radically altering real estate prices. What is included in the new scores? Are you impacted? How accurate...
Another uptick in the US’s annual inflation rate comes as little surprise as the US-Iran war rumbles on, but it’s still deepened uncertainty across the US housing market and clouded the interest rate outlook. “Based on the recent readings, I think any rate cuts are...
The housing market has a multi-billion dollar problem that nobody is talking about. Since the last recession economists harp on the fact that underwriting is so much better now than it was leading up to 2008. This is correct except for one lender, the federal...
Over the last 30+ years it has historically been more expensive to live inside a city versus the suburbs. The demand for urban living was huge over the last 20 years. This narrative is now changing with the suburbs in many major cities poised to overtake urban...
Zillow’s stock has plunged, losing 65% of its value over the last 5 years. To put this in perspective, the Nasdaq 100 has doubled during this same period. Why is Zillow, who was once an internet darling, now falling precipitously? What does this mean...
There has been considerable talk about stagflation now mirroring the 70s with high energy prices and low growth. Recently, all the data seemed to be pointing in this direction other than one metric. The economy keeps growing exceeding pretty much every...
Last week I asked all of you “Will the Compass Lawsuit with Zillow radically alter the way real estate is bought and sold in the United States?” The real estate pros have spoken and as you can see from the chart, the vote was pretty close 55% saying there would be a...
Like many of you, I hate it when I see headlines like above and am always a bit skeptical. Real estate has basically operated pretty much the same way for the last 20 years or so without any real structural changes, but a recent lawsuit against Zillow...
Last week I asked all of you will credit score shopping impact residential real estate? The real estate pros have spoken and as you can see from the chart, the overwhelming choice was that residential real estate would be impacted by the ability to shop for...
In case you missed it, I was recently quoted in a Mortgage Professional America article: Is this the perfect storm for housing. It is a great article focusing on the impact of interest rates, consumer confidence, etc.. on the spring housing season that is now...
