HousingWire Daily

The last week has seen a flurry of big real estate news. In this episode of HousingWire Daily, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler interviews Tracey Velt, editorial director at RealTrends, about real estate M&A, the shakeup in leadership at RE/MAX, the drama over buyer agent commissions, and more.

One of real estate’s biggest stories of the new year is that luxury real estate group Douglas Elliman has broken off from the Vector Group and is now its own publicly-traded company. For this episode of HousingWire Daily, Douglas Elliman CEO Scott Durkin spoke with HousingWire real estate reporter Matthew Blake about the luxury brokerage’s decision to break away from Vector, whether Wall Street properly values brokerages, and life for real estate agents amid Omicron.

Even while COVID variants affect everything from school closings to supply chains, demand for housing remains unabated. In a rapidly changing environment, what should those in real estate and mortgage expect as far as housing inventory, mortgage rates, home prices and more? In this episode of HousingWire Daily, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler and HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discuss articles by economists in our forecast series that tackle these issues.

Last week’s jobs report missed estimates, but the overall picture is still very positive, with total unemployment at 3.9%. In this episode of HousingWire Daily, Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami joins Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler to discuss the jobs report and the significance of having both the unemployment rate and mortgage interest rates under 4%.

After a quiet holiday period the FHFA announced big news this week for those in mortgage. On Wednesday they hiked fees for high-balance and second-home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then rejected the long-awaited Duty to Serve plans from the GSEs. In this episode of HousingWire Daily, Senior Mortgage Reporter Georgia Kromrei joins Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler to discuss the news out of D.C. this week and how that impacts mortgage lending.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrending. In this episode, Tracey Velt, editorial director at RealTrends, interviews Ryan Serhant, the founder of New York-based brokerage SERHANT. and the star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing: New York” and “Sell it Like Serhant.” Serhant came on the show to give his opinion on the iBuyer business model, discuss the future of real estate teams, and dispel any misconceptions that people might have about his brokerage.

For this week’s episode of Houses in Motion, which is part of HousingWire Daily, the founder of AVM testing company AVMetrics Lee Kennedy spoke with HousingWire real estate reporter Matthew Blake about the capabilities, limitations, and necessity of AVMs, as well as the complex data that goes into making decisions.

What’s 2022 got in store for those in origination and servicing? We unpack the uncertain future on today’s HousingWire Daily with guest Brena Nath, managing editor of HW+. In this episode of HousingWire Daily, Nath joins Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler to discuss the predictive articles in the January issue of HousingWire magazine, which includes experts like the MBA’s Marina Walsh on the possibility of LO layoffs and what the latest forbearance exits mean for servicers.

Housing demand soared in 2021, putting upward pressure on home prices as homebuyers competed for scarce inventory. But Logan Mohtashami, HousingWire’s lead analyst, doesn’t think the run-up in prices means we’re due for a housing crash. In this episode of HousingWire Daily, Mohtashami joins Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler to outline what was good, bad and actually excellent about the housing market in 2021. The two discuss Mohtashami’s 2021 end-of-year recap of the housing market, as well as his housing market forecast for 2022.

This episode of HousingWire Daily is a crossover with RealTrending and features an interview with Robert Reffkin, the CEO of Compass. Reffkin looks back on Compass’ growth over the past decade and shares what he thinks will be the driving force behind the company moving forward, including a more agent-focused approach and the development of more core services.HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

The year 2021 is ending with the news that COVID infections are, again, on the rise nationally. What this means for real estate is more of the same, said Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University, and that’s not a good thing. On this episode of Houses in Motion, part of HousingWire Daily, Johnson discussed with HousingWire Real Estate Reporter Matthew Blake that the public’s and government response to COVID could mitigate plans to increase mortgage interest rates. Also, the construction of new inventory could further stall.

Private label securitizations were on fire this year. Helped along early in 2021 by a GSE cap on investment properties, the private label market saw huge year-over-year increases. In today’s episode of HousingWire Daily, HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler interviews Senior Mortgage Reporter Bill Conroy, who covers the secondary mortgage market for HousingWire, on the rise of the private label market, the new conforming loan limits, and a recent report by Kroll Ratings on risky loan-review practices.

In this episode of HousingWire Daily, HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler interviews Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami on his 2022 forecast, discussing what we can expect over the next year and what has surprised him most as he looks at the data from last year.Mohtashami is one of the few experts predicting mortgage rates could actually go lower in 2022 based on the 10-year yield. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Over the last several weeks we’ve seen layoffs of mortgage loan officers and other staff at Freedom Mortgage and Interfirst Mortgage, as well as a complete PR nightmare that resulted from Better.com laying off 900 staff members on a Zoom call. This week, Senior Mortgage Reporter Matthew Blake wrote about how Knock, a power buyer, announced it was going to cut LO salaries on Tuesday, then reversed course after hearing from its staff. On this episode of HousingWire Daily Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler interviews Blake about his reporting on the Knock story and what it might mean in the context of a quickly changing home-buying landscape.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features another episode of the Preparing for What’s Next miniseries, sponsored by Black Knight and hosted by Managing Editor of Content Solutions Maleesa Smith. In today’s episode, Smith is joined by Julian Grey, executive vice president of Mortgage & Capital Markets Product Management at Black Knight, to conclude the miniseries and discuss what is next across multiple facets of the housing industry.

Frederick Peters started in real estate in 1980, and he began managing the family business, the Warburg Peters brokerage, in 1991. But New York real estate’s days of old - property listings written on file cards, agents tipping doormen to generate leads - has changed, and with it Peters’ brokerage. Realogy-owned Coldwell Banker bought the brokerage in October. Peters said his agents could not keep up with competitors absent the merger. For this episode of Houses in Motion, a podcast miniseries that is part of HousingWire Daily, HousingWire real estate reporter Matthew Blake interviewed Peters about his thoughts and feelings behind the merger, and what has changed in New York City real estate.

Today’s episode of HousingWire Daily continues our Women of Influence series and features an interview with Christy Schwartz, the chief accounting officer at Opendoor. Schwartz joined us on the show today to discuss her role at Opendoor and how she found herself in the industry. Additionally, she shares a glimpse behind the scenes of Opendoor’s going public last year and some of the unexpected things about doing the entire process remotely.

Today’s HousingWire Daily continues the Rundown miniseries, hosted by HousingWire’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wheeler and featuring Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami. In this episode, Mohtashami discusses homebuilders and the all-time lows in housing inventory. Mohtashami also discusses inflation growth and how the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool down the economy will impact mortgage rates.HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a sponsored Reggora episode, hosted by HousingWire’s managing editor of Content Solutions, Maleesa Smith. In today’s episode, Smith is joined by Brian Zitin, CEO and co-founder of Reggora, to discuss what 2022 has in store for appraisals. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features another episode of the Preparing for What’s Next miniseries, sponsored by Black Knight and hosted by Managing Editor of Content Solutions Maleesa Smith. In today’s episode, Smith is joined by Michael Saccento, senior director of product management, advisory & data science products at Black Knight, as well as Richard Lombardi, senior vice president of data strategy & innovation at Black Knight, to discuss what the future holds for real-time data and analytics.

For this episode of Houses in Motion, a podcast series that is part of HousingWire Daily, real estate reporter Matthew Blake interviewed Howard “Hoby” Hanna IV, grandchild of the founder of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, a brokerage founded in Pittsburgh 64 years ago. They discuss the current level of competition in real estate, and operating a modern brokerage and Hanna was candid about where his brokerage, a private company, generates revenue and how it manages costs and operations of its marketing and technology.

Today’s episode of HousingWire Daily continues our Women of Influence series and features an interview with Vanessa Famulener, the president of homes at HomeLight. During the interview, Famulener discusses what she and her team at HomeLight plan to do with its new $363 million funding round and how it found success in its cash offer program launch. Additionally, she shares her thoughts on where home prices, competition, and bidding wars are heading as the market moves into a new year.

Today’s HousingWire Daily continues the Rundown miniseries, hosted by HousingWire’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wheeler and Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami. In this episode, Mohtashami discusses what the jobs data, changes in the bond market, and the Omicron variant could mean for housing. Mohtashami also explains why he doesn’t expect mortgage rates to rise in 2022, and why he’s raised his first recession warning flag. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrending. In this episode, Tracey Velt, editorial director at RealTrends, a HousingWire sister company, interviews Tommie Wehrle, who is the co-chair of the LGBTQ+ REALPRIDE Realogy employee group, a Coldwell Banker Realty instructor and broker-associate, and member of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. During the episode, Wehrle discusses some of the common issues encountered when serving the LGBTQ+ community and how to combat them by building a more inclusive and diverse brokerage team.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features another episode of the Preparing for What’s Next miniseries, sponsored by Black Knight and hosted by Managing Editor of Content Solutions, Maleesa Smith. In today’s episode, Smith is joined by Mike Sklarz, managing director of the collateral analytics division of Black Knight, and Damien Weldon, vice president of real estate analytics at Black Knight, to discuss what’s next in the valuations space.

What shifts happening in real estate today will change how homes are bought and sold? And which disruptions will be forgotten five years from now? For this episode of Houses in Motion, part of HousingWire Daily, HousingWire real estate reporter Matthew Blake posed those questions to Shaival Shah, the CEO of Ribbon, a New York City company that, up to now, has been giving cash loans to prospective homebuyers in half-a-dozen southern states. Ribbon is a “power buyer,” meaning that they facilitate a consumer making a cash offer on a home. Shah contends that cash consistently stands out to sellers weighing offers. Ribbon’s business model raises a few big-picture questions. One, will we continue into the indefinite future with a high-demand real estate market that requires extraordinary measures like an all-cash offer? Also, is Shah right that there is a growing legion of single-family home investors hoarding inventory? And where do traditional intermediaries, namely the real estate agent, fit into Ribbon’s plans?

Today’s HousingWire Daily continues the Rundown miniseries, hosted by HousingWire’s editor-in-chief Sarah Wheeler and lead analyst Logan Mohtashami. In this episode, Mohtashami discusses how the new COVID variant, Omicron, will impact inflation and whether or not it will send mortgage rates lower. Mohtashami also discusses his HW+ article that examines the latest pending home sales report that shows a big beat of estimates. According to him, we can officially label the 2021 housing crash bears as even worse than the 2020 housing crash bears.HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a sponsored Fannie Mae episode, hosted by HousingWire’s managing editor of Content Solutions Maleesa Smith. In today’s episode, Smith is joined by Steve Holden, Vice President of Single-Family Analytics at Fannie Mae, to discuss what lenders can do to help more renters become homeowners. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

The twofold problems with residential real estate appraisers have become well-established. One is an array of well-publicized stories of appraisers undervaluing a home because the homeowner is Black. The other, arguably related issue, is that the ranks of U.S. appraisers are perilously thin and the profession is dominated by white men, whose average age is 61, according to the Appraisal Institute. In this episode of Houses in Motion, a series that is part of the HousingWire Daily podcast lineup, St. Petersburg, Florida-based appraiser Francois “Frank” Gregoire discusses both these issues, but also dives into specifics about what professional appraisal organizations, the federal government, and individual appraisers can do to address them. This podcast gets into the weeds at times with, for example, how someone becomes qualified to become an appraiser, and how those standards may change. But these are the specific discussions that will shape appraisers’ future relevance in a housing transaction.

Today’s episode of HousingWire Daily continues our Women of Influence series and features an interview with Katie Johnson, the chief member experience officer and general counsel at the National Association of Realtors. During the interview, Johnson talks about her start in the real estate industry and her surprising path to the NAR general counsel after only six years at the organization. She also shares her teams’ COVID-19 preparedness response and their efforts to demystify NAR’s professional services for homebuyers.

Today’s HousingWire Daily begins the Rundown miniseries, hosted by HousingWire’s editor-in-chief Sarah Wheeler and lead analyst Logan Mohtashami. In this episode, Mohtashami discusses his latest HW+ article that examines the National Association of Realtors’ existing home sales report that indicates sales grew 0.8% in October. According to Mohtashami, this growth is above his trend sales peak of 6.2 million, meaning existing home sales are now outperforming as demographics remain strong in 2021. The discussion also includes insight on changes in the real estate market over the last week and how they impact housing on a macro level. Mohtahsimi examines inflation, inventory, and shares his predictions on how mortgage rates will behave in 2022. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrends’ podcast RealTrending, which showcases the brightest minds in real estate and the housing market. In this episode, Steve Murray, RealTrends advisor and industry stalwart, discusses the real estate crisis in China and the implications it could have for the U.S. real estate industry and governmental regulations. He also shares some of the recent innovations in financing services and, additionally, how relationships are still the driving force behind the housing industry.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features another episode of the Preparing for What’s Next miniseries, sponsored by Black Knight and hosted by Assistant Editor of Content Solutions Jordan White. In today’s episode, White is joined by Andy Walden, Vice President of market research at Black Knight, and Conrad Ficca, Vice President of Loan Data Products, also known as McDash, to discuss what’s coming next as borrowers leave forbearance.

This past week the National Association of Realtors held their annual conference, taking over the elephantine San Diego convention center for six days, 200 sessions, and a debate on everything from the right customer relationship management system to racism in housing to how to best deal with U.S. Justice Department antitrust officials. This week's episode of Houses in Motion, part of HousingWire Daily, features an interview with Lisa Dunn, of Laurel Real Estate Resources in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, who was at the conference from start to finish and is one of the 1.54 million-strong organization’s 800-plus board members. HousingWire real estate reporter Matthew Blake spoke with Dunn on the conference’s penultimate day about the topics being discussed in the convention, including changes in NAR committee structures and MLS information transparency.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a roundtable discussion on how the eClose explosion is reshaping the mortgage experience for lenders, hosted by HousingWire’s webinar manager Allision LaForgia. The conversation features Craig Focardi, the senior analyst of banking at Celent, Shane Westra the chief product officer at SimpleNexus, and Matt Hansen, the chief information officer at Celebrity Home Loans.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover with the Housing News podcast, where HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath interviews the senior vice president of settlement services operations at Radian, Jill Cadwell. During the episode, Cadwell discusses automated decision engines within the mortgage industry and, additionally, some of the challenges and pain points for lenders amid the pandemic.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrending. In this episode, Tracey Velt, editorial director at HW Media Company RealTrends, interviews Sherry Chris, the CEO and president of Realogy Expansion Brands, which includes Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and ERA Real Estate. During the interview, Chris discusses the one-stop shop brokerage model and some of the things that brokerages can do to help counter margin compression. She also shares how to shield your real estate business in a changing market.

Today’s HousingWire Daily is the second episode of the Preparing for What’s Next miniseries, sponsored by Black Knight and hosted by Assistant Editor of Content Solutions Jordan White. In today’s episode, White is joined by Andy Walden, vice president of market research at Black Knight, and Brennan O’Connell, data solutions manager for Black Knight’s Secondary Marketing Technologies division. Walden and O’Connell discuss what’s next in mortgage origination and the current transition to an equity-centric housing market. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Why are homes owned by white people valued more than homes owned by Black people?For this week’s Houses in Motion, a podcast miniseries part of HousingWire Daily, HousingWire’s real estate reporter Matthew Blake spoke with Michael Neal. Neal is a researcher at the Urban Institute, who has extensively studied not just the racial homeownership gap but the racial valuation gap. Neal also discussed the nuts and bolts of valuation models themselves. Our conversation, for example, touched on the valuation model that Zillow attempted to use for the iBuying program it is winding down.

Today’s episode of HousingWire Daily continues our Women of Influence series and features an interview with Adrienne Goolsby, the Senior Vice President for U.S. and Canada operations for Habitat for Humanity International. Goolsby joined us on the show to discuss her team's work to ensure long term affordable housing in a post-pandemic world During the interview, she talks about Habitat for Humanity’s initiatives to help people across the globe secure safe housing, including programs like Veterans Build and Aging in Place. She also shares some of the ways that people can aid in Habitat for Humanity’s mission to help people.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with RealTrends' podcast RealTrending, which showcases the brightest minds in real estate and the housing market. In this episode, Steve Murray, RealTrends advisor,and industry stalwart, discusses the increased amount of competition among productive agents due to market segmentation. Murray also discusses brokerage culture and shares an update on the mergers and valuations market.​​HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch. If you have a pitch or an inquiry relating to podcasts, you can reach our team at [email protected]

When do prices in a market rise so fast that they become detached from a home’s “true” value? That’s something Ken Johnson, a long-time real estate professor at Florida Atlantic University, has been studying of late. Johnson compiles a monthly list of markets that he views as overvalued with places like Boise, Idaho, and Ogden, Utah ranking high on the list. Johnson argues that in some of the most overvalued markets, people are better off renting Johnson joined the Houses in Motion podcast on HousingWire Daily to discuss how an overvalued market is determined and when might be a good time for homebuyers to rent, and real estate agents to cool their heels. He argues that in some of the most overvalued markets, people are better off renting. Johnson also spoke with HousingWire reporter Matthew Blake about his time as an agent in the pre-Internet era, and changes in sales commissions over the years.

Today’s HousingWire Daily kicks off the first episode of the Preparing for What’s Next miniseries, sponsored by Black Knight and hosted by Assistant Editor of Content Solutions, Jordan White. In today’s episode, White is joined by Andy Walden, vice president of market research at Black Knight, and Mike Sklarz, managing director of the Collateral Analytics division, part of Black Knight. Walden and Sklarz discuss the future of the housing market and what’s next in housing inventory, prices, affordability, and interest rates.HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by Jordan White and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

In today’s HousingWire Daily, HousingWire’s editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler and Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami discuss how Zillow’s model crushed its iBuying business. Mohtahsami also discusses his recent HW+ article that claims despite the COVID-19 crisis, American household balance sheets look the best they have in years, meaning home prices may not decline for a while. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch. If you have a pitch or an inquiry relating to podcasts, you can reach our team at [email protected].

Today’s episode of HousingWire Daily continues our Women of Influence series and features an interview with Joni Pilgrim, the CEO and co-founder of Nationwide Appraisal Network. Pilgrim joined us on the show today to discuss her work as a HousingWire Women of Influence and what Nationwide Appraisal Network is doing as a leader in the industry. She also shares some of the biggest challenges facing the appraisal industry at large, including combating racial bias in the appraisal process and balancing the needs of remote clients.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a roundtable discussion on whether or not appraisals are the next big opportunity in mortgage fulfillment. During this conversation, Brian Zitin, the Co-Founder and CEO of Reggora, and Jonathan Corr, the former President and CEO of Ellie Mae, also discuss how appraisals are evolving and why lenders should be thinking about valuation right now. HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Elissa Branch.

Today’s HousingWire Daily features a crossover episode with the RMD Podcast, a monthly podcast covering hot topics in the reverse mortgage industry hosted by Chris Clow, editor at Reverse Mortgage Daily. The episode features an interview with Carol Dujanovich, the Vice President of Operations at Michigan-based 1st Nations Reverse Mortgage, who was recently appointed to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee. Dujanovich sits down with Clow to discuss the significance of the appointment and what the committee will aim to achieve under HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.

In this week’s RealTrending crossover episode, Tracey Velt, editorial director at HW Media Company RealTrends, interviews Chris Kelly and Christian Wallace. Kelly is the president and CEO of Ebby Halliday Companies, which is part of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices of America in Texas. Wallace is the head of the New York-based Better real estate group. This interview with Kelly and Wallace was originally featured in a panel at the recent HousingWire Annual event and focuses on the evolution and importance of core services for real estate brokerages.

For this episode of Houses in Motion, a podcast miniseries that is part of HousingWire Daily, we spoke with Holly Spencer Bunting, who is a compliance attorney at Mayer Brown where she represents mortgage companies. She shares a detailed guide to understanding RESPA, its history, and its current importance amid a surge of new joint ventures.

Today’s episode of HousingWire Daily continues our Women of Influence series and features an interview with Briana Ings, the vice president of product at Snapdocs. Ings joined us today to discuss what goes into the new product development process and to highlight how companies can benefit from adopting new technological processes into their workflow. She also shares her experience as a woman in the industry and how Snapdocs’ creates and ensures inclusivity for its workers through employee organizations.