Tag Archive for: housing

Why Do We HATE Each Other So Much? And Why Does It Matter For Housing?

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America has not been this contentious or polarized since the Civil War – as most readers know. Many people blame social media for this polarization. The ability to post online without being face-to-face and the ability to post anonymously – seems to foster much more contentious and polarizing discourse.Read More

Will Housing Prices Drop In 2024?

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RFK says that 3 giant corporations (BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street) will own 60% of America’s single-family homes by 2030, if they continue their buying trajectory. So, that huge amount of demand would be bullish for housing prices – despite the repercussions. BUT – the housing bears have been claiming for months that these same firms are going to start dumping all of their inventory, and thus crash the market. So – which is it? Excess demand from all the buying, or excess supply from all the selling? This is just a reminder that nobody actually has a clue what will happen over the long term – or even in 2024. I am, however, going to briefly set out the bullish and bearish arguments – and explain why I remain bullish.Read More

No Building + Growing Population = Strong Housing Market EVEN IF RATES ARE AT 6%!

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There were about 2.3 million new homes constructed in 1973 – a number we have not seen since. This is not that big of a deal until you remember that the entire population of the U.S. was only about 211 million (compared to 332 million now). Over the last year, we have built about 1.3 million homes, when, again, the U.S. population was over 330 million!Read More

What Is A Jumbo Loan In California?

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A jumbo loan in California is a loan amount that exceeds the conforming county loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). A jumbo loan is a conventional (not government-insured) mortgage loan.Read More

2022 Predictions: Fed, Inflation, Stocks, Interest Rates, Housing, & Rents

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Happy New Year! Here are some predictions for 2022. I am sharing these predictions, however, for two reasons: (1) they are from Barry Habib and he has been more accurate than anyone over the last several years; and (2) they involve factors that significantly influence the mortgage and real estate industries – and are encouraging overall.Read More

Still No Housing Bubble – Because Rates Are 3% Lower Than In 2006!

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MBS HIGHWAY HITS HOUSING BUBBLE AGAIN Barry Habib, Founder of the MBS Highway, hates it when the media spreads irrational fear about a housing bubble. He also shares marketing materials […]Read More

Americans Can No Longer Move To Hot Job Markets; Does It Matter?

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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SAVES ECONOMY? Southwest Airlines and the proliferation of nationwide newspapers (like USA TODAY) were a major reason we saw so much economic growth in the 1980s. So said […]Read More

Missed Rent Payments Are OK – Or Are They?

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WOULD YOU DO THIS LOAN? It was sometime in 2006 when a rep I knew well from the now defunct Washington Mutual (WaMu) called me to ask if I personally […]Read More

Why Housing Is Actually More Affordable Today Than In 1980!

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WHY HOMES ARE MORE AFFORDABLE TODAY In the midst of my daily excursion into the bowels of Twitter, I saw a great tweet from the Center for Human Progress. It […]Read More

4 Must-Know Facts About INFLATION, Housing, And Mortgages

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With inflation here and only expected to get worse, many potential buyers are getting nervous and wondering what to do. As a result, I thought I’d address a few major considerations today.Read More

2.7 Million Borrowers Still In Forbearance; Foreclosure Crisis Coming?

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The WSJ reported recently that 2.7 million borrowers are still in forbearance. That is about 5.5% of all borrowers, down from about 8.5% in June, but the number of borrowers […]Read More

How Do Elections Affect The Housing Market?

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The best blogs come from plywood companies. I always say that. Or at least today I do b/c I found this excellent blog, titled “Presidents and Plywood – How Elections […]Read More

Goldman Sachs Loves Housing Still; COVID-19 Will Push People Away From Cities

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In October, I blogged about my millennial nephew paying $4,250 per month in rent in San Francisco. I pointed out that the property he was renting was worth about $2 […]Read More