Top of Mind

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Mike McNamara, co-founder and CEO of Samara, to talk about all things ADUs. ADUs, or accessory dwelling units, are small, self-contained residential units located on the same lot as an existing single-family home. You might know them as “granny flats” or “in-laws” or even “casitas.” And given the housing affordability crisis in our country, ADUs are starting to really gain traction as a potential solution for this. Mike gives us a primer on ADUs and why they hold so much promise for solving many of America’s housing challenges. About Mike McNamara Mike McNamara is the co-founder and CEO of Samara, a company that aims to improve the way we live, starting by holistically reimagining the home. Samara aspires to a brighter future through beautifully-designed products that balance comfort, sustainability, and simplicity. In 2020, McNamara was tapped by Joe Gebbia to lead an innovation team inside Airbnb. In 2022, the innovation team was moved out of Airbnb and reborn as Samara. Prior to Airbnb, McNamara spent 13 years as the CEO of Flex, a Fortune 500 company in the electronics manufacturing industry. Alongside the executive team, he grew the company to over 200,000 employees in 30 countries and generated over $25B in revenue. McNamara served as a Board member of MEMC (energy), Delphi (automotive), Flex (manufacturing and technology) and Slack (enterprise software). He currently serves on two public boards - Carrier and Workday. He also serves as an advisor to New Legacy which operates multiple investment funds. McNamara received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in business administration from Santa Clara University. Resources mentioned in this episode: Mike McNamara | LinkedIn Samara raises $41 million to bring high quality ADUs to every backyard in California and beyond Samara Mike Simonsen | LinkedIn Altos Research Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets. Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights: Altos on Twitter Mike on Twitter About Altos Research The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research. Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels. Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, recorded live at HousingWire’s The Gathering conference, Mike Simonsen sits down with Ginger Wilcox, President of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, to talk about her plans to grow the iconic international brokerage in a challenging market. Ginger shares insights into how they’re preparing their agents for what the future holds, why their size and scale helps them weather storms in the market, and the recommendations they’re giving home buyers to help them navigate and succeed. She also weighs in on AI and how technology is changing the consumer experience in real estate. About Ginger Wilcox Ginger Wilcox is the President of Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate and is responsible for the strategic growth and operations for the BHGRE global network of more than 12,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates and approximately 420 offices across the United States, Canada, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Australia, and Turkey. Ginger has held prominent leadership roles spanning real estate technology, brokerage, and transaction services. She has a proven track record of developing and growing unique brands in the industry, having served as Head of Industry Marketing and Relations for Trulia, an online real estate marketplace, where she focused on go-to-market strategies, marketing innovation and digital engagement. Before stepping into her current role, Ginger served as CEO of RealSure, the joint venture between Anywhere and Home Partners of America that developed innovative solutions to reduce friction in residential real estate transactions. Before RealSure, Ginger was Chief Experience Officer at Homepoint, a leading mortgage lender that, under Ginger’s strategic direction and brand building efforts, grew into the third largest wholesale mortgage lender and the tenth largest non-bank mortgage lender in the United States with over 400,000 customers. Resources mentioned in this episode: Ginger Wilcox on LinkedIn Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn Altos Research Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets. Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights: Altos on Twitter Mike on Twitter About Altos Research The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research. Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels. Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Jonah Coste from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to talk about the impact of the mortgage rate “lock-in” effect: where homeowners with low mortgage rates are unwilling to sell and purchase another home at much higher rates. Jonah shares the findings from FHFA’s recent study on this phenomenon - including the fact that for every percentage point that mortgage rates exceed the origination interest rate, the probability of sale is decreased by 18.1% - and details how this impacts home prices, affordability, and mobility. He also gives his take on whether the lock-in effect has already peaked, and how quickly it may recede from here. About Jonah Coste Jonah Coste conducts research on housing and mortgage markets at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and is especially interested in topics related to household decision-making and housing supply. He also has experience working on consumer finance topics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from George Washington University and his B.S. in Computational Finance from Carnegie Mellon University. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: What the mortgage rate lock-in effect is, how it’s measured, and why it’s important Key findings from the FHFA report, including how the lock-in effect decreases home sales and leads to higher prices The impact of the lock-in effect on mobility, choice, and affordability How California’s Prop 13 and other lock-in mechanisms prevent home sales How low rates created $3 trillion of net benefit to homeowners, and why we only get that benefit if we stay in our homes Whether the lock-in effect has already peaked, and how quickly it recedes from here Reasons why 2024 and 2025 may see expanding sales rates despite this lock-in effect Some reasons to be optimistic about affordability in the coming years Resources mentioned in this episode: Connect with Jonah on LinkedIn Federal Housing Finance Agency Working Paper 24-03: The Lock-In Effect of Rising Mortgage Rates Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn Altos Research Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets. Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights: Altos on Twitter Mike on Twitter About Altos Research The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research. Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels. Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Ed Pinto, senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), for a fascinating look at how housing policy shapes the market and the world we live in. Tapping into his decades of experience in the housing and mortgage markets, Ed shares lessons from the 2008 bubble we can apply to today, uses data to examine the relative merits of different housing policies over the years, and gives his take on how to tackle affordability and homelessness. He also talks about why he’s optimistic about the housing market in the years to come. About Ed Pinto Edward J. Pinto is a senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). A focus of his work continues to be the role of federal housing policy in the 2008 mortgage and financial crisis and how federal housing policy continues to create unwelcome distortions in the housing markets. More recently his research has focused on using light touch density to increase the supply of naturally affordable and inclusionary housing. Before joining AEI, Mr. Pinto was an executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s. Today, he is frequently interviewed on radio and television and often testifies before Congress. His writings have been published in trade publications and the popular press, including in the American Banker, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition, as the director of the AEI Housing Center, he oversees the monthly publication of the AEI Housing Market Indicators, which has replaced AEI’s monthly Housing Risk Watch and AEI’s FHA Watch. Mr. Pinto has a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: What data is best to use for understanding housing in the U.S. The biggest lessons of the 2008 bubble and what they tell us about today The real impacts of over a decade of low-interest rates Whether there’s a correction in home prices on the horizon How Federal government policy from 100 years ago seeded the affordability crisis of today Why affordability is so difficult for the government to solve When the government should stimulate housing demand, and when they shouldn’t What today’s mortgage environment tells us about the risks of mortgage defaults Why the McMansion boom is the result of poor city planning What cities should know about fixing homelessness What he’s optimistic about in American housing in the next decade Resources mentioned in this episode: Connect with Ed on LinkedIn American Enterprise Institute Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn Altos Research Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets. Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights: Altos on Twitter Mike on Twitter About Altos Research The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research. Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels. Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Bloomberg’s Conor Sen to talk about the big economic trends shaping the housing market. Conor shares his views on what to expect with interest rates, pinpoints key areas for strength in the economy, and looks at demographic shifts that will impact the housing market in the coming years. He also offers his take on how the election could affect the economy and what to watch for. About Conor Sen Conor Sen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who writes about financial markets, the economy, housing, cities, and demographics. He’s also the founder of Peachtree Creek Investments and has more than a decade of experience in portfolio management and risk management. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: What to expect for interest rates this year and why The key areas for strength in the economy and what that means for 2024 What a shifting labor market means for real estate Recession risks and how to anticipate it Whether the “Vibecession” is over and we’re now in “Vibespansion” Why there is still room for supply chain improvements to help the economy How shifting millennial demographics will impact housing over the next 5 years When Boomers will finally sell their homes Why higher migration is a big theme right now, and what that means for housing and the economy Why home builders can finally “play offense” for the first time since 2005 Election year impacts we should watch for Resources mentioned in this episode: Connect with Conor on LinkedIn Bloomberg Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn Altos Research Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets. Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights: Altos on Twitter Mike on Twitter About Altos Research The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research. Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels. Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.

Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos Research. If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch. Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.