At the start of the year, I keep hearing the same thing from buyers, investors, and even agents: “Real estate has been a terrible investment lately.” On the surface, I get why people feel that way. According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices nationally rose about 1.7% last year. And if you stop there, […]

There’s been a lot of noise lately about housing affordability, and recently that noise got louder when the President signed an executive order aimed at banning institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. At first glance, this sounds like a huge win for buyers. After all, no one loves the idea of massive Wall Street funds […]

As we kick off the new year, mortgage rates are quietly settling into a range we haven’t seen in quite some time. From a technical standpoint, mortgage-backed securities have broken through key resistance levels — and that matters more than most headlines suggest. What does this mean for homeowners, buyers, and investors across the Southern California […]

Affordability has been the single biggest reason buyers have stayed on the sidelines over the past couple of years. And lately, the headlines are loud: “Rates have fallen!” “Now is the time to buy!” But what does affordability really look like today? Over the last several months, mortgage rates have quietly settled into one of the most stable […]

If you’ve been watching the Southern California housing market (or the Washington real estate scene), you know the last few years have felt like running a marathon in sand. Low inventory, affordability issues, and mortgage rate volatility have kept buyers, sellers, and even seasoned agents in a constant state of “is this the year things change?” […]

If you’ve been watching mortgage rates over the past year, you know it’s been a frustrating ride. Volatility, uncertainty, and stubbornly high rates have made affordability the biggest challenge in today’s housing market. But this week, we may have seen some early signs worth paying attention to. In my latest weekly update, I break down why […]

Affordability remains the #1 challenge in today’s housing market, especially across the Southern California housing market and the Pacific Northwest. After the latest Federal Reserve meeting, many buyers and homeowners are asking the same question: “If the Fed cut rates, why didn’t my mortgage rate drop the same amount?” In the latest update, Bill from Franklin Loan Center […]

When you look at today’s housing headlines, you’d think the real estate market is in freefall. Articles are shouting that “prices are falling everywhere” or that the market is on the brink of collapse. But when you dig into the actual data, the story is far more stable — and far more predictable — than […]

When the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced a projected 4% home price appreciation, the immediate reaction from many buyers and investors across Southern California and Washington was… “Only 4%? That’s weak.” But here’s the truth:4% appreciation in real estate is NOT a 4% return on your money — because real estate is a leveraged asset. And that […]

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the idea of a 50-year mortgage — reportedly floated by Trump and developer Bill Pulte — as a potential way to help solve the housing affordability crisis. On the surface, a longer loan term sounds like an easy fix: stretch out the payments and make homes more affordable. But is […]