As I type this, I’m at the doctor’s office, and some guy a few seats over is booing all the names being called that aren’t his. Do you boo the products that you don’t have? Non-Agency lending, much of it in the form of non-QM loans, has been moving steadily higher at the expense of Freddie Mac’s and Fannie Mae’s market share. Are rates helping? I went back and looked at January 2 of this year. The 2-year Treasury was yielding 4.20 percent, and the 10-year was yielding 4.52, a difference of 32 basis points. Today we have them at 3.74 and 4.29, a difference of 55 basis points, so this difference, one measure of the steepness of the yield curve, has doubled. It is steeper. How’s your adjustable-rate product offering? ARMs now account for nearly 10 percent of applications, per the MBA. Our biz could certainly use a little boost: According to Curinos’ proprietary application index, refinances decreased 20 percent in July; the purchase index decreased 28 percent for July as a whole. July 2025 funded mortgage volume increased 2 percent YoY and decreased 2 percent MoM. (Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures. We drill into this data further here.) (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by FirstClose. FirstClose provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide, increases profitability and reduces costs for mortgage lenders through systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist borrowers more effectively and ultimately shorten closing times. Hear an interview with NFTYDoor’s Mark Schacknies on the reshaping of mortgage lending: from lightning-fast HELOC approvals and real-time AI underwriting to a human-plus-tech model that prioritizes loan officers over direct-to-consumer disruption.)

“Why is Ireland so expensive? House prices are always Dublin’.” Those days are temporarily over in the United States, and the pendulum is quickly swinging to more inventory and price cuts in many places and price points. (If you’re wondering where your client can pick up an average home for cheap: Most Affordable U.S. Cities to Buy a Home for $300k or less.) Of all the major metro markets, Phoenix boasted the greatest number of listings with price cuts, at 31.3%, up more than 7 percentage points from the same period last year amid rising inventory. (The typical home in Phoenix costs $525,000, representing a drop of more than 3% from May 2024.) Here in Tampa, citizens saw the second-biggest share of discounted listings, at just below 30%. The median list price in the Sunshine State market stood at $417,500, having shed 1.6% compared with the same time last year. Coming in at No. 3, Denver had 29.4% of local home sellers slash prices on their properties last month. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are presented by Flyhomes, the leading wholesale lender for Buy Before You Sell solutions. Whether your borrowers run into DTI issues, need to unlock home equity for down payment, make a stronger, cash-like offer, or even move potentially with no cash out of pocket, Flyhomes provides a full suite of financial products to help them move forward, before selling their current home. Hear an interview with LoanLogics’ Roby Robertson on the proliferation of the non-QM mortgage market, examining its key growth drivers, borrower trends, technological advancements, and how lenders are navigating risk and compliance amid shifting economic conditions.)

Most good loan originators are keenly aware of demographics in their area. Aren’t you tired of talking about a lack of inventory and builders’ supply lagging demand? Builders report that the number of unsold homes is the highest since 2009, and in Sunbelt MSAs, new homes are facing a lot of competition from existing homes coming on to the market. AIE writes that active listings are up 34 percent year-over-year. Per the Wall Street Journal, homebuilders are increasing the use of incentives to entice buyers. Meanwhile, for those U.S. citizens who enjoy living in cramped quarters and who are tired of being squeezed by sky-high rents, city dwellers are turning to “micro-apartments” (ultra-compact units under 441 square feet) for major savings, often slashing rent by half in pricey markets like San Francisco and D.C. Western metros are leading the charge, with micro-units dominating new builds in cities like Seattle and Boston, while places like Reno and Minneapolis are quickly catching up. Meanwhile, the South and Mountain West are holding out, with cities like Enterprise, NV, offering rentals nearly twice the size of their coastal counterparts. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by HomeEQ, the fully digital HELOC from Arc Home, which empowers brokers to quickly provide borrowers with easy access to their home equity. Brokers can benefit from competitive compensation, along with comprehensive training and a complete marketing plan designed to help them re-engage former clients and grow their business. Hear an interview with Bob Simpson on the evolving anti-fraud landscape, emerging threats in 2025, best practices for risk and anti-money laundering compliance, and some unforgettable stories from the front lines fighting fraud.)

I don’t know where April went, but we’re at the end of it, and 2025 is 1/3 over. The future sure quickly becomes the past. In the book “1984” George Orwell observed, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” What does that have to with today, or with residential lending? There’s no problem if there’s no one to research it, report on it in the news, or write about it, right? Of course, weather, which is related to the world’s climate, impacts servicers, insurance companies, and lenders. In this case, the Trump Administration has fired the entire U.S. climate panel: What it means for future research? The recent decision of the Trump administration to dismiss 400 authors of the National Climate Assessment will impact climate research and sideline people from knowing the impacts of climate change. Don’t forget that, a few months ago, hundreds of federal NOAA employees, including weather forecasters, were fired as part of DOGE cuts, as reported by Fox. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week is sponsored by CreditXpert, the credit optimization platform that helps today’s top mortgage originators and more than 60,000 mortgage professionals qualify more applicants, make more competitive offers, reduce LLPA premiums and close more loans. Hear an interview with LendingTree’s Matt Schulz on the most attractive states for out-of-state home shoppers.) Software, Products, and Services for Lenders and Brokers