October 2, 2026
The Fed’s October Rate Hike Is Losing Altitude
The probability that the Fed leaves its target range unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00% moved the other way, today, from 35.8% a week ago to 82.8%.
Articles for category: 2026 POST
October 1, 2026
A New Credit-Score Rivalry
Getting a conventional mortgage used to require FICO credit approval. But now, the next question for lenders may be: Which credit score do you use?
September 27, 2026
Condo Intervention
Condo markets nationwide are in peril. It's time for an intervention. Fewer owners are finding buyers. Inventory has climbed, marketing times have lengthened, and a growing number of sellers are competing for a shrinking pool of purchasers.
September 24, 2026
The High-Level LLM DC Market Forecasting Shaggy Dog Story
I gave market data to one of OpenAI's highest-level reasoning models and asked it to build a 12-month probabilistic DC real estate market forecast.
September 21, 2026
The 5.9% Mortgage Rate Pipedream
A 5.9% 30-year mortgage rate is looking considerably more like a pipedream now than it did this spring. Fannie Mae’s September 2026 forecast now puts the average 30-year rate at 6.8% in the fourth quarter, followed by 6.7% throughout 2027.
September 18, 2026
Has “Too Big to Fail” Become Ubiquitous?
The country's largest financial institutions have become so enormous and connected that allowing one to collapse could threaten the entire system.
September 9, 2026
Why Your Condo Purchase May Fail Due To The Association’s Insurance Policy
You're a condo buyer. You have excellent credit, plenty of income and a solid down payment. But you still can't get a conventional mortgage on the unit you want to purchase. It's not you, it's them.
September 8, 2026
Rocket’s New Redfin CEO Doesn’t Want to Be Your Real Estate Broker.
Rocket Co. chose a new CEO for online real estate brokerage Redfin Corp. and he has no real estate experience. He's a Meta data guy.
September 4, 2026
Are Zillow’s “Lifestyle Renters” Just Buyer Wannabes?
Before Deciding Americans Prefer Renting, Maybe We Should Find Out If They Can Afford to Buy Zillow says something interesting is happening to the American renter. Once viewed largely as a temporary stop on the way to homeownership, renting is increasingly becoming a deliberate long-term choice, Zillow claims. It calls the people making it “lifestyle renters.” Renting Is A Legitimate Long-Term Option, Not A Fallback So says Zillow Chief Economist Mischa Fisher. For some people, it absolutely is. But Zillow points to another statistic as evidence of this changing attitude: Only 42% of renters say they would be very or
Those House-Hoarding Boomers
The claim: Boomers not only own nearly double the number of family-sized homes owned by millennials, they're keeping them longer, locking out younger generations.
Wall Street Says Real Estate Is Fine. Tell That To Everyone Else.
U.S. real estate sector numbers look attractive, but the gap between real estate viewed as a financial asset vs shelter has never been wider.
Virginia OKs ADUs On All Single Family Lots
On July 1, 2027, every locality in Virginia will be required to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) “by right” on single-family lots.