“What did the happy real estate agent put on her sign? I have lots to be thankful for.” (Feel free to use that gem at your next presentation at Sotheby’s.) In response to yesterday’s opening paragraph comments about housing supply, from Maryland Ken Sonner sent an article about how New Zealand managed to shift its zoning to help alleviate the supply issues and lower rents. People like lists for some reason, and here is the “The 15 most in-demand ZIP codes for U.S. homebuyers, and #1 is in Ohio.” But heading back to inventory, affordable housing, and such, the topic is certainly percolating up to Capitol Hill. A bipartisan duo in the U.S. Senate introduced a bill that would address a shortage of affordable housing in rural communities by easing the process for non-profits to acquire properties with USDA rural housing loans. It would also decouple the related rental assistance so that the assistance doesn’t end when the mortgages mature. (
If I had a dollar for every time someone called me a boring nerd, I'd have a mean daily income of $5.64 with a standard deviation of $1.25. Turning “boring” into “interesting” is something to be proud of. How about a hand-held miniature chainsaw or a shopping cart with a magnifying glass attached for reading labels? For loan originators, new and old, who think creativity has vanished from residential lending, maybe they should focus on the basics. This eBook has been recommended to me: “The Ultimate Borrower Communications Strategy for Mortgage Lenders.” I recently received this note from a successful loan officer. “Rob, my commissions in 2020 and 2021 were over $500k each year. In 2022 they dropped about 50 percent to about $250k. 2023 promises to be even lower, and I’ll be lucky to make $200k. Are you seeing this everywhere?” Yes, I am. But keep things in perspective. In the U.S., and certainly in the world, $200k