The Mortgage Collaborative, the top co-op for mortgage companies, hosted its biannual conference in Nashville last week with more than 150 companies attending the event. Last year, the leading topic of discussion was the regulatory environment while this year it was all about technology and online security. Blend, Inc. a developer of consumer facing technology was there, hot off their recent $100M round of financing. Two of the biggest challenges for mortgage companies are where to place their next bets on technology and what to do with America’s changing demographics. BTW- the conference took a break on Monday for everyone to view the eclipse. Nashville was one of the few major cities where a total eclipse was visible. Unfortunately, when the big moment was about to occur, a giant cloud moved in front of the sun, blocking a clear view of the rare natural phenomenon for the 400,000 spectators who had come to Nashville from around the world. Oh well…
The usual solutions will not solve the current housing affordability crisis. Any solution that does not begin and end with a sustainable plan to radically increase housing supply is just noise. The barriers to increasing housing supply are complex and require the crucial cooperation of both public and private sectors, and more education.
It has been long understood that a nation of stakeholders makes for a strong union, and for that reason, closing the minority homeownership gap has been a goal and a topic of discussion for decades.
Between 2008 and 2012, more than six million people lost their homes to foreclosure, property values lost almost 40%, and non-distressed home sales fell to all-time lows. It was, without question, the worst real estate market since the great depression. Not surprisingly, the historic dip in the market was followed by a decade-long bull market, the likes of which we have never seen before. Residential real estate is a cyclical market. The...