In this week’s discussion, the Lykken on Lending team dives deep into the forces shaping today’s mortgage market, from range-bound rates to a Federal Reserve that is showing more internal division than we’ve seen since the early Greenspan era. With mixed economic signals—strong GDP, elevated unemployment readings, and stale data delayed by the shutdown—industry leaders Bill Corbett, David Kittle, Alice Alvey, and Allen Pollack break down what’s truly driving market uncertainty and why a rate cut may not be the silver bullet many are hoping for. The conversation highlights a critical truth often overlooked in the headlines: today’s affordability crisis is rooted not in interest rates, but in years of insufficient housing inventory driven by land costs, regulation, and the reshaped post-pandemic market. This thoughtful debate offers clarity, context, and practical insight for lenders, loan officers, and executives navigating one of the most complex cycles in recent memory.