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Top of Mind
Top of Mind episodes
- The Housing Market Game with Redfin’s Daryl Fairweather
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Dr. Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist for Redfin, to discuss the life and economic lessons in her new book, Hate the Game, and also dive into the latest data in the US housing market with Redfin’s unique point of view.
About Daryl Fairweather
Dr. Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist at Redfin and the author of the new book Hate the Game. At Redfin, she analyzes US housing markets and consumer behavior. She is a member of the advisory council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and was a former senior economist at Amazon. She is a regular contributor to Forbes, and she has been featured in 60 Minutes, Today, The New York Times, and Bloomberg, among other outlets. She has a degree from MIT and a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- What Beyoncé teaches us about game theory.
- What young buyers should know about buying a home
- Why the 2025 housing market theme is “disappointment”
- Why she thinks rents will start growing more expensive in 2026.
- Which homeowners and housing markets are facing the most distress now
- What Redfin’s “Buyer Demand Index” tells us about home sales for the rest of the summer
- Which signals to watch for a coming downturn
- What to know about millennial home buyers
- What happens to the housing market after 2030
Related to this episode:
- Hate the Game Book
- Daryl Fairweather, PhD| LinkedIn
Daryl Fairweather | X- Redfin
- Mike Simonsen | LinkedIn
- Altos
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos
A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets.
Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights:
- Altos on Twitter
- Mike on Twitter
About Altos
Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels.
Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.
The Top of Mind podcast features top real estate industry insiders and experts to unpack the most important housing, real estate, mortgage data and trends that are shaping the housing market. Hosted by Altos founder Mike Simonsen and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
1 hr - Lessons in Single-Family Rental with Amherst’s Sean Dobson
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Sean Dobson, the CEO and CIO of Amherst, to learn about the single-family rental business from a true market leader. Amherst is a vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and operating company with single-family residential, mortgage-backed securities, and commercial real estate. Amherst has $15B under management and owns 50,000 homes across 33 metropolitan areas in the US.
About Sean Dobson
Sean Dobson is the Chairman, CEO, and CIO of Amherst, where he leverages his 30+ years of expertise in U.S. real estate, mortgage, and securitized products to lead the firm’s investment strategy and oversee day-to-day strategic direction for the platform.
Sean has been leading Amherst for over 20 years, transforming the firm from regional broker dealer into a market-leading real estate investment, management, and operating platform. Sean and Amherst had an active role in educating the White House, Congress, and the Federal Reserve as they navigated a historic market during the great financial crisis.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
In this episode, Sean shares a candid and data-rich perspective on what’s really happening in the single-family rental market, how institutional capital has reshaped housing dynamics, and what it will take to solve the affordability crisis in the years ahead.
- How Amherst transitioned from a mortgage data platform to one of the largest single-family rental investors in the U.S.
- The surprising stats behind institutional investing and homeownership
- Why 85% of Amherst rental applicants can't qualify for a mortgage—and what that reveals about today’s affordability landscape.
- Learn the special indicators Amherst watches to understand local housing markets.
- Why institutional buyers now act as shock absorbers in market downturns
What owning 50,000 homes taught Amherst about maintenance, neighborhoods, and the hidden complexity of renting.- The long-term stability strategy: why Amherst doesn’t flinch when the market softens.
- The compelling new areas of the housing industry that Amherst is aiming for in the next decade.
If you want to understand the housing market not just from headlines, but from the ground level and the capital stack, this conversation is essential.Related to this episode:
- Amherst
- Sean Dobson | Amherst
- Sean Dobson | LinkedIn
- Mike Simonsen | LinkedIn
- Altos
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos
A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets.
Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights:
- Altos on Twitter
- Mike on Twitter
About Altos
Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels.
Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.
The Top of Mind podcast features top real estate industry insiders and experts to unpack the most important housing, real estate, mortgage data and trends that are shaping the housing market. Hosted by Altos founder Mike Simonsen and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
1 hr 7 min - Inventory is back to 2019 levels. Here’s what that means for 2025 (5/19/2025 Market Update)
Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos.
If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch.
Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos. A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.
16 min - More Home Sellers and More Home Sales in May (5/12/25 Market Update)
Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos.
If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch.
Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos. A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.
14 min - Tackling the Affordability Crisis with Dr. Arpit Gupta
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Dr. Arpit Gupta of NYU’s Stern School of Business. The two discuss Dr. Gupta’s important research on housing affordability, and the causes and cures of our unaffordable housing market. They uncover insights about which local regulations are the most negative for affordable housing, surprising data about how property taxes impact families and the market, and how home equity will impact future economic downturns.
About Arpit Gupta
Arpit Gupta is a professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business.Professor Gupta's research interests focus on using large datasets to understand default dynamics real estate and household finance. He received his B.S. in math and econ at the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in Finance and econ from Columbia Business School.Dr. Gupta has done really useful research on housing affordability. He’s studied the impact of housing regulation and taxation on affordability.Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- The ways in which regulation contributes to unaffordability in the housing market
- Which types of local regulations are the most negative for housing affordability
- Why low property taxes hurt young families
- One surprising reason that Texas real estate is more affordable than California
- What California does well and what it does poorly in the battle for affordability
- Why New York’s AirBnB ban didn’t help affordability
- How remote work has changed the housing market and what’s next
Related to this episode:
- Arpit Gupta | LinkedIn
- Arpit Gupta | X
- Arpit Gupta
- Mike Simonsen | LinkedIn
- Altos
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos
A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets.
Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights:
- Altos on Twitter
- Mike on Twitter
About Altos
Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels.
Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.
The Top of Mind podcast features top real estate industry insiders and experts to unpack the most important housing, real estate, mortgage data and trends that are shaping the housing market. Hosted by Altos founder Mike Simonsen and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
38 min - Home Sales Disappoint at the End of April (5/5/2025 Market Update)
Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos.
If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch.
Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos. A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.
14 min - Easter Driven Home Sales Dip Masks Recent Growth (4/28/25 Market Update)
Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos.
If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch.
Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos. A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.
15 min - Why April home sales are ahead of last year (4/21/25 Market Update)
Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos.
If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch.
Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos. A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.
17 min - Home sales continue to improve over last year, can it hold up? (4/14/25 Market Update)
Welcome to How’s the Market, our weekly look at what’s happening in the US housing market, powered by data from Altos.
If you want to see all the inventory, pricing, and supply and demand charts we reference in the show, head on over to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/altosresearch.
Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos. A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. Altos provides national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country, and the company is now part of HW Media, publisher of HousingWire and RealTrends. Mike uses Altos data to identify trends in the real estate market well before the headlines, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, Forbes and other publications.
17 min - The Next Chapter: Data is your license to think bigger with HousingWire's Clayton Collins
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike gets time with HW Media CEO and HousingWire publisher Clayton Collins to talk about the latest HousingWire Data company announcements, and explores the most important trends, people, and ideas driving our industry in 2025.
About Clayton Collins
Clayton Collins is the Chief Executive Officer of HW Media, the leading media and information services company for housing and real estate professionals. As Publisher of HousingWire, he drives the company’s mission to empower housing leaders with trusted journalism, proprietary data, and industry-leading events.
Since acquiring HousingWire in 2016, Clayton has led HW Media’s transformation into a multi-brand platform, expanding its reach through the acquisitions of RealTrends and Altos Research. Under his leadership, HW Media delivers critical market intelligence, data-driven insights, and high-impact events that inform and connect professionals across housing finance and real estate.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- What is HousingWire Data, and what does it mean for our clients
- The three big themes shaping the industry in 2025
- Who’s making the biggest moves in the industry—and why it matters
- How the mortgage and housing landscape has evolved over the past decade (and where it’s heading next)
- Which topics get the most attention on HousingWire.com each day and why.
Related to this episode:
- HousingWire Data
- Mike Simonsen | LinkedIn
- Altos
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos
A true data geek, Mike founded Altos in 2006 to bring data and insight on the U.S. housing market to those who need it most. The company now serves the largest Wall Street investment firms, banks, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country. Mike's insights on the market have been featured in Forbes, New York Times, Bloomberg, Dallas Morning News, Seattle PI, and many other national media outlets.
Follow us on Twitter for more data analysis and insights:
- Altos on Twitter
- Mike on Twitter
About Altos.
Each week, Altos tracks every home for sale in the country - all the pricing, and all the changes in pricing - and synthesizes those analytics to make them available before becoming visible through traditional channels.
Schedule a demo to see Altos in action. You can also get a copy of our free eBook: How To Use Market Data to Build Your Real Estate Business.
The Top of Mind podcast features top real estate industry insiders and experts to unpack the most important housing, real estate, mortgage data and trends that are shaping the housing market. Hosted by Altos founder Mike Simonsen and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
47 min
About Top of Mind
From the publisher's feed
The Top of Mind podcast features top real estate industry insiders and experts to unpack the most important housing, real estate, mortgage data and trends that are shaping the housing market. Hosted…
by Altos founder Mike Simonsen and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
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