In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Daren Blomquist from Auction.com to talk about the state of the distressed housing market. 

About Daren Blomquist

Daren Blomquist is vice president of market economics at Auction.com. In this role, Blomquist analyzes and forecasts complex macro and microeconomic data trends within the marketplace and industry to provide value to both buyers and sellers using the Auction.com platform.

Daren’s reports and analysis have been cited by thousands of media outlets — including all the major news networks and leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA TODAY. Daren has been quoted in hundreds of publications and has appeared on many national network broadcasts, including CBS, ABC, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business and Bloomberg.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• What their investor activity tells us about housing demand right now
• What their leading indicators say about home sales in 2025
• The surprising trends with distressed borrowers in 2024
• Which states have distressed and foreclosure levels approaching 2019 (it’s not what you’d think)
• Which states have 80% fewer foreclosures now than in 2019
• The notable new demand trends for distressed property buyers in 2024
• The #1 reason their clients aren’t buying homes
• The leading indicators in their data and what it tells us about 2025
• The new phenomenon of “Foreclosure Spin Cycle” and what it means for American homeowners
• Daren’s bearish forecast for home prices in 2025 and 2026

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Daren Blomquist | LinkedIn
• Auction.com
• Mike Simonsen | LinkedIn
• Altos Research

Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research

A true data geek, Mike founded Altos Research 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 Research

The Top of Mind Podcast is produced by Altos Research.

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.