HousingWire Daily Logan Mohtashami on existing home sales and crazy purchase apps
7 snips
Jul 24, 2025 
Logan Mohtashami, Lead Analyst at HousingWire, shares his expertise on navigating the complexities of the current housing market. He clarifies the confusion surrounding purchase application data and its impact on existing home sales. Logan contrasts market perceptions of a crash with actual trends, revealing cautious optimism among sellers and buyers. He emphasizes the relationship between new listings and mortgage applications, and analyzes the implications of stagnant growth in the housing sector, providing insights into future market expectations.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Joker's Pencil Trick Metaphor
- Logan Mohtashami likens misreading housing demand data to the Joker's magic trick in The Dark Knight.
- The trick symbolizes how misleading raw data without context can be, causing false conclusions.
Understanding Purchase App Data Complexity
- Purchase application data this year is confusing due to low prior year levels and more sellers who will also be buyers.
- Demand appears up year-over-year, but growth is partly due to an extremely low comparison base, not a booming market.
Sellers Submit Purchase Applications Early
- Sellers planning to buy another home submit mortgage applications early to assess affordability.
- Anticipate a lag between application and actual home sale; understand many purchase apps come from sellers becoming buyers.