
Top of Mind
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.
Latest episodes

Dec 5, 2023 • 15min
Promising signs for the 2024 housing market (12/4/23 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 Research.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 ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 28, 2023 • 16min
Why home sales will climb in 2024 (11/27/23 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 Research.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 ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 22, 2023 • 52min
The Lowdown on the Lawsuits with HousingWire’s James Kleimann
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with James Kleimann, Managing Editor of HousingWire, to talk about the landmark Sitzer Burnett case and its potential impact on the housing market.James was in the courtroom during the trial and is one of the foremost experts on what’s happening now, and what’s to come.Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
Overview of the Sitzer Burnett case and the verdict
How these lawsuits are bigger than the tobacco industry cases
Why the DOJ is now involved and what that means for the future of real estate
What happens to buyers’ agents
Which states are next and how much more money is being targeted
How this judgment could push control in the industry to institutional investors over individuals
How this judgment could push power to tech companies over brokers and MLSs
How soon big changes may hit the industry
What happens next? Are there implications for 2024?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Connect with James on LinkedIn
Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn
Altos Research
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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 ResearchThe 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 21, 2023 • 14min
Housing market sees unusual inventory gains in November (11/20/23 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 Research.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 ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 14, 2023 • 14min
Inventory and home sales showing improvements over 2022 (11/13/23 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 Research.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.Register for the November 16th webinar here!Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 7, 2023 • 16min
Is this the beginning of the end of the housing recession? (11/6/23 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 Research.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.Register for the November 16th webinar here!Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 31, 2023 • 17min
Could home sales finally start to grow soon? (10/30/23 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 Research.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.Enjoy the data!Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 25, 2023 • 51min
Reimagining New Home Construction with Veev’s Amit Haller
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Amit Haller, CEO and Co-Founder of Veev Group, to talk about how Veev has entirely re-imagined the centuries-old new home construction process. Amit shares how he’s applied approaches from the semiconductor industry to address many of the challenges of traditional home building, and discusses Veev’s bold ambitions for its technology to dramatically reduce costs, accelerate delivery, improve quality, and reduce waste. He also looks more broadly at the dynamics shaping the industry, and what to expect in the future.About Amit HallerAmit Haller is the CEO and Co-Founder of Veev Group, Inc. Amit has over 20 years experience in the high-tech communications industry, including leading positions in public companies, and over a decade of extensive real estate development, asset management and construction experience.He brings a global perspective and an eye for successful investment opportunities, as well as deep knowledge in engineering, entrepreneurship and business. Amit has led Veev since 2008 with a high‐tech business lens, reimagining the way the home experience is designed, built and serviced. Today, Amit is dedicated to utilizing Veev’s proprietary technology and a vertically integrated approach to build better homes, faster.Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
What homebuilders can learn from semiconductor companies
Why California wildfires inspired this company to build homes in California
Why the time is right for productized home building
How to achieve a 30-day turnaround for building a new home - Why he wants homeowners to “hug the walls”
The challenges facing builder trade labor, and why it makes sense to streamline
How Veev reduces landfill waste by orders of magnitude and dramatically reduces carbon emissions
What features homes of the future will need to have in order to be energy positive
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Connect with Amit on LinkedIn
Veev
Mike Simonsen on LinkedIn
Altos Research
Featuring Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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 ResearchThe 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 2023 • 15min
If homebuyer demand is so weak, why aren’t home prices falling? (10/23/23 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 Research.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.Sign up for our free webinar, "Key Signals to Watch in a Tough Real Estate Market" on October 19th, here!Enjoy the data!Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 17, 2023 • 11min
Homebuyers hit the brakes, causing unseasonal growth in inventory (10/16/23 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 Research.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.Sign up for our free webinar, "Key Signals to Watch in a Tough Real Estate Market" on October 19th, here!Enjoy the data!Hosted by Mike Simonsen, President of Altos ResearchA 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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices