
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

Oct 30, 2024 • 1h
2025 Housing Market Trends with First American’s Mark Fleming
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial Corporation, to talk about the major market dynamics that will shape the real estate market in 2025.About Mark FlemingMark Fleming serves as the chief economist for First American Financial Corporation, a premier provider of title, settlement and risk solutions for real estate transactions and the leader in the digital transformation of its industry. In his role, he leads an economics team responsible for analysis, commentary and forecasting trends in the real estate and mortgage markets.Fleming's research expertise primarily includes real estate and urban economics, applied econometrics, and mortgage risk. As a trusted and influential voice with 20 years of experience in the mortgage and property information business, Fleming is frequently quoted by national news outlets and industry trade publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Housing Wire, and he is a regular guest on a high-profile broadcast news channels, including CBS, CNBC, Fox Business News and NPR.Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
Are we at the end of “the long cold winter” in the housing market
Are we poised for a rebound in 2025?
Why home sales fell but not home prices in the post-pandemic era
His expectation for where mortgage rates will settle
How he measures affordability, and what it teaches us about the US right now
The most and least affordable markets in the country, and how that’s changing
Whether first time homebuyers in 2025 will finally catch a break
How to estimate home price appreciation
Why the biggest trends in the housing market are not poised to change in 2025
What the election means for housing (and what it doesn’t)
Surprising stats about how much we (don’t) build homes anymore
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Mark Fleming | LinkedIn
First American
Mike Simonsen | 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 29, 2024 • 15min
The Surprising Resilience of Home Prices in 2024 (10/28/24 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

Oct 22, 2024 • 14min
Which metros are seeing a surge in home sellers? (10/21/24 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

Oct 15, 2024 • 15min
The Great Stay: Why Homeowners Are Staying Put (10/14/24 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

Oct 8, 2024 • 14min
Housing market recovery threatened by mortgage rate pop (10/7/24 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

Oct 1, 2024 • 18min
Homes Sales Are Climbing With Lower Mortgage Rates (9/30/24 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

Sep 24, 2024 • 16min
Why aren’t home prices falling? (9/23/24 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

Sep 11, 2024 • 1h 9min
Housing Demographics with John Burns’ Eric Finnigan
In this episode of the Top of Mind podcast, Mike Simonsen sits down with Eric Finnigan, Vice President of Demographics Research at John Burns, to talk about the biggest themes and trends in American housing demographics today.About Eric FinniganEric Finnigan leads demographics research at John Burns Research and Consulting, where he helps clients plan around demographic shifts that impact real estate and the housing market. Eric has covered the housing market as a researcher since 2007, and before joining John Burns, he held research roles at Clarion Partners in New York and a boutique advisory firm in Berkeley, California. Finally, Eric is an elder millennial and, along with many of his peers, hit some adult milestones a little later than his parents, including getting married in his late 30s and recently buying his first home at 40.Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
The biggest themes in American demographics right now
What the demographic trends tell us about the next 20 years of housing demand
The most important demographic data to track, and what’s happening with it now
What’s going to happen with all the new apartment construction
The net impact of immigration on housing costs
Why dramatically limited immigration or mass deportation would be catastrophic to housing market and cause greater unaffordability
Some shocking new trends in intra-country migration
How many homes we really need to build over the next 10 years
The #1 thing that we can do to improve housing construction and alleviate our shortage
What the US will look like in 2033 and why that matters
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Eric Finnigan | JBREC
Eric Finnigan | LinkedIn
Eric Finnigan | Twitter
John Burns Research and Consulting
Mike Simonsen | 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

Sep 10, 2024 • 16min
More home sellers are withdrawing listings (9/9/24 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

Sep 4, 2024 • 16min
Will homebuyers come back this fall? (9/3/24 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