#284 Melody Wright: We're In An Insane Housing Bubble Fueled By Speculation That's Worse Than 2008

Melody Wright, author of M3 Melody Substack, returns to the show for episode 284 where she delivers a stark assessment of the housing market. Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Monetary Metals. https://monetary-metals.com/julia Links: YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@m3_melody X: https://x.com/m3_melody Substack: https://m3melody.substack.com/ Timestamps 0:00 Welcome and introduction - Melody Wright returns to the show 1:26 Big picture housing outlook - abysmal spring and summer selling seasons 3:42 New vs existing home price inversion - builders offering major incentives 5:02 First-time home buyers at record lows since 1980s tracking 7:17 Investment-driven housing market - not about homeownership anymore 9:33 Owner occupancy fraud - FHA program abuse by investors 12:06 Mortgage fraud prevalence - 30% chance when investors involved 13:46 Julia's first-time homebuyer dilemma - waiting for prices to correct 15:04 Demographics and housing supply - 15.6 million boomers leaving by 2035 17:52 North Carolina housing market turning - hope for buyers 19:15 The "Zest effect" - emotional attachment to home value estimates 20:20 Housing bubble worse than 2008 - fueled by speculation 22:13 Insurance crisis - 50% increases tipping people into delinquency 23:05 October 1st FHA changes - loan modification program ending 23:25 Spring/summer seasons characterized as "abysmal" 24:20 Tracking 2008 patterns - seasonal price peak already passed 26:28 Fed rate cuts unlikely to impact housing significantly 28:13 Where to find Melody's work and parting thoughts