Month: December 2025

There is one less mortgage publication as MortgageOrb announced that it is calling it quits and today is its last day. Like lender’s closing departments, I am sure that it will be a busy day there for the staff. But otherwise, it will be a quiet day today for many with a little spare time. For those of you who like photographs and history and have time to scroll, here are 46 photos “that tell the story of the century so far.” For those of you who enjoy learning, and are in areas of drifting…

How many people live in the United States, and the world? Here you go , as accurately as you’re going to see anywhere. Loan originators are acutely aware of demographics (“know your borrower,” right?). Naming generations is relatively recent, and then-People Magazine Editor Landon Y. Jones coined the term Baby Boomer. (He died last year.) The oldest Baby Boomers turn 80 in 2026. By the end of this decade, all baby boomers will be 65 and older , and the number of people 80 and over will double…

“Vladimir Putin arrives at an airport, gets in line at the customs desk. Customs officer: ‘Occupation?’ Putin: ‘No, just visiting.’” Some percentage of readers reading today’s Commentary are doing so from an airport in the Northeast, waiting for their delayed flight to depart. Whether manmade or natural, climate change and weather “occurrences” are a fact of life, and can’t be corrected with technology, but data is certainly used in predicting weather. Vendors and lenders think about data…

Did you know that the average age of a real estate agent, per the NAR, is 87? Okay, I’m just kidding. (Hey, the day after Christmas, before the weekend… there are probably 18 people reading this, so I could have gotten away with that one.) It’s in the 60’s. But for those originators or sales people who want to know their customer and who’s out there buying, the NAR has some decent stats for you to peruse. Are there Rocket Mortgage billboards promoting free Redfin leads any time Cleveland…

We’re coming up on some time off, with bank wiring not changing schedules despite President Trump giving federal workers more time off. Lenders and vendors like their time off. The Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays are considered to be federal holidays in many countries… but not all countries. In fact, those days are not ones that most people have off worldwide ! There are 5.5 billion people who live in a country where December 25 is a public holiday, and 4.3 billion people who live in a…