Beyond the Buildings

Host Maiclaire Bolton Smith sits down with Cotality principal housing policy analyst Chay Halbert to break down the post-election ROAD to housing, analyzing how congressional oversight will impact federal agencies, what institutional investors are doing right now, and what a shift in the balance of power would mean for the future of residential real estate.

In this episode:

02:11 — The Rent Werewolf: Shifting single-family rents are changing the math and timelines for first-time homebuyers.  
03:55 — The Construction Cost Curse: Where developers can find viable land-use opportunities as costs for land, labor, and lumber costs soar?  
06:37 — The Lock-In Ghost: What interest rate threshold will it take to finally break the rate lock-in spell and unlock frozen housing supply?
08:54 — The Escrow Poltergeist: See exactly how surging property taxes and insurance premiums are driving up total ownership costs and delinquency risks.  
11:03 — The Supply Shape-Shifter: How are hyper-local inventory splits impacting investor strategies?  
12:45 — Allie Barefoot goes over the numbers in the housing market in The Sip  
14:17 — Crystal ball: Will spooky market forces ease by late 2027 to bring back normal market liquidity, or is this the new normal?

Links: https://www.cotality.com/insights/analysis/bend-it-like-buyers

In this episode:

2:32 - How agents ease buyer anxiety during dead-air moments in the mortgage process.
3:50 - Why real estate guidance matters most when interest rates require buyers to recalibrate their finances.
6:25 - How real estate pros translate complex property data on inspection, hazard, and permit reports into actionable decisions.
8:23 - Learn why a reliable closing beats a fast offer in today’s unpredictable housing market.
10:33 - Has human trust officially outpaced technology in modern real estate?

Links: https://www.cotality.com/insights/analysis/bend-it-like-buyers

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is remapping the physical property landscape, creating a paradox between digital growth and local real-world constraints.

While primary data center hubs face severe power grid delays and land scarcity, tech capital is surging into unexpected secondary markets, driving up local housing prices and straining municipal infrastructure. To resolve this friction, developers and city leaders must leverage high-granularity geospatial intelligence to locate prime development zones where data centers serve as long-term economic anchors rather than community burdens.

In this episode:

1:41 - How are capacity constraints in primary hubs forcing AI infrastructure into secondary housing markets?

4:36 - Evaluating the critical geospatial layers: grid capacity, parcel land use, and fresh aerial imagery.

7:44 - The Quincy, Washington case study: Aligning hydropower, cool climates, and cheap land for a win-win.

11:21 – Allie Barefoot breaks down the latest numbers in the housing market.

12:28 – How do different layers of geospatial data help developers, power providers, and city leaders?

Links:
https://www.cotality.com/insights

Beyond the Buildings host Maiclaire Bolton Smith welcomes Cotality Senior Principal Economist Molly Boesel to examine five common myths about mortgages in the housing market, exploring how grounded data helps clarify today's property landscape.

In this episode:  
2:42 - Why is there a concern that suddenly people are going to cash out?

4:05 – Are homeowners turning to HELOCs and Home Equity Investments to extract value?

6:48 – Will delinquencies continue to rise?

9:10 – Will the "Silver Tsunami" of baby boomer downsizing flood the inventory market?

11:59 – Are institutional mega-investors really dominating single-family home purchases?

15:26 – Allie Barefoot breaks down the latest numbers in the housing market.

16:33 – Can we expect mortgage interest rates to drop back to pandemic-era record lows?