Power House

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Baron Silverstein, President of Newrez, to discuss how one of the nation’s largest mortgage companies is reinventing itself for the AI era. Silverstein shares how Newrez is using artificial intelligence to improve underwriting, servicing and the overall homeowner experience—while keeping human expertise at the center of every decision. The co...

What if solving America’s housing shortage means moving beyond the way homes have traditionally been built? In Part 2 of their conversation, Zeb Lowe and Brian Hurd explore the housing models, construction methods and financing approaches that could reshape the next generation of homeownership. Brian explains why manufactured and modular housing deserve a more serious look, how factory-built homes...

The housing affordability crisis is not just an interest-rate problem. It is the result of decades of choices that have made it harder, slower and more expensive to build the homes America needs. In Part 1 of this conversation, Zeb Lowe sits down with Brian Hurd, senior vice president of national builder strategy at Cardinal Financial, to examine the forces reshaping American housing. Brian shares...

What happens when a bank decides to invest in mortgage while much of the industry is pulling back? On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with James Sias, Head of Mortgage Lending and Indirect Dealer Services at Fifth Third Bank, to discuss leadership, growth and the long-term future of mortgage lending. The discussion also tackles the broader forces shaping mortgage today—from Basel I...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with James Wong, CEO of MAXA Designs, to explore a deceptively simple question: What actually makes a brand matter? For an industry obsessed with logos, colors and marketing campaigns, Wong argues that branding has very little to do with design alone. The strongest brands aren’t built on aesthetics—they’re built on trust. They make a clear promise...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with mortgage veteran Joey Hansen to discuss what it takes to build a lasting career through multiple housing cycles. Drawing on more than two decades in the business, Hansen shares lessons from navigating changing markets, evolving borrower behavior and shifting industry dynamics. The conversation explores affordability challenges, the lock-in ef...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Simone Kelly, founder of Seniornicity, to discuss one of housing’s most overlooked challenges: helping seniors navigate the later stages of homeownership. Drawing on experience across mortgage, real estate and senior services, Kelly explains why many older homeowners aren’t staying put because they refuse to move—they’re staying because the a...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Adam O’Daniel of Guild Mortgage to discuss one of the defining challenges facing housing professionals today: building trust in an era where information is everywhere and credibility is harder to earn than ever. Drawing from recent consumer research, O’Daniel explains why younger buyers increasingly trust friends, family, online communities a...

In this solo Power House episode, Zeb Lowe delivers an overview of housing economics built specifically for the professionals working inside the industry every day. Framing the conversation around a simple idea — that housing professionals are expected to be experts without ever being formally taught how the market truly works — Zeb breaks down the core economic concepts that separate good operato...

LIVE from the New York Stock Exchange, Diego Sanchez talks with Bob Hart about how Intercontinental Exchange is modernizing mortgage infrastructure through AI, cybersecurity and connected loan technology. Hart explains that ICE’s experience digitizing markets like the New York Stock Exchange gives the company a strong foundation for improving efficiency and transparency in mortgage lending, which...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with longtime mortgage executive, consultant and podcast host Coby Hakalir for a candid conversation about one of the housing industry’s most contentious topics: credit reporting, FICO scoring and the future of mortgage regulation. The discussion centers around his viral op-ed challenging the current mortgage credit ecosystem and questioning wheth...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with AI and enterprise software executive Stephen to discuss where artificial intelligence is actually headed in mortgage lending beyond the hype cycle. Stephen explains why the industry is shifting from flashy AI promises to practical implementation, with the real opportunity centered around augmenting teams, improving workflows, and scaling prod...

On this episode of Power House, Diego Sanchez sits down with Steve Ozonian for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of housing, mortgage, title, and proptech. Drawing on decades of leadership experience across companies like LendingTree, loanDepot, and Williston Financial Group, Ozonian explains why AI and data will shape the next era of real estate — while warning that fragmented infrastr...

On this sponsored episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Carter Malloy to discuss why better land data may be one of the most important and overlooked pieces of solving the housing supply crisis. Malloy explains how his experience in land investing exposed a major industry problem: builders, developers, and investors were still making massive decisions using fragmented systems, outdated i...

LIVE from Austin, Texas at The Gathering, this conversation with David Spector, Chairman and CEO of PennyMac, is all about timing, scale, and playing the long game in a consolidating mortgage market. Spector walks through the company’s pivot from a purely organic growth mindset to a strategic acquisition of Cenlar—not as a change in philosophy, but as a response to reality. Building subservicing f...

In this solo episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe explores the possibility that housing is moving out of the innovation era and into the predictive turn. For years, the industry has focused on speed, automation, and better user experience. But perhaps the next real competitive advantage is no longer innovation. It’s calibration. In a business built on forecasts, probabilities, and expectations, the pr...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Laura Brandao to discuss the mindset, habits, and leadership principles that help mortgage professionals win in any market cycle. Brandao shares the philosophy that shaped much of her career growth: saying yes to opportunities before the full path is clear. She explains why curiosity, momentum, and adaptability are critical in an industry whe...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with LaTasha Waddy to discuss leadership, homeownership, and the future of mortgage lending. Waddy shares her path from real estate law to leading NFM Lending, and why her first priority as president has been listening to the people closest to the work. She also discusses Lucas Home Loans, a mission-driven effort focused on expanding access to hom...

In this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Patty Arvielo to discuss leadership, mentorship, and the role mortgage executives play in shaping the future of the industry. Arvielo shares how she leads at scale by humanizing leadership — meeting people where they are, understanding different perspectives across teams, and taking full accountability when things break down. She explains how...

In this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Patty Arvielo to discuss her journey from a teenage data entry clerk at TransUnion to one of the most influential leaders in mortgage. Arvielo shares how she learned every layer of the business early on and ultimately built New American Funding into a nationally recognized lender. What began as a business opportunity to better serve Latino ho...

In part two of this conversation, Matt Weaver breaks down the systems, structure, and discipline required to build a high-performing mortgage team. He explains how scripted processes and clear standards create consistency, enable delegation, and allow teams to scale—even in flat or declining markets. Central to his approach is the “single lane” strategy, where each team member focuses on what they...

In this episode of Power House, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins speaks to Mike Detwiler about his return to the industry as CEO of Mortgage Cadence more than a decade after selling the company to Accenture, offering a rare perspective on how mortgage technology has evolved and where it’s headed next. Detwiler reflects on founding Mortgage Cadence in 1999 and his early vision of “manufacturing mort...

In this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Matt Weaver to discuss his unconventional path from high school dropout to top-performing real estate agent and mortgage originator. Matt shares how an early mentorship opportunity set his career in motion and the lessons that shaped his approach to serving clients and building relationships. At the center of the conversation is one of his de...

In this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Dave Savage, co-founder of FirstHome IQ, to discuss a challenge that could shape the future of housing: preparing the next generation for homeownership. Drawing on insights from the NextGen Homebuyer Report, Savage explains why many younger buyers feel both overwhelmed by the process and disconnected from the mortgage industry. He argues that...

On this episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with developer Austin Tunnell to explore a bigger question than housing itself: how the built environment shapes the way we live. Austin shares his unconventional path into real estate, from accounting to the Peace Corps to hands-on construction, and the realization that much of modern development is optimized for efficiency, not human connection....