This week on Power House, Diego sits down with Mike McNamara, the co-founder and CEO of Samara, a company that focuses on building pre-fab housing products and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Originally born inside the Airbnb space, Samara is trying to revolutionize housing by providing flexible living spaces that serve a diverse set of needs, from generating rental income to accommodating multi-generational families. Mike talks about how ADUs might be an unexpected solution to some of our hous...
Jul 24, 2025•41 min
Today on Power House, Diego sits down with Justin Bailey, the CEO of Realty Executives Associates. Founded in 1977, the firm quickly grew in the East Tennessee market and now has over 1,000 agents. As a fourth-generation realtor, Justin shares how his time in the nonprofit world helped shape his leadership style and why relational leadership remains central to his approach even as REA continues to scale. Justin walks through his journey to brokerage CEO, highlighting the challenges of scaling fr...
Jul 17, 2025•34 min
Today on Power House, we are bringing you another fantastic conversation recorded last month at The Gathering. This one is between Diego and Randell Gillespie, the President of LeaderOne Financial. Founded in 1992 and now with over 300 loan officers nationwide, LeaderOne is still forging its path forward through an interesting collaborative ownership model. Randell shares his growth philosophy, which includes prioritizing organic expansion and cultural alignment over M&A, and how flexibility...
Jul 10, 2025•23 min
Today on Power House, we are bringing you a fantastic conversation between HousingWire’s Senior Director of the Content Studio, Zeb Lowe, and Jennifer Beeston, the EVP of National Sales at Rate and a veteran loan originator. Jennifer took the stage last month at The Gathering to talk about reviving the American Dream, and we caught her right after to dive a bit deeper into her work in the VA space. Jennifer and Zeb talk about the moment that led her to specialize in VA lending and the why behind...
Jul 08, 2025•25 min
On today’s sponsored episode of Power House, Diego Sanchez sits down with Mark Wai, EVP and Group CTO at Radian, to talk about the innovation that Radian is doing in mortgage. Mark shares how generative AI is reshaping operations, why digital transformation takes more than just a quick fix, and what’s at stake for companies that don’t adapt to new market trends. He also talks about how Radian is using tech to make homeownership more affordable, accessible and sustainable. Here’s what you’ll lear...
Jul 03, 2025•16 min
Last week, Guild Mortgage made headlines with its $1.3 billion acquisition by Bayview Asset Management. This week, Diego welcomes Terry Schmidt, the CEO of Guild Mortgage, to talk about how Guild plans to innovate, scale and deepen customer loyalty, without losing its retail identity. Terry and Diego dive into the synergy between Guild’s distributed retail model and Bayview’s $700 billion servicing portfolio. They also talk about Guild’s investment in AI and tech, ongoing M&A ambitions, and ...
Jun 26, 2025•25 min
Today on Power House, Diego Sanchez interviews David Spector, Chairman and CEO of Pennymac , for an inside look at the company’s growth strategy and expansion in the wholesale space. David shares how Pennymac is investing over $250 million annually in tech, backing broker partners without competing, and targeting a 10% market share by 2026. They also discuss Pennymac’s $700 billion servicing portfolio, non-QM market plans, and their involvement in the 2028 Olympics. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why...
Jun 24, 2025•29 min
Last month, HousingWire covered the breaking news of mortgage lender Lower acquiring real estate portal Movoto from parent company OJO Labs. Last week, Diego got the opportunity to chat with Dan Snyder, the Founder and CEO of Lower, and John Berkowitz, the CEO of Movoto and now the President of Real Estate at Lower, live and in person at HousingWire’s The Gathering 2025. Today, we are bringing that conversation exclusively to our Power House audience! Diego, Dan, and John give a behind-the-scene...
Jun 19, 2025•20 min
On today’s episode of Powerhouse , Diego sits down with Mike Brennan , President of Nationwide Mortgage Bankers (NMB) , to discuss his recent move from Movement Mortgage and what drew him to NMB. They dive into how NMB is navigating a slow housing market, the role of technology in client engagement, and why personal relationships matter more than ever. Mike also touches on growth strategies, new product offerings like reverse mortgages and non-QM loans, and his goal to double the company’s size ...
Jun 12, 2025•28 min
On today’s episode of Power House, Diego sits down with Allan Merrill, the CEO of Beazer Homes , for an inside look at how they are rethinking mortgage lending and energy-efficient living. Beazer is a NYSE-listed builder that operates in 16 markets across the U.S. and aims to blend traditional homebuilding with innovative ideas. Alan explains their Mortgage Choice program and how this model empowers buyers with real choice and transparency when choosing a lender. He also talks about building wit...
Jun 05, 2025•27 min
Today on Power House, we have a crossover episode with the RealTrending podcast. Host Tracey Velt sits down with Sarah Reynolds, CEO of EmpowerHome with Keller Williams. Sarah and Tracey talk about how to keep real estate fun, why focusing on controllable factors fuels success more than anything else, and the strategies that EmpowerHome uses to stay ahead of trends She also talks about how agent gratitude is at the heart of her leadership and how EmpowerHome is evolving to serve over 100 familie...
May 31, 2025•31 min
On today’s episode of Power House, Diego sits down with Marietta Rodriguez, President and CEO of NeighborWorks America, to talk about their mission to expand affordable housing across the nation. NeighborWorks America is a congressionally chartered nonprofit that supports a network of community organizations that develop rental and homeownership opportunities for low-income households. Marietta shares how the organization ranks among the top 100 homebuilders across the US, talks about the dynami...
May 29, 2025•28 min
On today’s episode of Power House, Diego sits down with Patty Arvielo, the co-founder and CEO of New American Funding to talk about what it takes to thrive in a challenging housing market. New American Funding has grown 60% organically over the last year, has had significant market expansion over the past two years — all white maintaining a 98% profit retention rate over the past two decades. She walks through her 44-year leadership journey, from teenage data entry clerk to CEO, and how her part...
May 22, 2025•31 min
On today’s episode of Power House, Diego sits down with two big names in housing: Varun Krishna, the CEO of Rocket Companies , and Jay Bray, the CEO of Mr. Cooper. They discuss combining powerful brands and redefining what it means to own a home in the U.S. Varun shares how the “Own the Dream” campaign has been a complete marketing revolution for Rocket. He also breaks down the strategy behind acquiring both Redfin and Mr. Cooper , and how they’re building a fully integrated experience across th...
May 15, 2025•34 min
Today on Power House, we have a crossover episode with the RealTrending podcast. Host Tracey Velt talks to Tamir Poleg, CEO of The Real Brokerage. Tamir and Tracey talk about using AI to optimize daily operations, including the automation of thousands of inquiries with an AI assistant. He also talks about how Real scales without losing its culture, the shifting dynamics between agents and clients, and why brokerages must shift to a consumer-first mindset. Here’s what you’ll learn: Real is both a...
May 10, 2025•28 min
On today’s episode of Power House, Diego chats with Vikas Enti, the CEO of Reframe Systems , about how micro factories can reshape the future of home building in America. After a decade at Amazon Robotics , where he helped deploy over half a million robots, Vikas is now using his engineering background to create climate-resilient, affordable housing with Reframe’s localized micro-factories. Vikas talks about how local-focused construction and zoning reform can make homebuilding faster and cheape...
May 08, 2025•32 min
On today’s episode of Power House, Diego chats with Seth Gellis, the president of Community Preservation Partner s, about the critical role that affordable housing plays in the US housing market. Having built over 16,000 units across 19 states, Seth shares CPP’s mission of preserving and developing affordable multi-family housing. They plan to do that by advocating for pro-housing policies, providing support to low-income populations, and getting involved in communities in need. Seth also talks ...
May 01, 2025•31 min
On today’s sponsored episode of Power House, Diego Sanchez sits down with Jesse Decker, the newly appointed Chief Customer Officer at Polly , for a conversation all about innovation and customer success strategies in mortgage tech. Jesse shares her journey from consulting to leading customer experience at Polly, how new tech is sweeping the mortgage landscape, and how Polly is constantly innovating to meet the needs of their customer partners. They also talk about some exciting new developments ...
Apr 24, 2025•21 min
Today on Power House, we have a fantastic conversation between Diego and Melinda Wilner, the COO of United Wholesale Mortgage. Today’s episode is all about what it really takes to thrive in today’s market. Melinda talks about her journey from mortgage broker to UWM executive and how her leadership has supported UWM’s position as the top mortgage originator since 2022. They also talk about company initiatives like their TRAC Lite program and All-In Agreement, and how these are central to their mi...
Apr 22, 2025•32 min
Today on Power House, Tracey Velt sits down in person with Robert Palmer, founder and CEO of LPT Realty, at LPT’s studio in Orlando. Robert and Tracey talk about LPT’s remarkable journey from a simple marketing tool to a top brokerage in just three years. He discusses the importance of self-funding, agent empowerment through dual brokerage models, and how to maintain an agent-first philosophy. Robert also discusses upcoming initiatives like ASCEND University, the Aperture luxury brand, and Leads...
Apr 19, 2025•33 min
This week on Power House, HousingWire president Diego Sanchez sits down with Sarah Middleton, the newly appointed Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Supreme Lending. Sarah walks through her journey to Supreme Lending and what it takes to succeed in mortgage — from strong leadership to Supreme’s tech-forward mindset, AI-driven marketing, and diverse product lineup. She also touches on M&A, the “branchpreneur” model, and her passion for training, onboarding, and helping loan officers grow, ...
Apr 17, 2025•38 min
In this bonus episode, we’re tackling the big question on everyone’s mind: What is happening with the housing market right now? Between tariffs, mortgage rates, jobs data and general uncertainty, it’s hard to understand how to make sense of it all. HousingWire is joined by experts Ivy Zelman, Logan Mohtashami and Dale Wettlaufer to cut through the noise. Originally featured in a HousingWire exclusive event, this panel is now available for the Power House audience. Related to this episode: Compar...
Apr 12, 2025•57 min
This week on Power House, Diego Sanchez chats with the CEO of HousingWire and the former host of this very podcast: Clayton Collins! Clayton dives into HousingWire’s journey—from steady organic growth to smart acquisitions—and why in-person events like The Gathering are more essential than ever for the industry. They also talk about the relaunch and rebranding of our new data-licensing business, HousingWire Data, and the kinds of granular housing market data it can provide for companies all acro...
Apr 10, 2025•25 min
This week on Power House, Diego Sanchez sits down with Suzy Lindblom, the new COO of Sierra Pacific Mortgage ! Suzy stepped out semi-retirement to consult for Sierra Pacific before joining their executive team full time. Suzy and Diego talk about Sierra Pacific’s growth and winning market share strategies, including their entry into the non-QM space after 40 years in the conventional mortgage space. She also talks about embracing AI without replacing humans, rolling out new broker tools, and mor...
Apr 03, 2025•20 min
This week on Power House we are talking to the one and only Dave Lykken! Dave has over 50 years of mortgage industry experience under his belt and is likely a name familiar to many of you. He also hosts his own weekly podcast, Lykken on Lending, where he talks all things mortgage. Diego sits down with Dave to get his take on what’s happening in mortgage. They talk about where he thinks rates will stabilize in the next year and what’s on the horizon for cost reduction and data tools. He also talk...
Mar 27, 2025•26 min
This week on Power House, Diego has the pleasure of being joined by Jonathan Reckford, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. Since its founding, Habitat for Humanity has helped over 62 million people in over 1,000 U.S. communities and 71 countries. Diego and Jonathan dive into Habitat’s complex role in both the federal and local level of the US housing market and their work to help the affordability crisis, including their involvement in local zoning campaigns and advocating for federal...
Mar 20, 2025•28 min
This week on Power House, we are welcoming guest host Tracey Velt as she sits down with Ryan Schneider, the CEO of Anywhere Real Estate , formerly known as Realogy. Anywhere is the parent company of many other notable real estate brands, such as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran Group and Sotheby’s International Realty. Ryan and Tracey talk about Anywhere’s rediscovered focus on the luxury market and what’s on the horizon for M&A activity as the mark...
Mar 13, 2025•35 min
This week on Power House, Diego sits down with a familiar face to the HousingWire audience — Jason Bressler, the Chief Technology Officer at United Wholesale Mortgage . UWM recently announced its partnership with Sphere LOS, and today’s episode is a behind-the-scenes look at what that means for the UWM team and beyond. Diego and Jason talk about the decision-making behind Sphere’s integration, as it’s both free and is not limited to UWM’s ecosystem. Their goal is to provide free technology to le...
Mar 06, 2025•24 min
This week on Power House, Diego sits down with Jay Plum, a 35-year banking veteran and the EVP of Consumer Lending at Fifth Third Bank. As the 10th largest bank servicer in the country, Fifth Third Bank has over a thousand branches and $200 billion in assets. Today’s conversation is all about mortgage lending. Jay and Diego talk about Basel III and its impact on warehouse lending, and the important role that the affordability programs like downpayment assistance play in increasing homeownership....
Feb 27, 2025•32 min
This week on Power House, we are bringing you a special sponsored conversation between HousingWire’s Director of the Content Studio, Zebulon Lowe, and the CEO and co-founder of Fello , Ryan Young. Founded in 2022, Fello is a marketing automation and lead-generation CRM attachment that uses public and MLS data to enrich your database and improve engagement and listings. Zeb and Ryan talk about exciting things happening in Fello in 2025, including their 30-Day Listing Challenge and their expansion...
Feb 20, 2025•38 min
