Adam Taggart | Thoughtful Money, Released on 5/6/26

A perfect storm is in the process of hitting the US housing market. Cost of ownership has made homes the most unaffordable on record. And mortgage rates are rising again, making things even worse. But beyond that, housing analyst Melody Wright predicts a flood of foreclosures to swell as 2026 progresses, adding even more excess inventory and pushing prices down. To understand why, watch this video.

0:00 – Housing Market Update Since March: Better, Same, or Worse?
2:45 – Slowing Sales During Peak Season & Seasonal Price Firming
4:21 – Freddie Mac Home Price Index Warning: Weakest Gain Since 2011
5:57 – Aggregate Price Weakness Now Visible Across the Country
6:46 – Rising Inventory: From Sun Belt to Midwest & Northeast
8:56 – Why Florida & Texas Inventory Is Still Digesting the Boom
10:34 – Data Center Speculation Bust in the Midwest
11:38 – Northeast Struggles: Property Taxes, Demographics & Out-Migration
13:37 – Tracking Auctions & Probate Properties (PropertyRadar & Foreclosure.com)
18:58 – Have Any Major Markets Bottomed Yet?
22:27 – The Coming Foreclosure Wave & End of Government Support
24:35 – Rising Insurance, Property Taxes & Cost of Ownership Pressures
26:14 – Surging 30-Day Delinquencies Even in Prime Borrowers
29:32 – FHA Partial Claim Loans: How the Program Was Abused
33:56 – Investors Walking Away & Prime Borrowers Entering Distress
36:01 – Foreclosure Starts & Sales Already Rising – Q4 Surge Expected
41:37 – Boots-on-the-Ground Report: 3,200-Mile Driving Tour
42:16 – Why Builders Are Still Overbuilding Despite Inventory Glut
45:49 – Housing Policy Conference: Shortage Narrative vs Reality
48:49 – Municipal Fiscal Crisis, Property Tax Hikes & Potential Bankruptcies
55:36 – Private Credit & Non-Bank Lending Risks in Housing
1:00:09 – Where Is the Optimism? Affordability for Younger Buyers
1:03:42 – Breaking the “Housing as Speculative Asset” Mindset
1:07:21 – Final Thoughts, Advice & Where to Follow Melody Wright

Melody Wright is an analyst in real estate, macro, and technology. She began her mortgage career at GMAC ResCap (RFC) in 2006 and helped manage the historic ResCap bankruptcy. After leaving ResCap and before joining the FInTech revolution, she focused on operational effectiveness at multiple large, nonbank servicers. A BFSI industry veteran, Melody currently focuses on mortgage FinTech and macroeconomics, working hand-in-hand with clients to design and implement integrative solutions in mortgage origination and servicing that will be successful amidst the ever-evolving economic landscape. She publishes the M3_Melody Substack.

Adam Taggart is the Founder of  Thoughtful Money. He is also Co-Founder and former President of Peak Prosperity. Adam is an experienced Silicon Valley internet executive and Stanford MBA. Prior to partnering with Chris Martenson (Adam was General Manager of our earlier site, ChrisMartenson.com), he was a Vice President at Yahoo!, a company he served for nine years. Before that, he did the ‘startup thing’ (mySimon.com, sold to CNET in 2001). As a fresh-faced graduate from Brown University in the early 1990s, Adam got a first-hand look at all that was broken with Wall Street as an investment banking analyst for Merrill Lynch. Most importantly, he’s a devoted husband and dad.

  economy, home prices, housing market, Melody Wright