{"id":7160,"date":"2025-06-24T07:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T14:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/?page_id=7160"},"modified":"2025-06-24T07:38:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T14:38:22","slug":"research-methodology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/research-methodology\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Research and Reporting Methodology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We want to give you a clear, unbiased picture of what&#8217;s happening in the U.S. housing market\u2014right now and into the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/housingweekly.kit.com\/products\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener sponsored\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/hbi-analytics-banner-1024x364.png\" alt=\"HBI research and reporting methodology\" class=\"wp-image-7162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/hbi-analytics-banner-1024x364.png 1024w, https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/hbi-analytics-banner-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/hbi-analytics-banner-768x273.png 768w, https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/hbi-analytics-banner-1536x547.png 1536w, https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/hbi-analytics-banner.png 1916w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To accomplish that, we gather data from a wide range of trusted sources and analyze it in-house, turning the raw numbers into useful insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Data &amp; Information Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We monitor a wide range of public and private data sources to help our readers understand what&#8217;s happening in the housing market, including the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Government &amp; Quasi-Government Agencies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These organizations provide foundational, large-scale data on the U.S. economy and housing sector. They are the bedrock of our market analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>: For demographic trends, housing vacancies, and new construction data (e.g., housing starts, building permits).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>: For employment data and inflation metrics (e.g., Consumer Price Index), which are critical drivers of the housing market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fhfa.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federal Housing Finance Agency<\/a>: For the official Home Price Index (HPI), which tracks changes in single-family home values.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freddiemac.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Freddie Mac<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fanniemae.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fannie Mae<\/a>: For weekly mortgage rate surveys, market forecasts, and research on housing affordability and consumer sentiment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Real Estate Industry &amp; Trade Groups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These sources provide timely, industry-specific data and on-the-ground sentiment from real estate professionals. We monitor news from the following organizations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Association of REALTORS<\/a>:&nbsp;For data on existing-home sales, pending home sales, and affordability indices, forecasts and more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nahb.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Association of Home Builders<\/a>:&nbsp;For builder confidence indices and analysis of construction trends across the United States.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mba.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mortgage Bankers Association<\/a>:&nbsp;For mortgage application data, industry forecasts, and analysis of mortgage lending standards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Private Sector Data &amp; Analytics Firms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Private firms offer granular, near-real-time data on market activity, which complements the slower-moving government reports. Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zillow.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zillow<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Redfin<\/a>:&nbsp;For real-time listing data, inventory levels, sale-to-list price ratios, and proprietary market reports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cotality.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cotality<\/a> (formerly CoreLogic):&nbsp;For in-depth property data, foreclosure reports, home price analytics, and other housing-related insights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mortgagetech.ice.com\/index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ICE Mortgage Technology<\/a>: For trends relating to mortgage loan origination and processing, including borrower criteria and standards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Research\/Analysis Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Data alone is not insight. Our process involves several key steps to turn raw information into meaningful analysis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Data Aggregation:<\/strong>&nbsp;We systematically collect and organize data from the sources listed above as it is released.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cross-Verification:<\/strong>&nbsp;We compare data points from different sources to verify trends and place new information into historical and economic context.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI Deep Dive:<\/strong>\u00a0We use AI to conduct deeper market analysis involving large amounts of commentary and data (with human oversight).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trend Identification:<\/strong>&nbsp;We look for patterns, shifts, and inflection points in the data to understand the direction of the market.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Distillation &amp; Synthesis:<\/strong>&nbsp;We filter out the noise and connect the dots, synthesizing our findings into concise and easy-to-understand reports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This methodology allows us to deliver useful insights not available elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions or Corrections?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have questions or corrections, please email us at editor@homebuyinginstitute.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Disclaimer: Our newsletter often provides predictions for the real estate market. Such views are the equivalent of an educated guess and should be treated as such.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We want to give you a clear, unbiased picture of what&#8217;s happening in the U.S. housing market\u2014right now and into the foreseeable future. To accomplish that, we gather data from a wide range of trusted sources and analyze it in-house, turning the raw numbers into useful insights. Our Data &amp; Information Sources We monitor a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7160","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Our Housing Market Research and Reporting Methodology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyinginstitute.com\/mortgage\/research-methodology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Housing Market Research and Reporting Methodology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We want to give you a clear, unbiased picture of what&#8217;s happening in the U.S. housing market\u2014right now and into the foreseeable future. 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