“Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels… Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields.” Yes, at the end of today we’re halfway through with 2022 (already). Time passes, hair styles, relationships, people, pandemics, and companies come and go. (Today’s joke has to do with the passing of time.) History is made and remembered. Woody Williams, the last surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipient (Iwo Jima), died yesterday at 98, as did Hells Angel founder Sonny Barger. When was the last time COVID made the headlines? Yesterday the Commentary noted, “Remember names like AmeriLoan, Countrywide, PNC, WaMu, Home Savings of America, Fleet, Great Western, World Savings, Associates, Nat City?” My apologies to PNC, and the many who wrote in, saying that it is alive and well. Business cycles are alive and well: With rates escalating higher and the home price appreciation that has taken place, buyer interest has rapidly deteriorated. I’ve received emails noting a “screeching of the brakes,” a “turning off the faucet,” “tremendous drop off,” “substantial” and “significant.” According to the NAR, May existing home closings, reflected by contracts signed the prior month, pulled back 3.4% on a seasonally-adjusted sequential basis compounding the seasonally-adjusted declines from the prior three months. (Today’s podcast is available here after 10AM ET, 7AM PT today, and this week’s is sponsored by Ignite Integration Solutions, Inc., a custom software provider that has created industry leading LOS CORE integrations in addition to a library of Encompass base tools and plug ins, and custom API development with our team of 100% on shore developers to support both Mortgage Lenders and Vendors as clients and partners. Today’s features an interview with Dawar Alimi, CEO of Lender Price, on a major enhancement for both lenders and brokers using Marketplace 2.0.)