This morning I head to Kansas City to spend some time with the MBAKC. KC is a mere 500 miles from Oak Park, Illinois, east of Chicago and childhood home of Ernest Hemmingway. (Although Ernest Hemingway never actually used the phrase, “Wide lawns and narrow minds” when describing his childhood neighborhood, it certainly is catchy.) And KC is a hop, skip, and a jump away, which in this case is 800 miles, from Cleveland. Why do I mention this? I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but fans of “The Christmas Story” movie should know that the house (and museum, and grounds) is for sale in Ohio. The inventory of houses for sale has increased in many parts of the nation, of great interest to those studying industry trends. Along those lines, not only do lenders have to compete with other lenders, and institutions snaring houses to turn into rentals, they have to contend with all cash buyers. But sage originators know that where there are homes without mortgages (Florida leads the nation in mortgage-free homes; Southern California is the lowest) there is opportunity! And while I am tootling around the nation, did you know that part of California is farther north than the southernmost point of Canada? Isn’t the United States a great place!? (Today’s podcast is available here and this week’s is sponsored by MCT Investor Services, which helps investors scale their seller base, automate the bid process, source whole loan and flow co-issue production, automate AOTs, and analyze performance all in a cost-effective manner. Hear an interview with beefy and Lender Implosion’s co-founders Tim Wagner and Andrew Haberman on mortgage brand marketing and helping displaced mortgage professionals find new employment.)