Barry Habib, the founder and CEO of MBS Highway and a go-to source for mortgage industry predictions, has been named to Fannie Mae‘s board of directors.

A recent filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that Habib had been appointed to the board effective July 21. “The appointment of Mr. Habib is until the earlier of: (1) the next annual election of Board members; or (2) the date on which he resigns or is removed by U.S. Federal Housing FHFA, as conservator, while Fannie Mae is in conservatorship,” the filing reads.

The filing states that Habib will be paid “director compensation” for the role. Fannie Mae’s 10-K filing lists compensation for non-management directors at $160,000 per year. Directors may receive additional retainers based on their committee roles and positions.

It has not yet been determined which committees Habib will serve on or whether he’s involved in any transactions or relationships that must be disclosed under federal regulations.

Before starting MBS Highway, Habib published the Mortgage Market Guide and served as an executive at several lenders, including RPM Mortgage and Certified Mortgage.

Habib also speaks to and trains mortgage and real estate professionals. He has appeared on several podcasts discussing everything from market insights to his emotional battle with lymphoma.

Outside of the mortgage business, Habib is known as the lead producer of the Broadway show “Rock of Ages” and also produced Criss Angel’s “Mindfreak” at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

“We’re so proud of Barry; he has a great understanding of the financial markets and how they relate to the mortgage industry,” Dan Habib, chief revenue officer for MBS Highway, said in a call with HousingWire. “I think he can bring a lot of insights to the board.”

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) also offered congratulations on Habib’s appointment.

“Barry Habib has been an invaluable voice in our industry for decades, and his appointment to the Fannie Mae Board represents a tremendous opportunity for the mortgage broker channel,” NAMB President Jim Nabors said. “His deep understanding of market dynamics and unwavering commitment to responsible lending practices make him an ideal addition to Fannie Mae’s leadership team.”

Fannie Mae did not respond to HousingWire‘s requests for comment.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from MBS Highway and NAMB.

Another merger and acquisition deal has hit the housing industry. Real estate and mortgage intelligence provider InGenius announced Wednesday that it has acquired SIMPL, a recruitment platform designed to support retail mortgage branch managers, and it has incorporate it into its existing data tools.

Built by Fobby Naghmi and John Perry, SIMPL stands for Strategic Intelligent Management of People and Leads. The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

“Recruiting isn’t just about finding people — it’s about building the right team,” Naghmi said in a statement. “Our goal was to create a cost-effective platform that could be used in the real world — by real producing managers who want to grow their footprint. SIMPL had to be powerful, yet practical. That’s why we say: Keep it SIMPL.”

SIMPL now lives inside InGenius 2.0, pairing recruiting workflows with the most accurate mortgage data available. From first outreach to signed offer, SIMPL helps recruiters and managers track conversations, automate follow-up and organize the entire journey.

“Users who spend just 20 minutes a day, three times a week, consistently hit their recruiting targets,” said Jeff Walton, CEO of InGenius. “That’s just one hour a week. SIMPL removes the guesswork, repetition, and delays — and makes it easy to focus on results.”

Specifically built for producing branch managers and business development leaders, SIMPL offers a suite of tools to streamline and accelerate recruitment. The platform features accountability tracking, customizable candidate journeys, and ready-to-use resources like scripts, email templates and text message copy to drive engagement.

The integration of SIMPL with InGenius empowers sales leaders to expand their teams more efficiently without sacrificing their production. The solution is designed to address one of the mortgage industry’s most persistent challenges: how to recruit effectively while managing the demands of a full production pipeline.

As Compass cited determinations made by a court in the PLS’ lawsuit against NAR years ago in support of its cause, NWMLS called the brokerage’s legal arguments “nonsensical.”

Home prices in about 300 Queensland house or unit markets have more than doubled over the past five years, with new analysis showing the Covid boom’s enduring impact across the state.

The pandemic’s shot-in-the-arm effect on the real estate market was most pronounced in the regions, led by Monto in Wide Bay where house prices were up a staggering 260 per cent since 2020.

PropTrack’s Market Trends report shows the Logan-Beaudesert and Ipswich regions were other ‘Long Covid’ winners. A typical unit in North Booval is still relatively affordable at $495,000 – but has tripled in value in half a decade.

A

14 Reading St, Logan Central sold for $750,000

house in Logan Central now costs $681,500, up 140 per cent over the same period, according to the data.

Central Queensland areas including Gladstone also notched near-triple gains, along with hotspots on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Cairns where prices were up more than 135 per cent.

Closer to the city, Brisbane’s big boom winners included Moggill in the western suburbs, where house prices more than doubled to sit at $1.22m, and Red Hill, up 116 per cent to $1.875m.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said low interest rates during the pandemic drove rapid house price growth around the country.

11 Hamptons Place, Montville sold for $1.345m

“Queensland has also benefited from strong interstate migration, as well as relative affordability coming into the pandemic. However, the latter driver is much less true today given how rapidly home prices have grown since 2020,” Mr Moore said.

The “unusually strong growth” of recent years — 2021 was the third-fastest year for price growth nationally in 150 years — was “not going to be repeated soon”.

“The big factor for home prices over the rest of this year and into next is what happens to interest rates. Housing affordability is at very stretched levels, but falling mortgage rates will start to reduce mortgage and boost borrowing capacities, which will support home prices.

“But how much further and how fast the RBA decide to cut is uncertain, given how rapidly the global outlook is changing,” Mr Moore said.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore

Ipswich agent Jordan Strudwick, of STRUD Property, said homeowners could expect an uplift of 15 to 20 per cent by the end of 2026.

“With the Olympic Games coming to Queensland, we’re entering a once-in-a-generation window of opportunity.

“Infrastructure, population, and investment are set to surge and that means real estate in SEQ is set for massive growth,” Mr Strudwick said.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said the state’s strong post-pandemic performance was driven by “lifestyle preferences, affordability pressures, and the appeal of Queensland’s decentralised population centres”.

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella at a housing shortage round table discussion in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

“The appeal of Queensland is not just limited to our capital city, with more and more people looking to experience life beyond the big smoke,” Ms Mercorella said.

“The fact your dollar goes further in Queensland, particularly in the regions, is a key driver but it’s not the only one. There’s more space, less traffic, more sunshine, and a better work-life balance and people are seeking that out.”

Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population data shows Queensland gained 29,900 people in the 12 months to December 2024, including 18,000 from NSW.

In the final quarter of 2024 alone, regional Queensland welcomed 4,317 new residents from interstate, the strongest result in a year, while Brisbane recorded 3,285.

50 Hollindale Rd, Guanaba sold for $2.1m

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Buyers agent Simon Pressley, of Propertyology, said Queensland’s coastal regions had emerged among “the most hotly contested real estate in Australia”, boosted by the pandemic’s influx of interstate migrants as people moved away from high-density capital cities.

Mr Pressley took an even longer view, examining property price growth over 10 years in areas that also hosted the fastest growing populations.

“There were 53 separate regional cities across the country which produced a capital growth rate that was equal to or better than Australia’s best-performed capital city over the last decade,” he said.

Propertyology founder Simon Pressley

The luxury holiday hotspot of Noosa was the 10-year winner for growth with a 156 per cent spike in house prices, compared to 96 per cent for Hobart, which topped capital cities.

“The two fastest growing regions in the country, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, were also hot property,” Mr Pressley said, adding home values in those Queensland centres were up 114 and 118 per cent respectively in the 10 years ending 2024.

PropTrack’s data shows median home prices across Greater Brisbane tipped $1m for the first time last month, reflecting the wider backdrop of sustained growth across the state underscoring a crisis of affordability as supply failed to keep pace with demand.

On the flipside, only a handful of suburbs recorded price falls since 2020.

The report shows units in Brassall, Ipswich, were now selling for 30 per cent less, at $156,550. Another five suburbs recorded negative growth — all were in the outback with the exception of Rockhampton City units (-18 per cent).

The post Revealed: Qld suburbs where home prices have doubled appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Jordan and Jana Strudwick with their two young kids at home on the Gold Coast. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Millennial dad Jordan Strudwick has pulled off the ultimate Covid upgrade, swapping his first home in Ipswich for a $4.2m waterfront property on the Gold Coast.

Mr Strudwick recalls “feeling like King Kong” in 2020 after pocketing $40,000 from selling the shack he bought two years earlier.

Now, buoyed by the pandemic boom, the 32-year-old and his wife, Jana, have a property portfolio valued at more than $10m, including a luxury home with a pool in one of Queensland’s most coveted locations.

The couple’s investment journey began in 2018 with the purchase of a three-bedroom post-war house in Raceview for $270,000.

The family has traded their way to their dream home. Picture: Glenn Hampson

They have since acquired ten properties and sold six, leveraging equity and profits to expand their portfolio.

“It all just starts with one,” said Mr Strudwick, a business owner and father of two children aged 2 and 5 months.

The founder of Strud Property Group has capitalised on huge growth in the Ipswich region, where his business is also based.

“We were fortunate that we owned three properties when we went into the boom, and everyone who sold then made $200-300,000 so that gave us a start to go into some bigger properties,” Mr Strudwick said.

“Everyone says, ‘you got lucky with Covid’ – but we also had the courage to buy before Covid when Ipswich prices weren’t moving much at all.”

Where it all started … Mr Strudwick’s first-home buy at Raceview

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Now, as head of a company with 70 team members, Mr Strudwick encourages other young people to make the market work for them.

“We push our young team members to purchase their first home because that dream of ownership may nearly be impossible in 20 years’ time unless you are from a family with money, or an ultra-high paying job,” he said.

“In Ipswich, you can still purchase a home sub-$600,000 with the government’s 5 per cent deposit scheme so you’ll need $30,000.

“It is hard to do this while paying rent, but that’s also an excuse because that coffee a day, the cigarettes, drinking on the weekend all adds up.”

Another home in the Ipswich area which was flipped for profit

Starting out with a $50,000 personal loan to kickstart his career in real estate, Mr Strudwick decided to use $15,000 of that as 5 per cent deposit on a first house.

“I just remembered being so poor — I only had a mattress on the ground,” he said.

“I lived in its original 1960s condition — pink walls and no water pressure — and sold in just under two years. I made $40,000 and thought I was King Kong because back then, nothing was happening in the Ipswich market.”

Staying humble has been key to his success, along with recognising the work and risk it takes to build wealth.

Home prices in the region have soared over the past five years

“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never lost money, but I’m grateful to have a great team around me advising me on debt,” Mr Strudwick said.

“Always be planning forward for your next move. Find out what your home is worth and how you can leverage your debt. Make your money work for you.”

A key lesson – “stick to what you know”, he said, admitting commercial property hasn’t been the windfall he was expecting.

“Just because you can doesn’t always mean you should.

“If you want shorter term capital growth, residential is where it is at.”

The Strudwicks are now planning to rebuild their portfolio by selling most of their assets to pay down the family home, then aim to put funds towards flipping older canalfront homes, eventually moving into larger scale development.

Mr Strudwick’s goal was to buy a waterfront home for his growing family

With Queensland home prices still rising, Mr Strudwick said buyers could expect an uplift of 15 to 20 per cent by the end of 2026.

“With the Olympic Games coming to Queensland, we’re entering a once-in-a-generation window of opportunity.

“Infrastructure, population, and investment are set to surge and that means real estate in SEQ is set for massive growth,” he said.

For first-home buyers, Mr Strudwick advised keeping emotions at play when deciding what to offer.

“Figure out your three prices – your bargain price, your middle, ‘okay, I’d pay that price’, and most importantly, your walk-away price.”

The post Gen-Y dad flips $270k shack for luxe waterfront home appeared first on realestate.com.au.