Sometimes, going through a storm and not crashing on the rocks is enough progress for the moment. Like what some of us think we are about to go through with housing.

Fortunately, there is not going to be a storm. .  

If you saw the  Ramsey Real Estate Reality Check Webinar last week, you saw why finance and real estate guru Dave Ramsey says there will not be a housing prices crash, House prices will be getting back to normal.

"There are not enough houses to live in for the number of home shoppers who want to buy one. It's called supply and demand," he said. 

According to Ramsey, there is a shortage of used inventory, new homes starts are down due to the lumber shortage caused by the pandemic, and foreclosures have been off the market for two years. 

"On the demand side, compared to 2008, there are 5 million more millennial buyers, 12 million more overall households, and corporate investors are buying 1 out of every four homes for sale," Ramsey said.

If Ramsey is right, real estate is returning to normal. "Normal" means if you buy now and for the next few years, you can expect housing prices to increase four or five percent per year

A standard housing market bodes well for both Realtors and mortgage lenders. But they are likely to find more demand to provide better service and advice and less need for speed.  

"There is an uneasiness among Realtors and mortgage lenders as well", according to Philip N. Mancuso, Partner and Stakeholder in Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM), a national mortgage lender operating in 49 states.

 "With the precipitous and sudden rise in interest rates,  Realtor/lender relationships are more important now than I have seen in my 30 years in the mortgage business," Mancuso said.

Regardless of the experience level, it is safe to assume home shoppers will tend to move with more deliberate caution and will hasten slowly about home choices and mortgage financing options. 

Many of these home shoppers will find their way to local  Realtors and mortgage lenders recommended by Realtors after shopping on the internet.. 

 "Our operating assumptions for years have been that mortgage needs can only be satisfied by a localized referral source when Realtors and loan officers are offering a value they cannot find on the internet. 

"When local providers use technology for speed, not better services, the internet is a viable option. 

"For me, that's a huge miss," Mancuso said.

 "The internet can deliver at key-click speed, but it can never replace the localized service of Realtors helping buyers find the right home at the right price with the right mortgage while assisting them to get through the process of obtaining both," Mancuso said.

Access to the internet searched for homes and mortgage information, in some ways, is about deciding what the home shopper does not want as much as what they want.

"To be clear, we strongly advocate and see significant value in localized teams, whether it be for used homes or new construction," Mancuso said.

Today is a great time for Realtors and loan officers to collaborate on how they can best serve today's home shoppers as a team.

"We have found that Realtors are open to new ideas and are a crucial referral source to loan officers.

 "Realtors need accurate, timely, and clear communications around a real-world strategy to put buyers in homes that check all the boxes instead of just some," Mancuso said.

 Realtors have every right to expect the mortgage lender to keep the Realtor informed on time.

"Conversely, Realtors asking for prequalification letters need to understand that these letters generally have no teeth to them and therefore can be misleading about the buyers' purchasing power," Mancuso said. "We need to bring back the human side of home ownership.

According to Mancuso, technology provides enough speed for the buyer but encourages shortcuts in the qualifying process.

"We need to go back to earlier times with needs and wants were more important than how easy and fast the sale closed.".

Mortgage loan officers need to ask more questions about how long the buyer plans to own the home, whether the spouse intends to work, and such. 

 Mancuso said that Realtors need to spend more time asking the right questions to make the house a home. Do the home shoppers want a backyard for cookouts, swings for their children, and a restricted exercise area for their dogs? 

"These are a few of the many memories created in homes across America that are more valuable than the sticks and bricks that go into building them and will be warmly remembered long after the speed at which they were delivered is forgotten," Mancuso said.

Author's note: With the expected 75-point increase in interest rates,  look for home builders to step up their outreach and incentives to both Realtors and home shoppers.