The Mostly Real Estate Podcast, with Declan Spring | Inside The East Bay Housing Market
Conversations about the East Bay housing market and the people shaping it.
Master the East Bay housing market through conversations with the people who know it best. Hosted by Declan Spring, this podcast goes beyond the transaction to explore the stories, personalities, and real-world forces shaping real estate across Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and the surrounding East Bay communities.
Each episode features thoughtful conversations with top agents, lenders, developers, historians, and local voices who influence how the market actually works. From pricing strategy and buyer behavior to neighborhood dynamics and industry shifts, the show offers an inside look at the craft, challenges, and character of East Bay real estate.
Who this podcast is for.
Homeowners, buyers, and real estate professionals interested in understanding how the East Bay housing market actually works — through conversations with the people shaping it.
Declan has spent years working inside the East Bay housing market and brings a journalist’s curiosity to conversations with the agents, lenders, and local figures who influence how the market evolves.
Produced by Declan Spring and Denitsa Shopova, founders of The Home Factor, the podcast blends local insight, professional expertise, and long-form storytelling. Whether you're a homeowner, buyer, investor, or real estate professional, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the market and the people shaping it.
Thinking about buying or selling in the East Bay?
Declan Spring and Denitsa Shopova lead The Home Factor, a real estate team focused on helping clients navigate Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and surrounding communities.
Learn more at:
thehomefactor.com
Subscribe for regular conversations about housing, community, and the evolving East Bay real estate landscape.
CA DRE#01398898
The Mostly Real Estate Podcast, with Declan Spring | Inside The East Bay Housing Market
#31 - Evelyn Freitas, Notes From a Two Decade Career in Lending
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ideas for the show or to want just to support us? Send us a text!
This podcast episode is cross branded with a new weekly podcast I'm hosting and producing on behalf of Bridge Association REALTORS®.
I thought I would take the opportunity to highlight the second podcast I've been hard at work on, The Bridge Association of REALTORS® Podcast, by publishing an episode to the Let's Talk, with Declan Spring podcast.
Today I’m chatting with Bridge AOR affiliate member and mortgage lender Evelyn Freitas, with Guaranteed Rate.
Evelyn has been a mortgage lender since 2004, entering the profession after 18 years in small business management and accounting. Evelyn fell in love with the work of helping people achieve their financing and family goals through home ownership and realized that the skills she had developed in her previous career found a higher expression in the service of these goals.
We discuss what it is buyers' should ask when qualifying a loan agent, what types of products and services are offered by various lenders, and what level of care and communication buyers' and REALTORS® should expect from a loan agent. We also talk about the recent CalHFA Dream for All program and its sudden and incredibly quick withdrawal from the market, and I ask Evelyn if other types of down payment assistance or equity sharing programs exist.
Evelyn Freitas is Mortgage Banker with Guaranteed Rate NMLS ID: 247578