One weekend last month, Ben Caballero happened by a block in Argyle, Texas, where four home builders had set up model homes. Both sides of the street were lined with cars.

Unfortunately, builders are so far behind in construction these days that anyone who signed a contract that weekend probably won’t be able to move into their new residences until late spring or early summer.

“Builders simply can’t build homes fast enough to meet the remarkable demand,” says Caballero, whose HomesUSA is the broker of record for dozens of builders in four of Texas’ biggest markets. And it’s not just happening in the Lone Star State, but everywhere.

Usually, sales and new home starts move almost in lockstep. But these are not normal times. In its latest poll, marketing and research firm Zonda found that 30% of builders reported taking “weeks longer” to start work. And 6% said they were “months” behind.

According to Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, by the middle of last year, sales outpaced the start of construction by the largest gap ever. By October, that record-breaking gap had widened even further. And by November, the count of sold-but-not-yet-started houses was up 69% from a year earlier.

“The gap is unprecedented,” says Dietz. “There is no comparable period in the data going back to 1963.”

Although new home sales slipped at bit in November, they were still 21% higher than a year ago, as demand continued to be supported by low interest rates, a renewed consumer focus on the importance of home, and rising interest in lower-density markets like suburbs and exurbs. On net, sales were up 19.1% for the first 11 months of 2020.

But starts have failed to keep pace. The spread between sales and starts is even greater than Census Bureau figures indicate, Dietz says, because the government’s count includes custom houses and those built specifically for rent.

Dietz indicates some slowing in sales is necessary, and believes builders may be pulling back a tad on taking new contracts until they can catch up. “Builders don’t want to get too far out over their skis,” he said in December.

That leaves the inventory of completed-but-unsold houses extremely low. Nationwide, the NAHB counts just 43,000 finished, ready-to-occupy houses nationwide.

Some builders have stopped selling altogether because they can’t keep up. Others are still selling, but they are raising their prices “aggressively,” Caballero reports -- in some cases, in an effort to slow sales.

According to Tim Sullivan at Zonda, at least two-thirds of the 18,000 subdivisions his company tracks have hiked prices. In September, price increases were nearly universal (94%) among projects in markets like Indianapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Raleigh, Tampa and Orlando.

That figure fell back a bit in October, the latest month for which the statistic is available. And, said Sullivan last month, “Prices are still increasing, but at a decreasing rate.”

But higher prices haven’t stopped people from looking, if not buying. Indeed, according to Zonda’s data, traffic also is at record levels. Sullivan adds: “Wait lists are back!”

Taking more deals than they can handle isn’t the only thing slowing builders down, though. They continue to face a number of headwinds, not the least of which are a lack of skilled labor and a lack of developed building sites.

But one of their main bugaboos these days is government services, or the lack thereof. Because of the virus, many local jurisdictions are operating on skeleton staffs. Some have reduced operating hours or closed some offices altogether. That means there’s nobody around to approve plans and make on-site inspections, among the myriad other services builders require.

At the same time, builders are concerned about their inability to obtain the products they put into their houses. According to BMC, a major supplier of building materials, it’s taking only slightly longer for such key items as wallboard, lumber, siding and doors, but “extended periods” for roofing, engineered wood, vinyl windows and door locks.

Two-thirds of the builders queried by Zonda were worried about their inability to get some products in a timely manner, and 53% said obtaining important government services is a problem. On top of that, prices for softwood lumber, a key building product, jumped nearly 50% between April and August -- the largest four-month gain since 1949.

Just 40% of builders said labor was an issue. And although there was no mention of a scarcity of lots on which to build, Sullivan reports that nationwide, the supply of construction-ready sites is down 9% from a year ago, while prices are up 5.6%. “Many markets are significantly undersupplied,” he says. “Availability is going down.”

Meanwhile, another big question mark is beginning to surface: appraisals. Sales are so far ahead of closings that valuations are lagging.

Until a house is finished and the buyer takes ownership, that sale can’t be used to support an appraisal on a new sale. Consequently, the appraisal could come in too low to secure the financing the next buyer is seeking. The result: They’ll either have to put more money down or walk away from the house they’re hoping to purchase.

In a little-known civil action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating the real estate affiliate of Quicken Loans for illegal kickbacks.

Specifically, the consumer watchdog agency is wondering whether Rocket Homes Real Estate violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act when it charged fees for referring Quicken’s mortgage clients to real estate agents. Under RESPA, it is illegal to collect money without providing “meaningful” services.

The CFPB’s investigation has gone largely unnoticed because it does not publicize such cases until a determination of guilt is made. And rightly so -- to announce an investigation without any such findings would cast an unnecessary cloud over innocent companies.

Quicken, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, did not respond to a request for comment. But the company, which went public in early August under the name Rocket Companies, said in its IPO prospectus that it “intend(s) to cooperate fully with the CFPB in this investigation and (is) confident in the compliance processes that Rocket Homes has in place.”

The case was brought to my attention by Dmitry Shkipin of HomeOpenly.com, who has filed a complaint against Rocket Homes Real Estate with the Federal Trade Commission alleging not only violations of consumer protection laws and market allocation practices, but also antitrust laws.

Shkipin told me during a lengthy telephone interview that he believes his allegations are the basis for the CFPB probe. He has filed similar charges against Better Mortgage, Mellow Mortgage and LoanDepot, but because those companies are not publically owned entities, it is unknown whether they are also being investigated.

Shkipin contends that all of these lenders operate sham “paper brokerages” set up with only one thing in mind: to extract fees from realty agents -- fees consumers ultimately pay, often in exchange for poor service.

Shkipin came to me after my coverage of the damning Consumer Federation of America report in October that said that online referral agencies, which collect fees for referring buyers and sellers to local realty agents, are all but useless. In these pay-to-play schemes, CFA said, referral agencies often refer people to mostly inexperienced or hardly active agents who are unable to generate their own leads.

In most cases, CFA said that agents won’t negotiate their commissions because they have already given away a chunk to agents referring clients to them. And sometimes, people will receive less-than-full service because an agent won’t pocket a full commission.

But Shkipin contends some mortgage companies go further by skirting RESPA. They do so, he argues, because they fail to add anything of value to the transaction other than handing off a lead to realty agents. I have copies of all of his complaints, but since the Rocket Homes investigation is the only one that is public, let’s stick to his allegations about that company.

His complaint says that while Rocket promises to match Quicken’s borrower clients with highly rated realty agents, it actually connects them with “only real estate agents (who) have agreed to pay a referral fee.” The fee is never disclosed to the client, according to Shkipin.

“In reality,” alleges Shkipin, “Rocket Homes is a broker-to-broker collusion scheme that utilizes its parent mortgage company’s consumer information and passes it along to a colluding broker, who is willing to pay for it with a cut of their commission. All partner agents agree to pay Rocket Homes a prearranged referral fee on all closed transactions through their employing broker.”

Under Section 8 of RESPA, referral payments are allowed only when all parties are acting in a brokerage capacity. But Shkipin maintains that Rocket does not meet that test. Instead of representing consumers to help buy and sell houses, the company “actively disengages” from those activities so that partner agents know Rocket will not compete with them for clients, he contends.

The company, which is rated No. 1 in consumer satisfaction by J.D. Power, uses its real estate license “to collect blanket referral fees from the largest number” of real estate agents possible, he alleges. It “has absolutely no duty of care to consumers and takes no responsibility for the transaction, despite receiving a direct financial benefit.”

Moreover, he maintains that in collecting blanket fees, Rocket violates the Sherman Antitrust Act, which requires agents and their brokers to compete for consumers without entering into agreements that restrain free trade. “It is a per-se violation when the parties agree to a ‘standard’ referral fee that will be paid for producing a client,” he says in his complaint.

Ironically, Shkipin’s company, HomeOpenly, is also a service that helps buyers and sellers find agents. But he says his operation is different in several respects. For one thing, it is an open marketplace, not a real estate brokerage, where all service providers listed on the network compete for consumers’ business individually. For another, it earns its keep from advertising, not referral fees.

He argues that companies like his operate at a competitive disadvantage so long as brokers can trade consumers as leads for blanket referral fees. As long as referral schemes are allowed to operate, he explains, agents are naturally encouraged to participate. There are no upfront costs, they pay only when a sale closes and sometimes hike their commissions to cover the referral fee they must pay.

“Any agent who chooses not to participate in such schemes risks losing ‘free’ business,” Shkipin says. “Such an environment is highly poisonous to a healthy real estate representation market.”

Shortly before my wife and I returned home from a few weeks at the ocean last summer, a small EF-1 tornado touched down about 100 yards from our house. No damage was done to our home, but a rather large tree fell across the driveway. By the time we got home, though, two of our neighbors had taken it upon themselves to cut the tree into usable firewood.

Needless to say, we have good neighbors. And as it turns out, many of us do.

“Neighbors in America tend to like and care for each other,” says Improvenet, a contractor-matching service, after recently polling 2,500 people. “Many spend time socializing, and most are quick to offer a helping hand.”

More than two-thirds of those surveyed have gotten to know their neighbors better during the pandemic. Almost that many have made an effort to be more friendly than usual, and nearly 7 in 10 say they appreciate their neighbors more than ever. Amen.

Beyond socializing, the survey found that we are eager to help one another. During the pandemic, 67% have offered aid of some sort to their neighbors, and 62% say they’ve received the same in return.

Some observers are agog about the rise in the conforming loans limits for this year -- now a staggering $822,375 in high-cost markets and $548,000 everywhere else.

That means that with a 20% down payment, someone in one of many coastal markets can buy a million-dollar house with a conforming loan.

The conforming loan ceiling is the maximum mortgage amount that can be acquired from primary lenders by the two government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs then place those loans into securities that are sold to investors worldwide.

The process not only helps keep money flowing into the mortgage market, but also allows homebuyers to borrow at slightly lower rates than those whose loans are not sold to Fannie and Freddie. And the loan limit is adjusted on an annual basis.

Some say the new limits are way too high, especially when Fannie and Freddie’s mission is to support middle-market transactions. But according to a new report from their government regulator (the GSEs are still in conservatorship as a result of the 2008 housing debacle), only a relative handful of borrowers took advantage of the 2019 increase, when the ceilings were raised to $726,525 in expensive places and $484,350 elsewhere.

Back then, says the Federal Housing Finance Agency, only 142,000 borrowers took out GSE-backed loans above the 2018 ceiling. That’s just 3.4% of the more than 4 million mortgages acquired by the GSEs.

Still, the typical borrower who secured a mortgage above the previous limit reported an income of $182,000. That’s twice the income of those whose income was below the 2018 ceiling. The median value of the houses they financed was $646,000, also twice the typical value of other borrowers.

Pending home sales are considering a leading indicator in the housing market. But showings may be even a better harbinger of things to come.

Pending sales are houses that are under contract but have yet to close. But showings indicate that would-be buyers are still out there, hunting for just the right place.

Just as not all contracts close, not all showings lead to contracts. But the fact that people are house-hunting in the face of colder weather and a pandemic that just won’t go away means the market remains strong. And according to ShowingTime, a management technology provider, year-over-year activity surged in October.

“House-hunting remained steady as we head into winter, subverting all the usual trends,” said ShowingTime President Michael Lane. “Seeing markets throughout the country record twice as many showings per listing compared to the same time last year suggests pent-up demand hasn’t fully played out yet.”

Fewer people are exiting forbearance programs offered by their lenders, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Worse, though, more people who had left relief programs are back in line, seeking help for a second time.

According to MBA’s latest estimate, 2.8 million borrowers are in forbearance plans. Of those, about 20% are in the initial stage, while some 78% are in an extension. The remaining 2% have returned for a second helping.

The good news: “Only” 5.5% of all borrowers are in a forbearance program.

In 1963, Rear Admiral (Ret.) Thomas Lynch played football for the Naval Academy alongside Roger Staubach, who went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys and was enshrined in both the college and professional football halls of fame before going into the commercial real estate business.

Like Staubach, Lynch is now in the real estate game: He’s the executive chairman of NewDay USA, one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders and perhaps the largest one dealing solely with veterans and active-duty servicemen and women.

By the way, Navy was ranked second in the country in ‘63, and played No. 1 Texas for the national championship. (The Middies lost, 28-6.)