Solano Real Estate Scene: Jim Porter
Article By: Jim Porter – February 20, 2026
Over the past few weeks, software companies have been losing market cap with stock prices falling because of the fear that AI will replace the need for these subscription-based SAS companies.
Year-to-date 2026: Intapp Inc. is down 49%, Unity Software 45%, Applovin Corp 42% and Atlassian 35%. Even the large cap players like ServiceNow is down 28%, Salesforce 27%, Microsoft 15%. Oracle is down 10%, but is now trading at $157 per share after it was over $300 just six months ago.
Many cybersecurity stocks are down year-to-date too, which makes no sense because with this mega increase in compute power, you would think cyber security will be needed more than ever once the 1 million acres of new AI plants are built around the country.
AI is great news for Realtors and bad news for today’s average mortgage broker. There is no way robots will be able to meet buyers and sellers and walk through and inspect homes in the next 15 years, and there is no way a robot will be able to negotiate a purchase and listing agreement.
There will always be a need for mortgages because in real estate the money is either there or it ain’t, and 75% of all home purchases require a home loan. If a buyer is purchasing a $1 million home today and this person has a 20% to 50% down payment, a million dollars in their IRA, has a 740 FICO score, plenty of provable income, has a personal financial adviser managing their IRA or a CPA that does their taxes, they do not need an “average mortgage broker.”
They could use a “way above average mortgage broker,” which could save them a few bucks and get the loan funded in 21 or less days, but this type of buyer does not need a ton of mortgage advice. If this person knew that a traditional 30-year Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac fixed rate loan was the loan they wanted and their financial adviser gave them the green light on the down payment amount, they could obtain a mortgage through a computer and never talk to the licensed NMLS loan officer by phone or in person.
Luckily for the top producing loan officers that do 80% of the loan business, only 20% of the borrowers are as strong as the scenario above, leaving 80% of the buyers in need of a way above average loan officer, so the mortgage pros are OK for now, but in 15 years look out because robots are not getting dumber.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
