Jeff Ostrowski

SENIOR MORTGAGE REPORTER
Ribbon EXPERTISE
  • Housing
  • Mortgages
  • Economy
Education EDUCATION
  • Bachelor's degree, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Master's degree, University of Illinois at Springfield

About the author

Jeff Ostrowski writes about the U.S. housing market for Bankrate. He has appeared on CNBC and numerous radio and television outlets to discuss his reporting about real estate trends.

Highlights

As the COVID-19 pandemic roiled the U.S. economy, Jeff created Bankrate's Housing Hardship Index to track which states were being hit the hardest by the crisis. As the economic slowdown transitioned into a housing boom, Jeff created Bankrate's Housing Heat Index to show which states are experiencing the most robust real estate economies.

Experience

Jeff has closely covered two nationwide housing booms and one devastating bust. Before joining Bankrate, he wrote about real estate, business and the economy for the Palm Beach Post and the South Florida Business Journal. Jeff serves on the board of the nonprofit National Association of Real Estate Editors. He twice has won gold awards in the group’s journalism contest. His Bankrate coverage of housing affordability was honored in the most recent Best in Business awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.

In the media

With its double-digit price increases and intense fear of missing out, this housing boom feels a bit like the last bubble. But it's different in some important ways -- homes are in short supply, and lending standards remain far tighter than they were from 2003 to 2007.

— Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff's Picks

Houses in Mountain West

Housing Heat Index: Which state real estate markets are doing the best, worst during the pandemic boom?

4 min read

'For Sale' sign in front of house

The expensive, inventory-starved housing market in 5 charts

1 min read

Greg McBride headshot with a home in the background

What it means when your mortgage gets sold, and what you can do about it

3 min read

A house in front of a topographic-looking background

Nearly two-thirds of millennials have homebuyer regrets, survey finds

6 min read

California homes

Hispanic homebuyers poised to become dominant force in U.S. housing market

3 min read

Jeff's Latest Articles