Zach Wichter

Former Mortgage reporter, Homes
Ribbon Icon EXPERTISE
  • Mortgages
  • Real estate
  • Home renovations
  • Condos and co-ops
  • Aviation
Education Icon EDUCATION
  • Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Northwestern University

 

About the author

Zach Wichter is a former mortgage reporter at Bankrate. He previously worked on the Business desk at The New York Times where he won a Loeb Award for breaking news, and covered aviation for The Points Guy. He also worked in production on Dateline NBC and wrote anchor copy for New York 1. He graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 2013. As president of his co-op board in Queens (it’s like a condo board, but more New York-y), Zach is constantly thinking about real estate and dealing with issues of homeownership, HOA-style house rules and mortgage eligibility.

Highlights

Wichter came to the mortgage beat at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when home financing and the real estate industries were rare bright spots in an otherwise sluggish economy. He got to work looking under the hood of trends in the headlines, and by analyzing address forwarding data from the U.S. Postal Service, learned that the pandemic wasn't the end of cities after all. He also focuses on racial equity issues in the housing market.

Experience

Although Bankrate is the first place Wichter covered the mortgage and real estate verticals full-time, he's an experienced business reporter with a broad range of experience. In addition to covering aviation at The Times, he had a weekly column that highlighted commercial real estate transactions in New York City, and covered all kinds of stories as a general assignment business reporter.

In the media

The key to getting the best deal on a mortgage is shopping around with multiple lenders. If you don't, you could wind up paying thousands of dollars unnecessarily.

— Zach Wichter

Zach's Picks

Wide shot of family with toddler walking though dining room of home for sale during open house
5 MIN READ

Don’t overdo it: Here’s what not to fix when selling a house

Don’t spend time or money on fixing things that won’t recoup their cost.

aerial view of seattle's eastlake suburb and lake union
6 MIN READ

How much does it cost to sell a house in Washington state?

Selling a house in Washington isn’t all profit. Here’s a breakdown of expenses for sellers.

realtor putting for sale sign in front of brick house with big front porch
5 MIN READ

Closing costs in Kentucky: Who pays for what?

Both homebuyers and sellers will pay some amount of closing costs in Kentucky.

existing home sales photo illustration
4 MIN READ

Prices still at record levels even as existing-home sales tick up

Home prices hit a new record high for October, according to NAR.

photo illustration in the shape of missouri
5 MIN READ

‘We buy houses’ companies in Missouri

Many cash-homebuyers in Missouri will buy your house fast in any condition.

photo illustration in the shape of Kentucky
6 MIN READ

How to sell a house by owner in Kentucky

It’s possible to sell a house by owner in Kentucky, but it’s a lot of work.

woman at home in kitchen with mobile phone, photo illustration
6 MIN READ

What is iBuying, and how do iBuyer companies work?

Yes, you can sell your house fast online. But should you?

Illustrated graphic featuring a house with designed circles behind it
5 MIN READ

Median home prices in every state

The priciest and most affordable states in the country to buy a home.

Zach's latest articles