Some things are nearly timeless, like this annual list of “10 Things to Do,” most of which can be applied any year. Here in Las Vegas, the time of sunrise is 6:05AM, and yes, I’ve been up for a few hours by then, not getting into bed. But can’t you almost feel the earth moving around the sun? Anchorage is picking up 6 minutes of daylight per day; Kanas City 4. Over a week that’s… uh… 7 times… well, you can figure it out per week. Every spring it is remarkable. What some consider remarkable, although not in a good way, is how we find mortgage rates in the 7s again, and the talk here at the Lenders One event is what can be done about it. Despite the yield curve being inverted (2-year yields are .8 percent higher than 10-year yields), once again IMBs are searching for hidden ARM buyers, good home equity products, and continuing to offer down payment assistance programs, bond programs, and buydowns. But for many, the hope of 30-year f
I travel a fair amount via commercial airplane. (Greetings today from Ft. Lauderdale; this afternoon it’ll be Chicago.) But forget traveling in heavier-than-air-craft: there are people who live in airplanes! Meet Jo Ann, a beautician. Let’s see this baby appraise out for a refi! But the price is right for anyone willing to make the effort, as airplane carcasses are very affordable. One big topic at the Bank of England Mortgage event going on here is how interest rates impact affordability. Last week the Commentary included a link to a “handy-dandy chart for LOs to help borrowers to see how rates impact affordability.” I received several emails pointing something out, succinctly summed up by Fairway’s Mike S. “A quick glance shows that only 20% of the population’s affordability is determined by interest rates. At 3%, 65% of the country is already priced out. At 9%, that number is 85%. That means for 80% of the population, the interest rat
Let’s have a non-mortgage opening paragraph. Today is “Remember Pearl Harbor Day.” (If you like history, you gotta click on that link and see what is on there. Do a search.) The richest person in the world in the 1940s was Henry Ford, and when he died in 1947 his worth was about $200 billion in current dollars. (John D. Rockefeller became the first billionaire in 1916.) I mention these snapshots because one New Jersey industry vet wrote to me saying, “There are about 720 billionaires living in the USA, almost 1/4 of worldwide billionaires. The Administration is hiring 87,000 people to oversee the U.S. billionaires. That’s a 120-1 ratio. Ironically, after 40 years, the IRS never found Trump’s misreporting even though they audited him every year. Perhaps the IRS should not hire 87,000 but hire the top 720 CPA firms (paying them more than private practices) to examine the books of the 720 billionaires.” (Today's podcast is here and
In the press, here’s some information on the hit the Fed’s balance sheet has taken give the bond market selloff. And here at the MBA’s annual, some of the talk is about new products and about cost cutting. Yes, lenders are looking for new products, or help in exploring the viability of rolling something new out. For example, at the Capital Markets Committee meeting Sunday, I spent some time with Susan Brown, CMB, Founder & CEO of CoreSGB which helps lenders roll out construction loan products. In terms of cost cutting, I’ve spoken to a few owners who challenged their department heads to cut their costs 15 percent instead of the usual 10 percent, and brainstorm with others in doing it. We all know that net basis point goals (like aiming for 75 to 105 bps) have pretty much gone away. But if you’re “only” hitting breakeven, then unintended events can bring you to large losses quickly. If a company is seeing operational excessive
In Florida there are approximately 3,000 lakes, not enough to make it onto the leader board of states with the most named lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Alaska are up there). (Here’s a bit of trivia: what is the only state without a naturally occurring body of water large enough to have a name?) Nebraska has the most rivers. I mention this, not to make you thirsty for a glass of clean, cold water, but to bring up that Nevada and Arizona may have their water allotment from the Colorado River cut. What might that do to property values? Florida has its share of rivers, despite the lack of elevation change (its highest point is only 345 feet above sea level). Here in Florida they’re not talking about water, but at the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals attendees are talking comp, and the current STRATMOR blog is titled, “Lenders are Eying Compensation and Ops Trends.” In addition, don’t be too slow to right-size your company in toug