Not all, but many, capital markets folks spent their college years rolling up their sleeves. Some not so much. When originators are asked about interest rates, some LOs may use the line in the clip above: “Oh, man. I only ride them; I don't know what makes them work.” (The current STRATMOR blog is titled, “Relying on the Fed: How Did This Happen?”) Yesterday the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) grabbed the headlines, despite doing exactly what everybody expected them to do: leave rates unchanged. Inflation is still higher than the FOMC would like. Certainly, insurance costs, whether they be homeowner or car, are inflationary. It would be foolish to blame the Biden Administration, or any administration, for things like insurance costs, ships running aground in the Suez Canal, a drought in Africa, or what OPEC does. Such is life, and one needs to ask how much more government interference we need or want. In my opinion, a president consultin
I travel a little bit, so it was with great interest that I read, “The Department of Transportation… will soon require airlines to quickly refund passengers if they cancel, delay, or make significant changes to flights.” “A book hit my head, and I have only my shelf to blame.” Odd things happen all the time. Someone puts their cup on the ground, leans over to pick it up, and hits their head on the counter and gets a concussion. If I was rich, I’d have someone pick it up for me. What does $65 million get you near Miami? Rob Branthover points out that the three lots are owned by Patrick Markert, of AmeriSave fame. Who’s gonna buy it? Men and women cite different challenges when purchasing a home. 55 percent of females said their biggest challenge when buying a home as a single individual was finding a home in their price range, but 51 percent of males said that their biggest challenge was saving up for a downpayment. There are some similar
In Boston, “wicked pissa smart” is a compliment. I’ll argue that success in lending isn’t based on trying to predict where interest rates are going, since many predictions are a coin toss, but instead on lots of smarts, hard work, and building a business. Sometimes the subject comes up, “My lender ‘owns’ Agency tickets. Are they worth anything?” Yes, there is a dollar value, and STRATMOR’s current blog is titled, “Doing Business with the Agencies: The Golden Ticket?” Certainly the Agencies, namely Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, were in the news yesterday. Yes, the loan level price adjustments based on DTI have been rescinded. Now all those borrowers can rush out and buy… uh, well, check back in several years while the inventory of houses for sale picks up. Even if rates were 0 percent, if there are no houses to buy, good luck. And after the good news had spread, those who actually read the announcement not
I just looked at the balance of my checking account: $LMAO.00. Here’s a tip of the day to keep your bank account from going to $0 with this non-mortgage information from the FBI: Don't use free public phone charging stations in airports, hotels, and shopping centers. And be careful any time you receive a phone call from a supposed law enforcement official. For some mortgage information, Curinos calculated that March 2023 funded mortgage volume decreased 53 percent YoY and increased 46 percent MoM. The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in March was 6.36 percent, 19bps higher than February and 238bps higher than the same month last year. (Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures, and the data is examined further here.) Today’s podcast can be found here and is sponsored by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender.
Raquel Welch, who passed away yesterday, was an icon in the 60s and 70s. Mick Jagger was as well, and sang, “Just My Imagination” many years ago. But it is not your imagination that residential lending is facing some renewed speedbumps. (Yeah, I know that’s a stretch, but it’s a cool song.) Last night in Spokane at the SMLA meeting, key topics including pricing and rates. It isn’t your imagination that lenders are rolling out the new conforming loan level price adjustments this week, given the delivery requirements from Freddie and Fannie, and despite the redisclosure and operations problems that will inevitably arise. It is also not your imagination that we are being hit by mortgage rates moving higher. Jobs, inflation, and retail sales data all point toward a solid economy, recession be damned, and as a result, higher rates. But for some good news, homebuilder confidence is improving, according to the NAHB, seeing the largest monthly increase for bu