Everyone is watching the value of their 401(k) plan go down. You should be watching it go down from “across the pond,” sitting at a sidewalk café in Paris. Anyone traveling in Europe is rejoicing at the exchange rate: Things are more affordable for American tourists this summer, with the exchange rate between the euro and the dollar now about equal. It's the first time since 2002 (in the early years of the euro's existence) that the ratio came close to 1:1, but could come at a cost of global economic stability. The Fed is on track to continue hiking interest rates by 75 bps per meeting to conquer inflation, in comparison to the European Central Bank, which is still hesitant to get too aggressive. EU recession fears are more pronounced than they are in the U.S., especially given the grim energy outlook and the shutting of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for annual maintenance. (We all have a chance at listening to the MBA’s Dr. Mike Fratantoni di
This morning I head off to Orange County to the IMN Non-QM Forum where homeownership and home finance option discussions will be center stage. Did you know that June is “Homeownership Month”? Ginger B. reminds us that, the average homeowner will move up to 12 times in their life and on average will own 3 homes in their life, and the median distance between the homes people purchased and those they moved from is just 15 miles. Create a customer for life with your service! Affordable housing fans should know that Habitat for Humanity and Wells Fargo recently partnered on building 350 affordable homes. Certainly, housing is a complicated issue, whether your involve non-profits, public and private corporations, and the U.S. Government. Attorney Brian Levy, in his most recent Mortgage Musings, questions the effectiveness of the federal government’s housing policies. At the city-level, in the last few months I’ve spent a fair amount of time in New York City. Affor