Attendees of next week’s MBA Secondary conference can look forward to… A giant hot dog in Times Square that spits out confetti at high noon. (Keep your risqué comments to yourself please.) They can obviously look forward to much more at the actual conference, including information about the economy, regulators, and seeing what the Agencies and aggregators are up to in terms of products. Every client is important, and originators want a full product suite from their companies and vendors. (The current STRATMOR blog is titled, “Down Payment Assistance Programs Helpful But Not a Universal Remedy.”) For good news, homeowner equity has hit almost $17 trillion, as values in March hit a historic all-time high according to a report from Intercontinental Exchange. But looking at units this year (a better measure than the estimated $1.5-2 trillion) the MBA expects the lowest production in decades. If recent conferences are any indication, look forward to atte
I’m so tired of the mainstream press talking about the 2024 election, 10 months out. Given that the median age of U.S. citizens is about 38 years, one would think we could find someone under the age of 75 to be president, regardless of party affiliation. On the other end of the age spectrum, at age 34, Gabriel Attal became France’s youngest prime minister. France’s inflation rate is running at 3.7 percent, which I mention because inflation and the actions of central banks are linked, and the inflation rate and the CFPB are linked. (Whenever I mention the CFPB to my cat Myrtle she feigns indifference. Sometimes she even saunters away.) The CFPB announced the annual adjustments for inflation to the CFPB’s civil penalty amounts, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, as amended. This final rule is effective on January 15, 2024. Tomorrow we will have the Consumer Price Index, meant to broadly capture changes in the prices of goods a
My cat Myrtle doesn’t have a lot of rizz, and there are those that will argue that no cat has any charisma whatsoever. But plenty of marketing people do, or can create it, and even if you’re not in marketing, there are some clever marketing people out there. Creative minds as well, and if you’re looking for a Christmas present, here are the “best inventions of 2023” per Time Magazine. There is also cleverness and creativeness in the modular home manufacturing industry, probably far outpacing the ability of state and local government to issue permits. Meanwhile, lenders are facing a winter trying to figure out if they are in the “Survive until ‘25” camp or the “Grow more in ‘24” mindset? The credit industry is reeling as lenders grapple with soft versus hard pulls, renegotiating pricing, and bundled deals. And for some reason LO comp continues to be unsettled: dual comp, MLOs as real estate agents, transferring
I was very excited last Saturday when I rode my bike by a garage sale and saw, “The Holy Bible” for sale, with a “signed edition” sticker on it. Of course I bought it. How cool is that? Trains are pretty cool too. “A railroad conductor needs to make sure he doesn’t go down the wrong track and lose his train of thought.” This morning I head to Milwaukee by train. While in Chicago I spent some time hearing how LOs must get back to the basics, including clear routines and discipline. They must provide education and guidance since LOs are in the “people business.” Technology is a great tool, but not the end-all in the loan process: AI may not take your job but somebody who can use AI might. Lenders, and real estate agents, are asking, “How are companies training a new generation of LOs and other residential mortgage workers?” (Today’s podcast can be found here, sponsored by Visio Lending and its top notch b