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At the TMBA’s Secondary Conference in Houston a topic is obviously interest rates and the economy… And the fact that the nation’s interest payment expense now exceeds our defense expense! It’s also a fact that Texas’ business climate is very friendly for companies. The #1 state in the nation for residential lending, California, not so much. Overheard here in the hallway: “California is a blue state wrapped up in red tape.” That said, permit process aside, California gets a lot of flak for its high cost of living, but that is for income tax rather than property tax, as exhibited in “Property Taxes by State in 2024” comparing home and vehicle taxes across the nation. Californians pay the 34th highest annual taxes on homes priced at state median value. New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut have the highest annual taxes on homes. Each year, the average American household spends $2,869 on real-estate property taxes plus another ....
In our biz, you never want to hear, “deception,” “targeting the elderly,” or “abusive tactics” related to a company. But there they are in this report, “The Ugly Truth Behind We Buy Ugly Houses.” (Thank you to Ken S. for passing this along.) The franchise is nationwide, unlike… cicadas? The U.S. Census Bureau says the Midwest includes 12 states: the Dakotas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. I mention this, not only because some people are confused where they live, but also because this spring, two different broods of cicadas, one that lives on a 13-year cycle and the other that lives on a 17-year cycle, will emerge at the same time from underground in a rare, synchronized event that last occurred in 1803. Billions of the winged insects will make an appearance across the Midwest and the Southeast, beginning in some places in late April, for a raucous mating ritual ....
Sometimes there is no shortcut when you want to make a lot of money. Speaking of making money, and creating wealth for clients, owning real estate continues to be a good investment. The National Association of Realtors tells us that more than 85 percent of metro markets registered home price increases in the fourth quarter of 2023. Its latest quarterly report reports that fifteen percent of the 221 tracked metro areas experienced double-digit price gains over the same period, up from 11 percent in the third quarter. In the lending world, according to Curinos, January 2024 funded mortgage volume increased 3 percent year over year but decreased 4 percent versus the previous month. The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in January was 6.86%, -39bps lower than December and 47bps higher than the same month last year. Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures. (Today’s Commentary podcast can be found here a ....
When this commentary gig gets old, I think I’ll take up… throwing needles? But so far so good, putting this out six days a week. Yesterday I glanced at the calendar, and we’re 10 percent of the way through 2024 already! Still raining here in Northern California, and the flooding has caused a lot of concern in the mortgage industry, especially among companies servicing loans on any houses that are damaged, as well as owners of MBS with loans in them on any potentially damaged homes. At least the days are seeing more sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. Daylight Savings kicks in on Sunday, March 10, just a little over a month away, and goes on until November. (Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and most of Arizona blow off this clock changing stuff.) Today’s Commentary podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Vesta, the new, modern Loan Origination System (LOS) which helps lenders reduce their co ....
Providers of consumer financial services that rely on federal preemption to charge customers uniform interest rates and fees on a nationwide basis are currently facing a series of. ....