Good morning to this beautiful Season of Holiday Celebration,
Sellers continue selling and Buyers are ready for action.
Home sales are healthy and home refi’s – incredibly strong.
The Good News: Confidence in Real Estate is steadfast. Don’t miss out.
The real estate market remains a frenzy. Call today. Let’s prepare for the fun.
Recent News
– Jobs Report: Some times numbers clarify. Somethings they increase the confusion. Consider the following: Business survey reported a meager 200,000 news jobs. Yet the consumer survey reports 1.1 M new jobs. Then there was the unexpected twist of 4.4 M people quitting their jobs in September.. As we wade through fiction, facts, and emotional rollercoaster rides, we likely have a market unsure of what’s next.
– Federal Reserve Meeting: Tapering continues, Jerome Powell keeps his job, and the change over of voting Fed members, shifts more hawkish. The real test is balancing government excess spending with inflation, interest rates, and tapering. The politics will prove interesting.
– Package Delivery: Quite the contrast. In 2008, USPS and UPS each delivered about 3.5 billion packages in the US with FedEx adding near 2 billion, or a total of almost 9 billion. This equates to 30 packages/person. In 2020, the USPS delivered slightly more than 7 billion, UPS 5.5 billion, FedX 3 billion. Then you add the new kid, Amazon, at 4 billion. This totals 20 billion packages, or 61 packages/person – roughly one+ per week. Now the question: How many additional people were hired to provide this incredible level of service ?
Information and Helpful Insights
Market News, Successes, And How We Can Help
Points of interest:
- Housing: It looks like we are coming off the earlier torrid pace of appreciation. We are NOT going in reverse, or crashing. Just coming off the close to 20 % pace, down to about 18 %, year-over-year. ONLY 1 % increase last month. This is still a very, very hot pace – like coming from white hot, to red hot.
- Jobs: Wages up 4.4 % year over year, highest ever. “Job switches” are running over 5.5% year-over-year. When you calculate this with the aforementioned percentage of housing expense, one discovers wage increases match up to a 15 % increase in housing cost.
- Refi: Mortgage rates remain historically attractive. They have made some quick moves, yet from the overall perspective – past 6 months – they remain nicely in the middle of the same trading band. Truly a good opportunity not to be missed. Please call.
- Interest Rates: Like our low Rates? A great incentive to Buy. But if you wait, watch out for inflation. Rates do respond inflation. Thus, when inflation moves higher, mortgage rates typically follow. Supply-chain problems and labor shortages do complicate the equation.
- Conventional loans: Tracking 3 ish. Cash-out refinance and investor loans run a bit higher.
- VA rates and FHA rates: If a Vet? Call today. Fixed still in the mid 2’s. Plus Veterans refi special: 1) Refi from conventional loan into a VA loan, and 2) Rate-reduction refi’s have NO income, NO asset documentation. NEW rule for Veterans, even a 1 % service related disability = NO VA funding fee !
- Jumbo: Yes to: Self-employed, Yes to: 80/10/10. Or, bigger down payment and no income / no employment documentation. Call. Let’s make it happen, today.
- Underwriting: Purchases – first priority of the underwriter. Turn around time can be a quick couple of days. Amen. How about Refinance? Patience wins. Best to start today.
Key to Success: Start the paperwork today. Let talk.
Success Stories
Key to Success: We continue to hammer out successes – “hammer” the operative term. Yes, lenders want to sell loans and love promoting the lowest rate. Then the reality summarized as nuisance, nonsense, and small details. Thus knowing you have a mortgage specialist you can trust. Verifying details and “Verifications”, upfront, is key.
Success Story: Details upon details. This is especially true for clients with multiple corporate operations, having personal credit over several businesses and multi-trusts. Our goal and measure of success is having a smooth and timely close. Is there wrangling of papers? Yes. But with our great clients and their trust in us, we quickly gather the details our lending partner needs. And what is success: A low, fixed rate permanent loan. They can now exhale and no longer worry about their former adjustable mortgage rate, jumping higher with inflation.
Another recurring success, is our family of clients who not only celebrated in the low rates from last decade, but who are now taking full advantage of todays even lower rates. You can drop the rates and reduce each monthly payment or make the same payment as before, and thereby shorten the terms of the mortgage. With a bit of planning, we cans show you how to pay-off your mortgage as a goal of retirement. Let talk. Call today.
Good News: To improve the process, many of our clients are able to obtain appraisal waivers. Even Better: We know how to get them done !
Retirement? Few of us have a silver bullet solution? Yet if we have built up significant equity in our homes, new doors of opportunity open. It can become a welcome gift – each month – for the many years of being disciplined and diligent. Question: How best to use this is gift? Good News: We have the tools to address this opportunity and answer your questions, as we explore your options, together.
I look forward to your call. Call today.
We have a team of experienced agents, covering a full range of specialties. Give a ring.
Highlights of How We Serve You
1) Long-Term: Traditional financing. The Good News: No age restriction.
2) Short-term: HELOC. A great tool with our markets rates so very low. Home Equity Lines of Credit can be a perfect for short-term ‘chunk cash’, plus the benefit of flexible repayment.
2) Keeping One’s Home: Key is an interactive discussion. Here we can talk the benefits of keeping or selling. Of asking, if the current home design is best for any physical limitations? If there a willingness to relocate geographically? What about Estate planning concerns, debts outstanding, or simply meeting monthly expenses? What about Proposition 19? My job is to address your concerns with straight forward solutions. Let’s talk. A call worthy of your time.
3) Reverse Mortgage: it can be a great way to reduce stress – especially the monthly burden of the home mortgage payment. It stops, while adding monthly income, each month. Call. Let us show you how it can work for you.
The Good News: Rates Remain Awesome
– New Homes or Refinance –
Self-employed: Times are tricky, but we are prepared to take up your challenge. Let’s talk and review your unique situation. We can lay out workable options and best possibilities. I do love and stand with Small Business. I respect those daring to be self-employed – the backbone of America. They speak to the living spirit of our free enterprise system. Let’s stand together. Call today. We are motivated.
Buying your next home: Two very helpful “tools”. 1) A client uses their old home, as collateral for their new home!! 2) A tool whereby one’s current payment on the “old” home, does not count against your client, while settling into their new home. Excellent. You need options, tools, and alternative ideas? We have them. Call today.
Renting, but wanting to Buy?
The pricing pressures are not just with home buyers. Invitation Homes, the nations largest landlord, shows rental demand is up 14 %, with annual rent renewals up 5 %. In a recovering economy with appreciating values, renting is not a safe haven to offset rising property values. Let’s talk. The best long-term answer maybe to buy now, while mortgage rates remain excellent. Call today. Take full advantage of this great buying opportunity.
Good News: We offer market-based tools comparing rents to the benefits of home ownership. We look beyond boiler plate, short-cuts numbers. We understand ‘affordability’ to be unique to each and every individual and family. Our focus is understanding you, asking pertinent questions, able to help guide your financial future. Our concern is more about “live-ability”, and less about ‘how big a home can I afford.’ A big, first step made better. Finding answers and discovering options are both rewarding.
CALL ME – Your success is MY first priority.